Father's Day, Part II

It just so happened that I started this blog in May of last year, so one of my earlier posts was on Father's Day about my dad. I've mentioned him a couple of times since then. And, since it is indeed Father's Day, I thought I would throw another little nugget out there.

Okay, two more stories about dad involving his reputation:

First Story:

I grew up in a small town. We had a sod farm, which meant we had several tractors. We not only had our own land, but we also leased land from several people. Often times, to get a tractor from one piece of property to another, we simply drove them. I've spent lots of hours driving tractors, forklifts, and other equipment down the highway.

On one such occasion, I stopped at a gas station and filled up the tractor I was driving with diesel. I topped off the tank, went inside...and realized I didn't have any money. No one was home, and this was WAY before the days of everyone carrying a cell phone.

So what did I do? Simple.

I went up to the counter and said, "I just filled up my tractor and realized I don't have my wallet. Can my dad stop by later and pay?"

"Aren't you Bobby Butler's son?"

"Yes."

"Sure. No problem."

Like I said, simple.

Second Story:

Another time a friend and I were going to go fishing in a little pond on one of the properties that we leased. As we were driving across the property toward the pond, a truck came barreling across the field towards us and pulled up next to my window. The following conversation occurred:

"What do you boys think you are doing?"

"We were gonna go fishing."

"Who told you could go fishing in my pond?"

"My dad said he didn't think you would mind..."

"Who the $%^& is your dad?"

"Bobby Butler."

"Oh...well...you boys go ahead."

And he drove off.

Needless to say, my friend and I were a little concerned from that exchange. We fished for maybe 10 minutes, but we felt so uncomfortable that we headed back to my house. When we arrived, the gentleman was already there, apologizing to my dad for using such colorful metaphors when talking to me.

My dad probably could not have quoted Proverbs 22:1 verbatim:

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

But he knew the truth of it, he believed it, and did his best to live it. He knew the asset and/or liability a man's (or woman's) reputation can be. His reputation around the small town that I grew up in was that he was a tough but fair, honest, hard-working man. His reputation around our home was that he rocked!