That bird of mine

I share a lot of things in common with my dad. We don't talk about our feelings like any good Hoosier, we both love women and a good drink, and we both like to gamble. I mentioned before that my dad worked on the railroad for at least 40 years. He once told me after I finished grad school that he always wondered why I didn't choose a job where I actually made something useful, you know, like most folks he knew. A little time and therapy cured that sting, but you know, that's how it is in the Midwest, especially when you're of a certain age. Practical, biting, direct. But there's more to a person than just what they say. Words are one thing, actions are another. My preference is for the later as is his.

So yeah, I'm not sure my dad's ever going to understand or appreciate what I went to school for or what I do for a living. That's okay. I always know where I stand with him. I also know he's never going to say what I know he feels, that's not his style and never has been. He'd rather show those things in his own understated ways. Ways that don't have words. I know that's driven more than a few women away in his life, he's not perfect. We're a lot alike. But I like to think I'm at least willing to take all that useful information I learned in school and make something useful, like a change. Or a widget. Or love, not war.

All of the above is an aside to the fact that this morning, I talked to my dad and we were discussing gambling (our shared vice). He won at poker on Thursday by having a pair of nines in his hands when a pair of nines came on the flop. But more impressive is that he told me that some of his friends were going down to Louisville for the Derby and he gave them a couple hundred dollars to bet for him. His instructions were to only put money on the horses that were 15:1 or higher. Bet every horse whose odds were worse than that. The big payoff. The horse that won today was one called Mine That Bird, a 50-1 longshot.

Say what you will, but people often play things too safe. Sometimes you gotta put your money where your mouth is. Longshots rarely win. But sometimes they do.



ETA: Update from dad, he had $10 on that horse so the payoff was $500.