I would have to say my Dad. He raised pheasants and quail with me when I was a child. I would help him build bird pens and take care of the animals. I always loved animals so it was a great bonding experience. And, I always enjoyed building things as well.
My Dad is a very good guy. I am lucky he is still around to hang out with and ask advice from. He was a hard worker, and was always punctual. He definitely was a good role model for my work ethic.
He could be moody, but I know now that some of that was the shift work at the mill. Sometimes he would work graveyard, and then we would have Christmas the next morning. Now I wonder how he did it. I would have been grumpy most of the time. I need my routine to be somewhat consistent to function.
I remember him always reading the newspaper with his coffee in his chair. I remember being terrified when I got a bad grade in school, not because he was abusive to me, but because I hated to disappoint him so much. I remember he shaved his beard off once, and I screamed and ran and thought he was a different person because he always had a beard.
Ultimately, he is the only man who has impacted me positively that I can think of at the moment. There have been others who have made me distrust people or made me reluctant to make connections. And, some that made me grow as a person in good or bad ways. I think all experience can teach a lesson of some kind. All my memories or choices have impacted me. Everyone I meet everyday can make an impact, and I can make an impact on them. I try to be conscious of that when I can.
The Infamous Jennisfora Strikes Again...or something like that 