[higgmeister]

Almost everyone I ever worked with in forty years tried to live beyond their means.   My Dad always said live within your means.   I am 71 years old and my wife and I get by on what we have.   I am by no means well off but my Dad's favorite poem was "The Village Blacksmith" and he could recite it at the drop of a hat.

Under a spreading chestnut-tree
⁠The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands,
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long;
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.

This poem is in the public domain.

The bold emphasis is mine.

[ladyjane]

What a wonderful story about your father who would recite Longfellow’s The Village Blacksmith. Longfellow lived in Cambridge, MA on Brattle St. His house is still there and you can take a tour of it. The village blacksmith was a friend of his who lived on Brattle St. Sometime you might enjoy going there and visiting the house and the site where the smithy worked.

Brattle Street is where many of the Loyalists lived prior to the Revolutionary War. It’s sometimes called Tory Row. Most of the Loyalists were forced to leave town, many moved to Canada or England. Their church still stands today, still with bullet holes in the side of the building. It was boarded up for a 15 years after the revolution but the building is still there now.