Wow, did your post bring back memories. We moved from Wisconsin to Southern California in the early '50's. My dad started a paint contracting company with two other guys. One of them robbed them blind, they lost everything. My dad refused to press charges because the thief had some 5 children. Dad was afraid it might take food out of their mouths, and figured what good would it do to just put the guy in jail? The money was gone. My dad soon recovered by turning a few run down houses on his own, I helped the best I could, but I learned a whole bunch about repairing things and saving my money. Later my dad worked for Kelly Johnson at Lockheed's Skunk Works, Kelly also became a friend. I've got personal letters of recommendation from Kelly about my dad, some of my prized possessions.

Through dad later I got to meet his friend that he did some work for, some actor guy, that was going to run for governor of California. His friend actually won, and in later years went on to win the presidency of the United States. My parents both worked very hard on both of the campaigns, they really liked this guy. I've still got a happy birthday card that Ron and Nancy sent to my dad from the White House.

Sorry, I get carried away a little by some of your posts, so many of them just bring back little things that I have forgotten about. Thank You !!!

It has not changed. My son and I are still operating a small business my dad started 61 years ago. Big concerns and the internet has taken it's toll. I only wish my dad and myself had read AS long ago. It would have made a difference.

I don't know how the current workings of retailing are, but because of their greater volume, the big retailers got special deals allowing them to undercut small retailers. These deals, perks and special offers were kept unannounced so that it looked as if everyone paid the same price. True, the small retailer offered more service but money trumps everything and if the buyer can get a better price, the hell with personal service. Now people wonder what happened to all that personal attention they used to get.They are lucky to get some pimply-faced kid to do them a favor by waiting on them.

None of mine would have got it.

I don't know who of my family has read AS. My mom died before I had read it, although I recall it having been on a bookshelf when I was a kid. My dad was never really a reader, not until the last 8 years or so. He was always a very hard worker, taught me the value of hard work, living within one's means, joy. He is retired now, just turned 82 this month, and is dating a lovely widow. I can honestly say a cousin of mine would have benefitted from it, had she not taken a very different path than I have. She became pregnant at 16, and went on to have 8 kids by 4 different fathers. Ugh. She would try to mooch off of me, which she tried in the past, but I have forbidden our Uncle from giving her my whereabouts. I have cut off those who are just along for the ride, who have nothing to offer in return. I just wish I had read it earlier in my life. It was on my list of must-reads, I just kept skipping by it until.....

I only read the book a few months ago and found myself wishing I had read it when I was a young man. When I finally started to look at this with my brain, rather than my heart, I realized it wouldn't have made much difference. When I was young I already leaned toward the Philosophy that was in the book which made me a misfit in my early life.
Placed in perspective; Ayn Rand's Books and Philosophy were way ahead of her time, or, often repeated throughout history depending on how you want to look at it.
I don't know your father so my apologies first; But I doubt that had your dad read the book it would have made any difference. Since I read the book and realized this for myself I made a point of seeking out and asking people who read the book 30 years ago one question. "What did you think about it?". Their response in many cases was "I never finished it." or "It was OK." Which means they never gave it another thought. (Hard for some of us today to believe, but true). Think about it. The 1960's were a great time to start and be in business. The war was over, many people had VA benefits that they used to start businesses with. There was little government regulation to "equalize and protect us from ourselves". Many people that read the book back then found it interesting to boring, because they couldn't picture what was happening today. If they had paid more attention back then to what Ayn Rand had to say, the book would be far less prophetic.
I'm sorry you are having trouble with your business. As a business man myself I certainly have had my troubles, but can offer some sound advice: When confronted with a problem ask yourself; "What would Hank Rearden or Dagney Taggart do?" I know these were not real people (or were they simply alter Egos of Ayn Rand) but they were charters that found solutions to their problems and then became emotional later. Theres a powerful secret there.
Good Luck

My father was career military (Army Air Corp => USAF) and he did read Ayn Rand. It was his copy of Anthem, sitting on a table somewhere in the house, that I first picked up and read. We used to discuss the concepts in it (and later, in AS). When I was in High School, I checked out a copy of Atlas Shrugged and started reading it after dinner. When my mother woke up the next morning, I was still sitting in the same chair - reading. I was on the last chapter. When I finished the book, she sent me to bed and did the languishing dinner dishes herself.

My mother did not care for philosophy, or reading. She was quite influenced by what society thought was proper, but she did have a good gut feeling for economics and was generally conservative.

Both of my sisters have read Ayn Rand at one time or another. One of them is a socialist; one is a liberal. I disagree with them frequently...

Jan

Good job. Nothing wrong with small businesses pulling together. Being in retail I find myself recommending independents over chain stores mostly because I don't agree with some of the things the larger chains do.

Me too.
I was in business for 25 years. I was naïve at first and thought that business people would treat me fairly. Whoa! What a mistake. I did get my revenge, though, in a minor way. I started writing a column in the most popular trade magazine, and I was able to point out many underhanded practices going on which usually made life for the little guy more difficult. It did have some effect because it helped small dealers like me unite with others to be treated more fairly. Sounds like a union doesn't it? It wasn't. It became an association of retailers. I did learn a lot about looters and 2nd handers in both the manufacturing and distribution worlds.

Thats great that your dad was open enough to continue reading different views and that he allowed himself to change. Many people mindlessly pull the same lever every election cycle.

May I ask why he turned away from it? Too bad he didn't recomend it to his students.
I'm guessing A=A.

I feel our lives would have been better too Herb. While I think I always agreed with what I eventually read in AS, we still let the looters get away with too much.

It is past time. Great job.

Tell her to make some noise! A is A.

A=A? Francisco's speech?

Hear Hear!!!!

As Francisco says in AS1: Its a war and we need to take sides (paraphrased). I have become much less tolerant and more vocal. God save the bum that comes up to me looking for money. I engage them in conversation and ask them point blank why they actually think that I should work so they dont have to. I really do want the answer from their mouths. I am most upset by people that give them money and enable this behavior. I engage them too. I may be unpopular, but at this point I agree with Francisco's character. We have let these altruits get away with this crap for too long. Time to speak up.

A is A..... Yes Pirate :) Enjoy.

😇😇

A Limbaugh shirt, sounds like he was a character too.... Great story :)

What a great question!
My dad would not have read it. However, if by some miracle he did, he would have written it off as SciFi nonsense. Since the Gulch is not a therapy group, I won't go into it any deeper other than to say, that if my dad read it and actually liked and understood it, both our lives would have been much better and happier.

It will be nice if he listens, then wants to read it.😊

My father was an english teacher for his career. He read Atlas Shrugged and turned away from it. He never recommended it to his high school students. I am glad I was introduced to Ayn Rand by db who coaxed me into reading the Fountainhead first. I had the priviledge and pleasure of signing Pirate's copy of AS last night. guess which page?

I hear you. My father as a youth became a democratic socialist volunteering at rallies held by a guy called Alfredo Palacios. He continued into his fourties with his socialist ideals, but while reading a conservative newspaper in the 70's he started to change his philosophical ideas, by the turn of the 80's he was a conservative, and by 1983 he helped to start a pro conservative party in my city. By 1985 he was in his ideals a libertarian, and was actively studying Human Action by Von Mises, al well as works by Hayek and other austrian thinkers. I also had the same ideals, we worked together in the party to spread the ideals of freedom, although it was very difficult to convince people on the street with a fascist mindset . One day, shortly before my father passed away, a guy that was known to my father dropped by my home a left a copy of the Virtue of Selfishness. That is how I came to know the ideas of Ayn Rand.