Most Influencial People in Your Life

That thread about what you do....I hope it goes on forever because it really is fascinating. But this is something I have thought of many times, the handful of people who literally changed the course of my life. So here goes, without names:
First, a professor at UC Berkeley who really allowed me to peer into the past, he was an archeologist and brilliant but with no academic airs.
2nd, I worked on a farm for awhile and the guy I worked for mostly, was a cowboy (calf roper), sheep herder, sheep dog trainer....he taught me what toughness was, quiet toughness, not the swaggering swinging d__k. type.
Last would be the foreman of a construction company I worked for....he taught me how to work.
And a final nod to Relson Gracie and the Brazilian guys I trained with for awhile in Honolulu who took tough to another level.

First and foremost would be JESUS !! Then my Grandpa they did not have much money, but when it came to meals or anything else he would wait to make sure everyone else got what they wanted, then he would eat what ever was left. He never missed work, and was never late. He never complained about nothing !! Next is a guy at work who introduced me to my SAVIOR by is words and actions, who talks the talk, and walks the walk.

Well, let's see. First off would have to be my biological father ..... for showing me in no uncertian terms what NOT to be.
That being said, the next would be my step-father for showing me you can be a hard man but still caring and loving.
I had a Chief in the Navy who taught me how hard I could push myself to accomplish something I didn't think I was capable of...and then do it agian.
My wife. For showing a tired, pissy, and disillusioned young man that the brighter parts of life were not gone, just that I had shut them out for awhile.
Lastly, my kids are showing the wonder of small discoveries.


Geeze, If I keep being all honest and open I'm going to have to take up knitting or something :)

Hands down, it would be my maternal Grandfather (as in, on my mom's side... :) ).

His father died when he was 8, leaving behind a wife, two daughters and a son. By age 11, in order to help make ends meet, my grandpa had to quit school, only reaching a 6th grade education, and take on odd jobs on various ranches nearby. As he grew, so did the jobs he took on until he found himself to be a real and gen-yoo-ine cowboy! In fact, he was on one of the last cattle drives down the Chisholm Trail.

As the world was changing, he found himself enlisting in the Army during WWII, eventually becoming a Sergeant First Class in a medical battalion. Having a last name of Bloomfield earned him the nickname "Flower Patch" from his fellow soldiers, though it was a term of endearment.

Once the war was over, he ended up in the insurance and loan business, and was successful. Eventually, he ended up serving as the President of the Georgia Industrial Loan Association. Having only a 6th grade education, he was definitely a self made man.

When he decided to retire, he opened a small financing company for residual income, as well as did consulting work from time to time for some close friends he had made in the industry, and he also purchased 80 acres of farmland to go back to what he enjoyed doing the most in life... raising cattle.

After my mom and dad got divorced when I was about 3, he was the one who stepped in and tried to fill the role of a father figure. He paid my allowance (which I earned through chores, not a handout), taught me about girls, taught me to shoot, got me into the Boy Scouts, put me in my place when I got too big for my britches and showed me what it means to be a man.

He was the one person I knew that would always have my back, no matter if I was in the right or not, and would help me in any way he could.

He died at 88 years old. On the day of his death, he had a steak dinner with all the sides that evening, and was laying in his bed looking out the sliding glass door to the back porch, with a view of nothing but the sun setting on the pastures he had bought and loved.

He is sorely missed, but never forgotten. I only regret that he never got to meet my son... the two of them would have been thick as thieves and peas in a pod.

My Pop. Miss him and think of him all the time. He was a good son, good husband,good father and exceptional Grand Father. I hoped he would make it to be a great Grand Pa, but that was not in his cards. He was all that a father can expect of a son. Loveya Pop.