Letter to a boy...

After a hectic weekend and crazy storms this morning I finally got around to opening the mail after dinner. In it was a letter for Vasi from my uncle Frank. Uncle Frank is my father's cousin, his grandma was my great grandma Lissa, who taught me how to sew and whose sewing items I still have in my sewing room. Uncle Frank never married or had children, and I always remember him riding a motorcycle and being very quiet. He was the only one of the four boys (my dad, his brothers and Frank were all around the same age) who served in Vietnam. I remember that was the answer to a lot of questions asked about Frank. The answer always given was "You know, Vietnam changed him, no one came back the same". I didn't know what that meant, and I probably still don't really understand. I always wondered if he wasn't in the war, would he have had a family? Would he have chosen a different career?

In the card was a gift of money for Vasi's college account and a small note, written on paper with "Things to do..." written on the top. I thought it was really sweet, so here it is...


Things to do....

- Pursue knowldge
- Don't hit your sisters (they'll get you later)
- Read everything you can get your hands on.
- Avoid war
- Get ourdoors to hunt and fish, learn self sufficiency and love of the land
- Love your Mother unconditionally, Fathers are the path to manhood, but your mother is your soul.
- Study Judo, very practical in the real world.
- Avoid war
- Watch what the rich do, and do it. Watch what the poor do, and don't do it.
- Study math, the man who is savvy with numbers always makes out better in life.

That's enough of the basics, there's lots more and you'll hear it for sometime to come from a lot of people. Trust only your family and your heart.

Good Luck Kid!
Frank

I tucked the note back in the card with the money, placed it back in the envelope and put it in the safe for him when he gets older, so he can read the wisdom uncle Frank chose to share with him.