*I originally posted this on Facebook on his birthday in 2020
August 4, 1917 - Lawrence McMullin was born.
To this day I can recite his social security number better than mine. He could barely sign his name. He couldn't read or write but he was smart as f*&%.
And even though I STILL struggle to forgive him, I can't help but think of him on this day.
The woman I am has a TON to do with the way he raised me. I wanted to reflect on some of his 'lessons' publicly.
He taught me everything I know about this game. And this game got me out of Small Town, USA and into college.
If I asked him a question he made me look it up, write a report on it and then present it to him. (I'd use encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc that he purchased).
I had to spend summer days reading Alex Haley's ROOTS, giving book reports, memorizing multiplication tables and writing.
There was no sleeping in. You wake up early and you put in work (chores, practice, read, etc...). Period.
If he was working on a vehicle or one of our 'food trucks', I had to be there to help out and pass the tools so I'd know a flat-head screw driver, crescent wrench, vice grips, etc....
I read all the mail that came to the house and wrote letters that needed to go out because he couldn't yet he knew the grades on my report cards.
If I 'half-washed' a dish, I had to re-wash ALL of the dishes. I guess to teach me to do it right and pay better attention.
Some of his favorite lines:
"You gotta have some gumption about ya-self!"
"Burn the midnight oil!"
"You have to work twice as hard!"
"You better know how to take care of ya-self so you don't have to depend on nobody for nothing!"
I could go on and on with the lessons. So while I may struggle with forgiveness, I damn sure acknowledge that my life would be waaaay different if God had not placed me in the house of Lawrence McMullin from 1st grade until I left at 18.
Lawrence 'Mike' McMullin - you live on forever in my head and in MANY of the lessons I pass on to kids I mentor and others. I am grateful our paths crossed.
THAT’S IT Y’ALL - see ya here next Sunday at 3:33p CT
You can message me on Instagram @SallyMcMullin
Hugs & LOVE Y’all,
Sally Mc