Life Lessons - from Dad and Uncle Bern

By: Dave Hoffman AKA Opa AKA Big Poppa Huff I have a dog, his name is Barney. Barney the dog is spoiled. 365 days a year Barney and I go for a walk, regardless of the weather, at 6 AM. One morning this past winter I awoke to hear the wind howling and the rain pinging off the windows.  Barney was awake and sitting at the bedside anxiously waiting for me. Okay Barney. I put on my flannel-lined jeans and my Lands End blizzard parka, grabbed an umbrella and his doggy leash, we were on our way. We completed our twenty minute walk and I was anxious to get home for a hot shower before work. Most of the time we enter and exit our house via our garage, today was no exception. Much to my surprise, when I tried to open the garage door, it was locked! At that moment the wind and rain seemed to pick up. Perfect timing. Flannel-lined jeans don’t help when they’re soaking wet.  It was then that I remembered for emergencies like this I always leave one of our windows unlocked so I could get int

By: Dad AKA Matt Popular opinion is to never judge a book by its cover. However, I disagree with this maxim based solely on that specific example alone. I don’t know about you, but I literally look at a book’s cover when I’m browsing a bookstore. If it doesn’t appear interesting, it’s time to move on. Same with people, we don’t always have time to get to know someone on a deeper level. It’s ok to form an opinion based on YOUR observations. That being said...be willing to alter your opinions. The other day, a friend of mine called an agent with a local insurance company. This was the first time he had ever called this particular company. He wanted to get some quotes on life insurance policies, which he told the agent up front.  The agent said he understood, then began referring to my friend by his first name, casually cursing during the conversation, and insisted on trying to sell him other policies too. Terrible first impression! It did not take long for my friend to decide that he w

By: Uncle Dave Yanetti I was a milkman.  Yes, I was a modern day milkman.  I delivered milk to dollar generals, restaurants, and mom and pop shops.  It was physical, dirty, smelly, sticky ,  and had an extremely early starting time (3-4am to be exact).  The main way to move product in and out of stores is to use a dolly.  When I first started I thought, no problem! How hard could that be?  Find your balance point and you are on your way!  Well,  it  turns out , milk is  pretty heavy .  Four gallons fit in on e  case and we wheeled in six cases at a time .   Twenty-four gallons at a time, m ilk is  pretty heavy .   On one of my first days, we s topped at a dollar store we had every Tuesday .  Entering this store proved difficult as you had to walk on a raise d  sidewalk with the milk and the door opened towards you.  To make this easy, my trainer recommended I put a crate down to hold the door open  while he went to the back of the store to organize the milk .  To o easy, the door