(by Kyler)

I attribute these lessons to Dad. Some were direct and conscious. Others were simply from observation.

• Everyone has an interesting story. The trick is to talk enough to discover it, and then shut up and listen.
• The reason the truck is in the ditch is not because the driver is a moron. It's because it was night, we were in a hurry, and the crossing was too narrow. Just go get the tractor. Put in a wider crossing in the fall.
• Never tell a child "no". Either avoid temptations or yield to them.
• Love your neighbor. He might just let you put some drainage tile through his field.
• Be kind. Be gentle. It doesn't matter why.
• Proof of being correct comes through waiting, not yelling.
• Life is exciting. Enjoy today, expect Great Things from tomorrow.
• "Problems" are what make life interesting. Enjoy working on them, revel in solving them, and learn from getting smacked by them.
• Check that the implement is still folded before crossing the bridge.
• It's better to give than to be taxed.
• Keep your eye on the ball...and use protective eyewear.
• "Praise in public and criticize in private." He says this a lot, but I don't think he even criticizes in private.
• If you're uncomfortable with a business deal, beg off to discuss it with your partner.
• I haven't distilled the precise lesson from this yet, but Dad explained to me how his partnership with Grandpa worked. When he first came back from college, he had lots of new ideas about how to run the farm. They butted heads. Eventually they settled in to always doing whatever either of them wanted to do. This seems a bit naive, but it worked for a long time.
• If a kid shows an interest in driving, tell him to take the wheel. As you head toward the ditch (or the side of the overpass), he'll eventually take it despite any initial reluctance.
• The best place to teach how to drive a manual transmission is in a fully-loaded grain truck at a 15 degree angle in a ditch. Use soothing words of encouragement like "Don't tip it over."
• Sometimes you need to kill. Respect your prey.
• Don't leave the house without at least one pair of pliers.
• Don't wait for the county to mow the roads. Part of farming is keeping the land attractive.
• Weeding fields by hand and picking up spilled grain do not have to make economic sense.
• If you're stuck, stop.
• Kids believe what they're called. Try "genius" instead of "dummy".
• Adults make mistakes too. (Or, "that's not the first time someone's broken the auger arm on that combine.")
• Don't remind people of their mistakes. They'll remember enough of them on their own.
• As long as you can't read an entire newspaper article through it, it still qualifies as a shirt.
• Get outdoors. Stay protected from the sun.
• Exercise cures most ailments.
• The key difference between most of the people who show up in Police Beat and the rest of us is that they got caught.
• When you have to leave your bed in the middle of the night to have a chat with the police, stay friendly and leave reactions until morning.
• Do what you do best. Find people who do the other things best and appreciate them.
• If you can trust someone to work for you, you can trust him to keep track of his own bill.
• Honesty should not need to be considered.
• It's o.k. to be ambitious and take pride in accomplishments of work. If you're not proud of and excited about what you're doing, find something else to do.
• Every kid needs to excel at something he loves.
• Education provides the opportunity to discover passions and the tools to pursue them. It is never a waste of time, regardless of its immediate usefulness.
• Being "in the public eye" is a responsibility. It means being "squeeky clean" and giving up some privacy.
• Even if you can't reach the ball in time, hustle!
• Stocks are for buying, not selling.
• Mutts are the best dogs. They have "hybrid vigor".
• German Shepherd Dogs are the best dogs.
• The real cost of that combine is about half what we paid after we consider taxes.