“Hard to Turn”
By Mark McIntosh
It had been a moment to truly cherish: hanging with 20-year-old son on a deck hovering above the soothing gurgle of Gore Creek in Vail, Colorado. Father and son, separated by distance and time, spending quality time together; he's reading business stuff on Kindle, I'm just beginning a new book.
We had just talked with his grandmother, my 75-year-old enigmatic mother. The condo, also occupied by darling girlfriend, precious daughter and our wonderful friends, the Lazo's, is quiet. I'm reading author David McCullough's highly-acclaimed book, "Truman."
The opening pages describe life in western Missouri back in the early to mid 19th century - the 1830's and beyond. This is where America's 33rd president, Harry S. Truman was born and raised. It was our nation's western frontier at the time. Thousands of farmers from Kentucky, Virginia and the Carolinas flocked toward the region's fertile soil and abundant timber. The invention of the steamboat, which allowed cargo, people and animals to be transported westward despite the Missouri River's opposing current, opened a new frontier for the adventurous. Americans packed their families and belongings and headed west - running to daylight is what I like to call it - in a quest for a better life. These pioneers, according to McCullough, relied heavily on three things: common sense, faith and hard work. Moving to, at the time, America's remote western edge is a great example of putting fear aside and allowed wonderment to win. I like that attitude a lot as well. I hope you do too.
I grew up in this area. The geography and demographics McCullough so wonderfully writes about was my childhood. Furthermore, I was raised with similar values that stressed the importance of hard work, faith and common sense. I'm really connecting with the book, my son's visiting from Los Angeles while taking a break from his fledging business career and the soothing sounds of Gore Creek continue to flow - it's a really great late summer Saturday afternoon for a dude from the Show Me State.
I glance at my maturing son, he seems happy and healthy, for that I'm very grateful. He has informed me of an interest in golf. I like that a lot too. The aspiring movie producer also tells me he'd like to use Grandpa Mac's clubs. I love that too. Those are my late father's clubs. I know, wherever "Mac" is right now, there's a smile on his face cherishing a grandson is hacking away with HIS clubs!
It's a very blissful moment to enjoy before turning attention back to the book. McCullough, in describing the brave who ventured west, suggests they were primarily of Scotch-Irish descent, Baptist belief and Democratic philosophy. Sounds like the marinade of my life. These early western Missourians idolized Andrew Jackson, our nation's seventh president. While reading this book I'm being reminded why childhood stomping grounds were named "Jackson County." The Tennessee native, known as "Old Hickory", was America's first president from west of the Alleghenies.
Smart, hard working and faithful people founded the area that fostered my formative years. Their descendants still live there and "good Midwestern values" are still taught there. A buddy of mine, Chester, from Kansas City, has a place in Crested Butte, Colorado. I love every time I visit the place because above the refrigerator - we got there often for hydration - hangs a sign encouraging others to "BE NICE AND MIND YOUR MANNERS."
But these early Missourians were not without their flaws. McCullough writes: "they could be tough, courageous, blunt, touchy, narrow-minded, intolerant, quarrelsome and obstinate." In short - my words - "They could be real pains in the ass."
McCullough then quotes an old Scotch-Irish prayer that seems to suggest the mindset of these western Missourians seeking forgiveness: "Lord, grant that I may always be right, for THOU knowest I am hard to turn."
The ending of the prayer really jumps out at me, "hard to turn." For us, this is just my opinion, having a defiant spirit is critical to success. The big challenge is deciding when to exercise this character trait. It can really help, or hinder, our lives - home, work and elsewhere.
I have a suggestion, take it for what it's worth: Let's try our best to be defiant in ways that honor us, nurture those dependent upon us and add value to the communities we serve. If we consistently demonstrate being "hard to turn" when it comes to comprising those beliefs, our futures can look as promising as those of the early western Missourians who had the courage to be limited only by imagination, not fear, in creating productive choices to the challenges they faced.
