I am thankful for the hard work ethic my parents taught me, even though as a kid, work was not my thing -- I would rather play or do nothing. There was plenty of time for play in our home, but we were also expected to work. Two of the first jobs I remember were subbing for my brother Doug’s paper route (those papers were heavy!) and mowing people’s grass. I couldn’t start the mower, so my brother Tom would go with me, start the engine, and then tell me not to stall it! No riders in those days only push mowers. Some of those days were unbearably hot and humid, but I kept going--and lived! Later, I had my own paper route and worked on a farm on Saturdays and in the summer. Some winter mornings the mercury would be down around 20 below, and some summers it must have been 150 in the barn mow- at least it felt like 150! But we kept going and had fun too, because it was a challenge; and we could look back with pride at what we had accomplished. ...