Speech 3 – Andrew’s Site

Speech 3 Working Outline:

My Pops is one of the most important people in the world to me, without his guidance, I would not possess the few good traits that I do have, today. He is a hard-working, God-fearing, and loyal father who wants nothing but the best for his children.

My first memories of my father are of him working – why can’t dad bring me to school? He’s working. Why isn’t dad eating supper with us? He’s working. Why isn’t dad here to teach me how to ride a bike? He’s working.
1. As a kid I used to hate how much my dad worked, but as I grew older, I started to understand his commitment to his job.

If it wasn’t for work, there would be no car to drive me to school; if it wasn’t for work, there would be no food to eat for supper; and if it wasn’t for work, there would be no bike to teach me how to ride.
This commitment to work didn’t stop when he got home, though. He only came inside to eat, sleep, and reply to work emails.

As soon as his car pulled in the garage, it was out of the khakis and into the jeans he went.
I soon-after learned from him, even when your day job is over, the work isn’t – the grass still needs to be mowed, the leaky faucet still needs to be fixed, and the dogs still need to be walked.
My father’s commitment to work has instilled a work ethic in me that is like none-other – I have had a job since I was 14, I never strayed away from a difficult task, and most importantly, I never gave up.

This work ethic can be attributed to many things my father has done, but there is an exact moment in my life that I can point to that shows where my work ethic came from.
It was the day after the 2008 election, the results were in, and they said that my pops’ retina was detaching. How did he know? Well this was the second time it had happened. And to those who don’t know what a retina detachment is like, its as if a curtain is closing over your vision, and once the curtain is down, your vision is gone, forever. As a matter of fact though, my Ma and I were unaware of this problem because my dad felt that his duty to the Boston Globe was more important on this particular day than the potential loss of his vision, and I hate to say it, but I agree. He eventually went into immediate surgery to fix his retina, but only after his duties as director were done – 10 hours later.

My father’s work ethic was not the first trait he instilled in me, however, it was his love for God that I learned before anything else.

Even though my Pops worked through countless little-league games, school recitals, and parent-teacher conferences, he never missed a Sunday at Church.
1. At a very young age, my dad made me realize that everything you have in life is because of God, and no matter how busy you think you are or how much work needs to get done, you never miss a day at Church.
  - My father’s commitment to God turned into my own commitment to God because as a child, you look up to your father as if they are the strongest man in the world, nothing can stop them, and to see a man so powerful bow down to another being, you can’t help but bow down, as well.
Of course though, as you grow older, you start to question; why am I bowing down to this God that I can’t even see, my dad isn’t always right, maybe he isn’t right about this.

I told my dad this, and he told me to wait, the time will come when there is nothing else left, nothing left to give, then you will have it all, and it is at this moment when you will see God with the most clarity. That didn’t prove anything to me, but I decided to trust my dad and just go with it, he hasn’t lived half a century believing in God if it’s all for nothing.
It wasn’t until this past summer, almost 10 years later, that I finally found meaning in my father’s statement. I was just riding along on my motorcycle like a typical Wednesday evening, and before I know it, I’m tossed onto the pavement going 35 miles an hour. Within a second’s notice I lost it all, I couldn’t even give my life at that point for it wasn’t in my control anymore, but before I know it, I’ve stopped sliding, everything is back in my control, and my faith in God is stronger than ever.
I have since spoken to my father about this and he doesn’t remember our conversation from a decade ago, but he did recall that nothing pushes you closer to God than a quick brush with death.

My father taught me to believe in God and also to work hard, but one thing he didn’t intentionally teach me, was to be loyal.

Though my father didn’t intentionally teach me loyalty, I still learned it from him through his actions.
1. As a young kid, most of what you learn is from what you see, and one thing I always saw was my pops’ uncanny ability to stick by someones side, no matter how far down the mountain they fell, my dad never left them.
  1. Specifically, my brother, who fought my dad at every turn, anything my dad told my brother to do, he did the opposite, he was a pain-in-the-butt, good for nothing kid who was throwing his life away.
  2. My dad never left his side, though, no matter how far away my brother tried to go or how much he tried to disconnect himself, my dad didn’t let it happen, after years he convinced my brother to settle down, get a decent job, and have some kids. Now I am a proud uncle who gets to see the benefits that come with being loyal, and I realize that your loyalty can be the difference between a life and a life worth living.

My Pops has taught me some of the most important things a man can learn in a lifetime. He has taught me the importance of hard work, the

Dry Run #1 – https://youtu.be/tXUXrT_T5TA

Dry Run #2 – https://youtu.be/dcRPvR2dvhw

Speech 3 Final Copy:

– hard-working, God-fearing, and loyal father

As far back as I can remember my dad has always been a hard worker
1. There are lot of things my dad has done

2008 election, retina detachment, Boston Globe
Pops commitment to work

Wasn’t work ethic but love for God learned first
1. Young age, pops told me all I have is from God
2. Grow older, form own thoughts
  - Told my dad, then he told me to wait, didn’t know what he said, just trusted him
  - Almost 10 years later, crash motorcycle, faith in God stronger than ever

Learned loyalty through pops unintentionally

Learned loyalty through actions
1. Brothers struggle with addiction, pops loyalty helped with job, wife, kids

– importance of hard work, power of strong love for God, benefits of being loyal, basic building blocks for good character