_{*Quick Summary: The author discusses various things about the past with his father, William Myrick.*}

I’ve always been proud of my dad, no matter what he did for a living. We were not “poor”, but saying we were lower-middle class at one point in time would definitely be fair. He did what he had to do to extricate us from that. Dad would work two, and sometimes three jobs at once. He’d sleep during his lunch hours at each job when he had to.

I learned a lot about work from him. Both what I wanted to do, and what I didn’t. My first job was working alongside him at a gas station as a full-service attendant. He’d let me keep the tips I’d earn, and being so young, people would usually tip well because I did a good job and was polite. They thought it was cute to see a child my age doing things they were accustomed to seeing an adult do. I think back now realizing my parents needed that tip money, but I was too young and too impressed with my newfound “wealth” to understand that. Another in a long list of sacrifices made by my parents I would only realize as an adult.

I was obsessed with both heavy construction equipment and trains when he worked in those professions. For years I collected everything I could related to those businesses – die-cast models, hats, whatever I could get, all because I was proud of my dad and wanted to feel closer to what he did. I still have some of those loader die-cast and railroad hats. They will always be among my favorite memories.

We moved from Virginia to North Carolina, and Dad went to work at a couple of Hendrick car dealerships. This clipping is from City News, a City Chevrolet internal newsletter:

When he finally went to work for Hendrick Motorsports in the world of NASCAR racing in 1985, I thought he was the coolest guy in the world. So much so, I would strive to work alongside him. Having succeeded in that, I felt like I was pretty doggone fortunate.

Now years removed from all that, I still think the “Old Man” is pretty doggone cool! I saw a racing magazine for sale on eBay not long ago, and bought it remembering he was in a photo inside. It was a cool moment when it came in the mail and I opened right up to that page.

Here he is – my hero, in one of a few magazines he’s been in through the years: