Things I learned from Grandpa (George R. Burgess, Sr.)Honesty:
“You go to the same place for lying that you do for stealing.”
Integrity:
The doctor suggested that he could get financial assistance from Medicaid for grandma during her lengthy stay in the nursing home for Alzheimer’s. Grandpa responded “But I’d have to lie a little, wouldn’t I.” And with that he turned it down and bore the burden himself.
Although he went broke 2 or 3 times he never declared bankruptcy, as is the fad today. He paid off his debts and the debts of other family members because it was the right thing to do.
Value of Hard Work:
“I had to pull myself up by my bootstraps, and they were buried in a foot of mud!”
“If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”
Order/Tidiness:
“A place for every thing and everything in its place.”
He would always say about his tools “..just make sure you put it back where you found it.”
Taking care of things:
“If you’re going to borrow something, return it as good or better than you found it.”
Practice Makes Perfect:
Learned how to hang a door by practicing the night before starting his new carpentry job.
Courage:
After getting bucked off grandpa would tell us to get right back on the horse again. Also a good lesson in perseverance.
Taking care of grandma for all those years with Alzheimer’s was a good lesson for all of us in courage and perseverance. He said he wanted to be there to make sure that she got at least one good meal each day.
Perseverance / Pursuing a Dream:
Grandpa often told us how his dream was to farm.
- After going broke once grandma asked him what they were going to do. He said “I may have to pick sh@! with the chickens for awhile but we’ll make it somehow.” And make it he did.
- When just getting started farming before he was married he told the story of how he had to have a team of horses in order to rent ground for the next year. Having none he said he would have a team by spring. So he bought broncs and broke them and by spring he had a team ready to farm…more or less.
Leadership:
Grandpa seemed to be a natural leader. Part of it was that he could get along well with most people and part of it was that he always seemed to know what to do. He was definitely the leader of the Burgess family. He led by example…and orders when necessary. He trusted his gut feelings and provided advice and guidance to those who asked for it, and sometimes to those who didn’t ask but should have. He bailed out his brothers, took care of his parents and loaned money to kids, grandkids and helped friends and relatives when needed.
Ingenuity:
Grandpa pronounced it “ingenuity.” He didn’t always have all of the best equipment but made do with what he could afford. There are probably many examples of this but I can’t think of them right now.
Humor:
He loved to tell stories, jokes and had lots of one liners. I’m sure there is quite a list…
“You sweat less than any fat woman I know.”
“It was coming down harder than a cow peeing on a flat rock.”
“She was about two axe handles broad.”
Wisdom:
He told many stories about his life and the lives of others. There was always a lesson in these stories that he would point out at the end.
