Old Things, New Things

From L to R: the company logo, my parents, my brother getting in a last hurrah.

Gentle Reader,

Last night we honored my dad, Steven, for 30 years and 10 months of exemplary service at Valley Best-Way Building Supply.

And yes, we did try to figure out how to remove the gigantic beaver from the side of the building. It would make an excellent, and slightly creepy, trophy.

There are a lot of things about how this transition went down that make my family angry, but instead of writing about that, I want to take a moment to publicly thank my dad. He worked so hard all those years, without much recognition from his bosses and definitely without fair pay. He did so because that’s his nature. He’s loyal. He’s trustworthy. He tries to build up rather than tear down. He’ll do whatever he thinks necessary to support his family. As he moves into a new job, I know that he’ll bring all of these qualities with him and the business will be that much better.

Thank you, Dad. Thank you for teaching me the value of hard work. Thank you for being a man of decency and integrity. Thank you for putting up with all the stuff you put up with to keep the bills paid, a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs. I’m privileged to be your daughter. I’m honored to be your friend. Whatever happens next, I know that you will be a success in all the ways that truly matter.

I love you.