My Mom and Dad had kids at a very young age. They were actually kids themselves. My sister was a surprise and I, well, I wasn't expected either. After 5 years of marriage my parents divorced. My Dad lived 10 miles away and we saw him every other weekend, but I don't remember doing much with him as he worked so much. He married again and had two other kids, so his time was spent working trying to support everyone.
I do remember working with my Dad. In the early days Dad had "Linscott's Dairy" and drove a school bus with my Gramp in Bar Harbor. Dad would also drive around the MDI High School sports teams to events and games. My Aunt told me when my Mom came home from the hospital after I was born, there was a football game my Dad was playing in at Bar Harbor High School. She parked the car and left me in there as I was sleeping so she could watch the game and see my Dad play. I do remember some of the games Dad drove the school bus to as I went along once in a while.
Seems like every time we visited Dad was working. So, I kind of missed out on playing catch with Dad, helping him fix the car, watching him paint the house and other Father/ Son things. I did watch Dad work though. He worked hard. He worked long. When I was old enough, he hired me to help him work on the milk truck delivering door to door and filling up the coolers at the stores and restaurants in and around Bar Harbor. I worked 3 days a week, 8 to 10 hours a day for the summer. I just did the math and it comes out to 42 cents an hour! Call DHS!
Dad bought an apartment building with his second wife. It had a big cooler on the ground floor to keep all the milk. My stepmother and Dad opened a sandwich shop at Kebo Golf Course and my sister and I would sit at the 9th hole during tournaments and sell sandwiches, chips, soda and cookies to the golfers. I loved hearing the fire horn at noon time as it meant Linda and I could have lunch. The sandwiches were so good!
Dad then bought the "Ocean Drive Dairy Bar" in Bar Harbor and left the milk business. My sister and I also worked there, and I remember him always telling me I gave away too many French Fries on dinner plates, but I always wanted the customers to be happy. Every night after we closed, I could make my own ice cream sundae and believe me, I used most of our 18 flavors of Gifford’s Ice Cream! Dad kept working and sold the Dairy Bar, bought a wrecker, and opened Mount Desert Towing. At that time, his younger kids were in middle school and Linda and I were in college. Dad still worked 60-80-hour weeks. He started plowing snow and I remember him having 100 driveways! I plow right now and have just over 30 and it’s really hard work! He eventually sold the wrecking company and retired. He and his wife still go Florida in the winter, but the first spring Dad was back he joined a tour company in Bar Harbor and drove a trolley while giving tours in and around Acadia National Park. He still does that today.
While I never spent a lot of time with my Dad, I learned some really important lessons just watching him. I learned if you work hard enough, treat people with respect and kindness, and maintain a healthy lifestyle, you can provide a good lifestyle for your family and you'll be able to retire and enjoy your later years without too much stress and worries.'m not sure if I have developed such a good work ethic in life watching my Dad work so hard or remember living in a trailer all those years with my Mom, sister and brother and barely scraping by and not ever wanting to go back to that lifestyle. Ever since high school I've worked hard in every job I've ever done.
There is no difference in real estate. Many people think that this job is so easy. Did you know that over 80% of all real estate agents quit within 3 years? We've been in this area for over 30 years and we are entering into our 22st year in real estate. We have been so fortunate to work with so many great people and work very hard for those people. Being respectful and working hard is what I am used to doing.
It's going to be a great year in real estate. If you are planning a move this year or know someone that is, please call us. We love referrals and will work very hard for them. Real estate is not easy but if you would like to work with someone that is not afraid of hard work and doing what is necessary to do a great job, give me a call.