Les is More

I am 21 and will be 22 in March and over this short yet long period of time, I have been able to learn many valuable lessons in life from my dad. Perhaps the most important of these lessons is that life is going be tough sometimes. A lot of the time, in fact. But it is during these times that we must always get back up no matter how hard the struggle is and keep on going.

My dad will be the first one to admit to you that life has been no easy road for him at times. He will also admit that, though he is aware that life is no only hard for him, it sometimes seems like it is. As a grown man I have watched my dad face many struggles in his life as most sons will see as they start to grow and grasp a better understanding of how the world operates. He has faced difficulties within the workplace. He has faced difficulties within his marriages. He has faced difficulties with himself. As long as I can remember and think back, I cannot think of a single time where my father has just given up on something. He may talk about it or give it serious thought, but at the end of the day, he knows what the right thing to do is and always does it.

My dad and I are very close. We do not see each other often due to the fact that I attend school 9 months out of the year in Lynchburg while also working there, but we talk on almost a daily if not bi-daily basis. We can talk about anything and usually do. The thing I find the most humorous about our conversations in the past couple of years is how I get to be the one giving advice about college and school work :) He is in his second year at the Apprentice School for the shipyard in Newport News. It is always fun to give my old man a bit of advice and rub it in a little until he fires back with, "Well I may be 46 and just starting out in college, but which one of us is the college athlete?"....Dad is on the golf team. That's right. My dad is a college athlete. Me not playing college baseball was a choice (not that I had teams lined up to sign me) but still he is right and there is nothing I can say. Dad wins...again. And that is the point that I am trying to make. My dad always wins.

After he and my mom got divorced when I was very young, our relationship was, honestly, not a very good one. He worked third shift and I lived with my mom. When I did go to my dad's house, it was always very boring to me. He slept because he had worked the night before or if he was awake it was just strange for me to be there without my mom. My dad, however, did not let that become the trend after a while. These are not the things I want to write about though, as they are very personal between he and I but I want the reader to get an idea of the background.

Time went on and he got me involved in baseball. I have had many coaches in my life and I can honestly sit here and tell you that the best coach that I have ever had is my father. He always pushed me harder than any other coach. He expected more out of me. He saw my potential and never allowed me to fall short. His philosophy for me was this: You do not have to play, but if you do, you are going to be the best that you can be. He made sure of it too. Because of work he never got to coach me on the field except for twice. One of those times was my senior year of high school. Man, I cannot tell anyone how much it meant for me to have my dad in the dugout with me every game that year. It remains one of the most special things that has ever occurred in my life.

The past is the past and this is now. My dad works harder then most men that I know and is well on his way to a lucrative career in the shipyard as I mentioned before. He has overcome obstacles and boundaries and proved nay-sayers wrong to get where he is. It has been a long road to get here only to cross a few more bridges but such is life. The older I get, the more I learn, not from what he says but what he does. He has never given up. He told me on the phone one day while I was living on the dorms how proud of me he was. He said that he could not tell me how happy he was that I went away to go to school and pursue a career doing what I love. He always told me that he does not want me to live my life the way he has lived his. Every father, no matter how successful, I think always wants better for their kids. My dad loves me. He wants better for me. My question is, how many qualities about a man are better than realizing mistakes and always fighting back? The discipline that he taught me in life and through sports play a huge part in who I am today. The times we have shared together have made me realize what kind of father I want to be. My most fond memories of my dad and I are simple. They were the times when we would go to the Farmer's Market and get Yoohoos. I cannot wait to have a Yoohoo with my son one day. I will tell him how me and his PawPaw used to go and do this and then I will look back and smile like I am doing while writing this.

Rough times and bumpy roads in life are inevitably plentiful in my future, no matter what I do. I am proud to say among the many people who will be there to help me along the way will be my daddy. Les White is a friend. A co-worker. A son. A brother. A COLLEGE ATHLETE. But to me...Les is more. He is my dad. Sons always want their dad's approval in everything. It is natural. I love my dad and I want to make him proud. So, Dad, I hope I don't let you down in the years to come. I love you man.