#86 - Be Debt Free

Be debt free.

-Love Dad

#85 - Bragging

Let some one else brag about the cool thing you did.

-Love Dad

#84 - Alvin Dark Quote

"Friendships are forgotten when the game begins."

-Alvin Dark
Former Manager Kansas City A's

#83 - Happy Birthday Momma!

Don't forget your Mom on her Birthday.

A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday

but never remembers her age.

- Robert Frost

Happy Birthday Momma!

We Love You!

#82 - Dance

Never turn down a girl's invitation to dance.

excerpt from: 1001 rules for my unborn son

#81 - Shhhh

If the teacher forgets to assign homework, keep quiet.

excerpt from: 1001 rules for my unborn son

#80 - Proverbs 26:12

See that man who thinks he's so smart? You can expect far more from a fool than from him.

Proverbs 26:12 (The Message)

#79 - Friends

A gentleman does not keep reminding his friends about their past mistakes. If he finds that he is getting tired of the same old problems occurring, he might want to think about getting new friends.

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

#78 - Forgive and Forget

A gentleman knows how to forgive and forget.

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

#77 - Accepting an Apology Do's and Don'ts

Accepting an Apology - Do's & Don'ts

> You Do

Say, "That's OK," when someone apologizes.

> You Don't

Say, "That's OK, just don't let it happen again," or "That's OK, but try not to be so stupid next time."

> Why

It's not fair to pretend to accept a person's apology and still try to make that person feel rotten. When you accept an apology, it's best to use as few words as possible - especially if, deep inside, you're still feeling angry or upset.

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

#76 - Accepting an Apology Do's and Don'ts

Accepting an Apology - Do's & Don'ts

>You Do

Forgive someone when he or she says, "I'm sorry." Then you move along as if the mistake never happened.

>You Don't

Let yourself be taken advantage of. If your friend's dog chews up your comic book every time you loan him one, you may still accept his apology - but you don't have to loan him any more comic books.

>Why

Being a gentleman does not mean you have to let people treat you badly. Sometimes, if someone does the same inconsiderate things or hurts your feelings over and over again, you may want to keep your distance from them.

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

#75 - Accepting an Apology

Accepting an Apology

Let's say a friend's dog has chewed up a comic book you let your friend borrow. The friend says, "I'm sorry." You might respond in one of two ways. You might say, "That's OK. Stuff like that happens." Or you might say, "You idiot. Why did you leave my comic book lying around where your dumb dog could eat it?"

Sometimes, it's hard to say, "I accept your apology." But most of the time it is the right thing to do. Because you want to do the gentlemanly thing, you try to put yourself in your friend's place. If it had been your dog that destroyed your friend's property, you would feel miserable. You would hope that your friend would give you a break, so you try to cut him some slack as well.

If your brother forgets to replace the toilet paper roll after he has used the last of it and he says, "My bad. I'm sorry," you accept the apology. Similarly, if the server in a restaurant brings you a sandwich you didn't order, and he says, "I'm sorry. Let me make that right," you accept the apology. After all, that's what you'd want them to do for you.

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

#74 - How to Tie your Shoes

How to Tie Your Shoes

#1 First you take one shoe, and lace it up with your shoelace.

#2 To lace it up, criss cross your shoelace over and under the holes in your shoe.

#3 When the ends of your shoelaces meet take one end, lay the other down, then go over and under your laid down end.

#4 Take one end of your shoelace and make a loop.

#5 Take the other shoelace and wrap it around the loop.

#6 By doing that, you will make a smaller loop.

#7 Put the middle of the shoelace you haven't looped, through the small hole.

#8 By putting your shoelace through the hole, you make another big loop.

#9 Pull on the big loop very hard, this will make it tight.

#10 That's how you tie your shoe!

#73 - Talk to Her

Try to approach and engage a pretty girl in conversation with no prompting from anyone. She might not want to talk. She may even tell you to go to hell. But then again, she might not.

-Love Dad

#72 - Ask for the First Kiss

Ask her permission before going in for the first kiss.

-Love Dad

#71 - Open Doors for Women

Open doors for women.

It does not matter if it is a pretty girl, an old woman, a mom with her kids, or 5,000 women walking out of a woman's convention - you hold the door open until the last one walks through.

-Love Dad

#70 - Salt & Pepper

Salt & Pepper should be passed together, even if the request was for only one.

excerpt from: 1001 rules for my unborn son

Check it out

You may have noticed the little bookshelf to the right of my blog. Vanessa found this new website and shared it with me. It's called shelfari.com and it is a great place for book reviews and to scope out new books you may want to read. All the books currently on my shelf are books that I own that I've either read or plan to read in the future. Additionally, a lot of the books on my shelf are books that I've used for ideas for my blog. Check them out to see if we like some of the same books or maybe you'll find one that interests you too.

#69 - Character vs. Reputation

Character is made by what you stand for; reputation by what you fall for.

-Love Dad

#68 - George Mikan Quote

"You can have all the talent in the world, but if you're not interested in making full use of that talent, victory is unlikely."

-George Mikan
Center, Minnesota Lakers

#67 - Beards

Try growing a beard one day, just to have the experience.
Then shave it off.  Or keep it.

-Love Dad

#66 - I'm Sorry

A gentleman knows that saying "I'm sorry" will not mean much if he does not try to do better. You can only get away with forgetting to feed the dog so many times before your parents, and the dog, start to growl at you.

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

#65 - Apologize

A gentleman does his best not to offend anyone on purpose, but if he realizes that he has offended another person because he didn't think before he spoke or acted, he immediately apologizes.

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

#64 - I'm Sorry

A gentleman who has offended another person, says, "I'm sorry."

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

#63 - Making an Apology Do's and Don'ts

Making an Apology - Do's & Don'ts

> You Do

Say more than "I'm sorry" if the occasion calls for it. For example, if you throw a baseball and smash the neighbor's window, you say, "I'm sorry I broke your window. I'll make sure it gets replaced." If you can't afford to pay for something you have broken, you can offer to work out an arrangement that will allow you to correct your mistake. Maybe you can work out a deal with your parents so that they will give you an advance on your allowance, or maybe they will let you do some extra work around the house to earn the money you need.

> You Don't

Assume that saying "I'm sorry" always gets you off the hook.

> Why

A gentleman knows that sometimes a few words are not enough to fix a mistake. Part of growing up is learning what you really need to do when you've damaged some body's property or hurt another person's feelings.

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

#62 - Making an Apology Do's and Don'ts

Making an Apology - Do's & Don'ts

> You Do

Say, "I'm sorry," and mean it.

> You Don't

Say, "I'm sorry," if you don't really mean it or if you're just trying to get somebody off your back. People are smarter than you think; they know a phony apology when they hear one.

> Why

Being a good guy means that you admit it when you do things that hurt or inconvenience other people.

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

#61 - Making an Apology

Making an Apology

There are plenty of times in life when you will want to say, "I'm sorry." When we make mistakes, it is best to go ahead and admit them. You may need to say, "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings," "I'm sorry I left my pocket knife on the couch and you sat on it," "I'm sorry I used the last of the toilet paper and forgot to put in a new roll," or even "I'm sorry I spit in the air and the wind caught it and it hit you in the face."

You probably can make your own list of times when you will need to say, "I'm sorry" - because everybody makes mistakes and does stupid things. A gentleman tries to make as few mistakes as possible, and if you are lucky, as you get older, you won't make mistakes quite as often. If you try not to make the same mistakes twice, you will be relieved that you don't have to say, "I'm sorry," again and again. Better yet, people will accept your apology and forgive you for having screwed up.

excerpt from: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

#60 - Don't Hit Your Brother

Don't hit your brother.

-Love Dad

#59 - Whoabill!

Say "Whoabill" when you get hurt. Your Great Grandpa Turner taught me this when I was a little boy. I still use it to this day, and it actually works.

-Love Dad