My Dad, My Hero

"Poor people have poor ways."

- John Heeb (that's my Dad)

I love that video. Every time I hear Jimmy V talk about "the gift my father gave me," and how he talks about how his father believed in him, I just smile. Because it makes me think about my dad.

I was at work one day this year, and somebody was talking about something that happened. I said something like, "That reminds me of the time..." and told a quick (LOL) story. The co-worker laughed and said, "you should seriously write a book."

Interesting stuff just happens to me.

But I come from a long line of story tellers. My Grandpa Heeb, aka John Dale Senior, would tell the same stories, over and over. I'll never forget my Grandpa coming to see me, like clockwork, every Saturday morning once I was "grown up" and living in my own house. He would pull up, and being totally honest, part of me would go "dang it... he's going to be here forever."

My Grandpa was a story teller. MAN OH MAN could my Grandpa tell a story.

If I heard the story of the Chaffee football dynasty once, I heard it a hundred times. If there were 10 people in a room, and 9 of us had heard this story a thousand times, guess what? We all got to hear it again for that one person who had never heard it yet.

The older he got, and the sicker he got, I started to appreciate those stories. I'd start to ask him to tell them again, even though I knew all of the words by heart. Heck, I could almost recite the stories back to him verbatim. I loved my Grandpa. When he died, one of his best friends told me, "You were his pride and joy. He was so proud of you." I told him, "I know. My Grandpa made me feel that way my whole life."

Well John Dale Junior, my father, is just like his dad. He's a story teller. Some of the land in Chaffee was donated by my family, hence the "Heeb Street" and "Heeb Creek." Uncle Otto had a prized mule. My personal favorite is the first time my dad met Ricky Thomas. (All of my brothers and sisters and friends are laughing hysterically right now... trust me... hilarious)

But my dad is my hero. I have a great mother. She's the sweetest, kindest, most loving-caring-decent person I know. God gave me a head start in life by giving me my mom. No doubt about it. But my dad is my hero. My drive, my work ethic, and anything "tough" about me... I got that from my dad.

I saw my dad literally break his neck and go back to work. I saw my dad have a migraine so bad he couldn't get out of bed. He got up and went to work. Broken fingers. Back surgery. You name it. The two toughest people I've ever met in my life are my dad and my brother Toby, who is more like my dad than anybody I know.

My dad taught me how to work hard. That quote at the beginning, that is really something my dad always said to me. He used to always say "Don't ever expect anything to be given to you, and you'll never be disappointed in life. Expect to earn everything you get." He would say, "If you're going to be a bear, son, be a grizzly." That was his way of telling me to be the best at whatever I tried to do. The best advice he ever gave me though was "work with your brain, not your back." He stressed to me that I was smart and I could have an "easier" life than he did and not have to wear myself out like he did to make a living.

A couple of months ago, my dad had a really bad fall. Thank God, he's okay now, but we had a scare. It made me think back to my grandpa and all those stories he'd tell and how much I miss him and how much I'd love for him to tell me one of those stories for the 1000th time. I'd gladly listen to it one more time if I had the chance.

So this goes out to my Dad, my hero. He's the toughest guy I know. There is no way I'd be who I am today without his advice and encouragement. Who was that person for you? Your dad, mom, grandpa, uncle, coach, best friend, etc??? We all had somebody in our life that tried to help us, guide us, encourage us, motivate us, etc.

My challenge for you today is to reach out to that person. Call them up. Tell them thank you. Who knows. Maybe youll reminiss about some old story :)

I love you, Dad.

#JWT