Murdock, I can vouch for what you say. When I was young I couldn't care less what my parents had to say. My brother and sister did extremely well in school and in adulthood. I was the proverbial f_ckup. My youth was a haze of causing $h1t, getting drunk, stoned and just being in trouble. I absolutely hated school and all forms of authority. My parents didn't know what to do, I simply couldn't care. How do you punish a teenager that doesn't give a rats ass. Anyway, the army changed things for me, I couldn't behave the way I did and things slowly changed. It took many years to settle down and gain control over my own life. I suppose my poor health, due to my childhood antics, eventually did the trick. There is nothing like waking up with a headache every day knowing that you probably caused the problem yourself.
I am quite sure that my old man is sitting up in heaven pi$$ing himself every time my daughter does something stupid. He must be saying "Its your turn now". When I look back at my life, which I don't like doing, I have many regrets. Most of all not listening to my parents. Of course I can't tell my kids about all these things but like Murdock says, I can be there to pick them up when they fall down, like my parents did for me. I can see myself in one of my daughters, she has the same "I don't give a damn attitude". I know better than to try and berate her for her make-up. She is what she is, the thing is to try and channel her stubbornness into something useful.
So Murdock, I know where you are coming from, I also lost some friends to drugs, alcohol, bike & car crashes, etc. Life sure ain't easy and the steetwise survive.
To quote Johnny Cash with a boy Named Sue
My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."
He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!
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