My father, Robert Earl McDaniel, was a very wise man. Like most children, though, I never realized it until I had children of my own. He told me many things that I have used and passed on through the years. Maybe some of these can help you.

"In the fields of human endeavor,

You can never be too clever.

For there is always a however

In life." and

"When you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror, you don't have to see chip or child. You only have to see yourself. Now, if you don't like what you see, can't nobody help you. But if you do like what you see, can't nobody hurt you." and

"Going to church is like being in Noah's Ark. With it raining, you had to close the windows. With all those animals in there, it had to stink. The close quarters had people getting on each other's nerves. Some days had to be especially taxing -- BUT, the worse days in the ark was still better than the best days trying to swim" and

"Always be careful how you treat people. The same folks you pass on the way up, are the very people that pass you on the way down."

Just to show you it might be inherited, my daughter, Nadirah Aubree Mbaruck, gave me a piece of advice, also, that I try to live by.

"You've got to work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like nobody's watching!"

So, you truly can learn from the young as well as the old. We have a tendency not to pay attention until we become old ourselves. However, and there's always a however in life -- if it's any comfort, your kids will be the same thing way.

There's nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastics.