Hi, Dr. Laura:

When I was in tenth grade, my father caught me smoking marijuana.  He told me something I'll never forget.  "Son, there's three kinds of people in the world.  Those that make things happen, those that watch things happen, and those who say "Hey, man, what's happenin'? So, which one do YOU want to be?"

Every time I've had a decision to make, and every time I had to choose between ambition and laziness, I always remembered that day.  That simple lesson didn't contain many words, but it has lasted me a lifetime. 

My dad was part of America's Greatest Generation.  He survived the first wave of D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and (more importantly) three teenage boys who thought they knew more than the ol' man.  Men of his character seem few and far between nowadays. 

Rick