<font color="yellow">As for my dad; the older I get the more I realize how smart he was. Maybe not in formal book learning, life and WWII got in the way of that, but he had common sense by the truck load and read most every time he stopped moving.</font><br /><br />My dad passed away a couple of years ago. Since then, my respect for him has soared. It's not that I didn't respect him while he was alive; as I've assumed some of his tasks around the house, I'm just blown away how organized he was, how much forethought he put to things that would have to be done years off, storing the necessary tools in place for the moment in the future when he might not be alive anymore.<br /><br />WWII got in the way of my dad's education too. He went to night school for years, amassing enough credits for three different bachelor's degrees.<br /><br />I'm a musician. My job is to organize sound. I often have to plan ahead and think ahead to make an arrangement or a performance great. The rest of my life is pure chaos. My dad was loudly "unmusical". He played JP Sousa marches that annoyed everyone.<br /><br />It wasn't until after he passed away that I realized the intellectuality he passed on to me that manifests itself every day in my music.<br /><br />Your stunt required planning, risk assessment, and the balls of an extremophile <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />. I have done musical performances that many would consider the equivalent of a BASE jump in terms of peril and risk of complete disaster.<br /><br />btw, I think any successful farmer must have a broad and complex education in the "real world", whether it comes from books or not. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>