17

I wish my father had read Atlas Shrugged

Posted by richrobinson 10 years, 2 months ago to The Gulch: General
103 comments | Share | Best of... | Flag

I have mentioned before that my family owns a small business. While our earnings reports may not move the Dow Industrial Average it is all we have and it is successful enough to support us. My father began working at this business in 1962. Another in a series of jobs he took to help support the family of farm. As the farm fell on hard times dad quit school to help support the family. He married and soon had kids to support. In 1964 his father was murdered. Tough times became tougher. He ultimately became a full partner in the business we now own. Unfortunately his partner was stealing . He bought her out and while all is well I think if dad have read Atlas Shrugged we would have abandoned the thief who was his partner and we would be fine. She would be much worse off. As I thought of this tonight I wondered if other Gulch members wish their relatives had read Atlas Shrugged. It has a way of changing lives.

All Comments

  • Posted by helmsman5 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Agreed. I find joy in being productive and solving problems in life and at work,. We have had pain but are not consumed by or obsessed with it.. :)
    Regards.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by johnpe1 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    he was a patriot, LC in the army in WW2, forester,
    sears manager, marketing teacher, scrounger
    and good friend. . I was extraordinarily lucky. -- j

    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by johnpe1 10 years, 2 months ago
    my father did read AS. . on my recommendation.
    as a "devout Baptist," he took issue with Dagny's
    serial monogamy, and loved all the rest. -- j

    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    "I don't look back often but I do occasionally let myself think of how different I would be if I read AS when I was a teenager."
    I probably wasn't ready for it, although I would have benefitted some from it. I needed more practical guides to getting things done. I didn't find AS until I was 37.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by helmsman5 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Hi Zen, So difficult but necessary. Only two of us left, but my sister was similarly enabled and trained to take for life. You can't let them sink your ship.
    Regards.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by richrobinson 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Hi Dan. If you click on the "members" tab above it should take you to a link to start a new post for this. You can also see how many members are close to you. Good luck.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by $ Maree 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Hey Mama just saying from somewhere nearer antarctica than you are, that i enjoy your thoughtful points and like you, i enjoy knowing i can coommunicate with fellow producers. My first copy of AS came to me from a copper mine in NuiGini in 1984.
    I look forward to your views.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by Dan66 10 years, 2 months ago
    Hello, to anyone within 50 miles of Rowland, NC. I'm 50 from Florence, SC and Fayetteville, NC. Would like to get a dialogue going on a local level
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by Mamaemma 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Honey, that is one to remember.." Hope it makes her insides rot". I'm going to save that for a very special person or two.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by Ibecame 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The best revenge has always been your own success. It does you nothing but good, and eats like a cancer at the moochers.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by Zenphamy 10 years, 2 months ago
    My father passed when I was 6 and left my mother pregnant with the last of the 5 of us sons. But my mother could have benefited greatly from the reading in relation to how she managed the younger boys. She dealt with me much as you would expect a parent who had read AS, but with the others, she enabled their mooching and it stuck with them their entire lives. I finally was forced to shut them off around 40 just to save my sanity.

    An interesting thought experiment.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by richrobinson 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Definitely. As I remember it she told someone we wouldn't last 6 months without her. That was 25 years ago.
    Reply | Permalink  

  • Comment hidden. Undo