When I Was Fourteen
Posted: Friday, July 29, 2011
by John Waddey
firstcenturychristian
Frank Sinatra had a hit song about when he was 17. Looking back there were lots of things I thought I knew but did not, many things I needed to know but had not yet learned them. Looking back reminds me of the old saying that "hindsight is far clearer than 20/20 or foresight."
• I wish that I had been kinder and better to my younger brother. Now we are great friends, then I thought he was in my way. How dumb I was.
• I wish now that I had been better behaved at school. I was not a delinquent, I was not a rabble-rouser, but neither was I the quality of student I could and should have been. My teachers deserved better.
• I wish I had not been in such a rush to grow up, get out of school and get a job. I missed a lot of fun that others had in their teen years.
• I wish I had not picked up the bad habit of cursing which most of my buddies commonly used. It was a tough habit to break.
• I wish my folks would have provided me some martial arts training so I could have done a better job defending myself against the school bullies.
• I wish I had known then the real dangers of smoking tobacco. In the 50s virtually every boy in Tennessee thought of smoking as his passage way to adulthood. Luckily I only smoked for a year or two, but now I know even that was too much.
• I wish that I had known what I wanted to do with my life. At that point I had absolutely no idea what my course in adulthood would be.
• Looking back I wish I had gone on to college, as soon as I had completed highschool. It would have been a great advantage to me in the early years of my career. As it was I did my college work over several years.
• Looking back I wish I had taken time to learn to read music. I had natural musical ability. By 14 I was already playing four different string instruments, with no musical training. I was good enough to play in semi-professional bands and live radio broadcasts. Not taking time to learn to read hindered me from being able to learn more advanced and more difficult music that I soon came to love.
• Looking back, I wish I had been more diligent in attending church and Sunday School. Like a lot of dumb boys, I was too busy having fun. Soon I learned better. But I started adulthood with a very limited amount of Bible knowledge.
• In hindsight, I wish I had been more attentive to the moral and social instruction that my dear mother gave me. One of my saddest moments was the time she sat me down and talked to me about my behavior. I saw tears pour from her eyes. Those tears are still fresh in my memory after nearly 60 years. I survived my teen years in large part because of her loving counsel.
• Looking back, I had several very close calls with death. Mainly because I ignored the advice of my parents. One I nearly drowned. Once a speeding car almost hit me. Once my buddy and I were almost involved in a motorcycle wreck. We miss hitting a truck only by inches. In each of those cases I was ignoring my parent’s advice about safety. Thank God I survived. From where I stand today, I would not think of taking those chances.
• I tried hard to help my daughters make better use of their teen years. I am grateful they did.
So much for looking back at water long gone under the bridge. Next time let’s look at what we can do with the rest of our lives.
John Waddey
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