Teacher

Most people know that Dad had a lot of jobs over the course of his life. (We used to joke about trying to make a complete list of them when he retired. Now that he won't be switching careers anymore, I would still like to finish that list, but I don't know that there is anyone who knows all the jobs Dad held through the years. ) One of the things that not a lot of people know is that Daddy graduated from Mississippi College with a degree in accounting. However, the way I understand it, he minored in all of the sciences they offered. I don't know if it was because of that formal education, but Dad had a way of applying the concepts of science to the here and now that most people just don't have. There are several phrases that we learned as little girls that I didn't truly understand until I was in college.

Some of Dad's favorites:

Gravity works.
Metal remembers.
Inertia.

Let me explain.
There were times I would think that I needed to secure something to the floor - say for example, a rug. Dad would find this to be unnecessary, because, "gravity works."

If a metal part on something was bent - in this case, let's say it was a fender - Dad would suggest that we "coax" it back into place, because, "metal remembers."

If you expressed concern about crossing a wooden bridge that had looked like it was about to fall in for as long as you have been alive, Dad would simply remind you that it was easier for the bridge to hold together than to fall down, because of inertia. (An object at rest stays at rest...).

He taught us to look at things in ways other people never see them.
He helped us to see the big picture.

So, in addition to the many other jobs Dad had, he was an amazing teacher.