Life Lessons by Jamie Kirkpatrick

My friend the Dockmaster is descended from a long line of skilled Swedish woodworkers and furniture makers. He, however, became an electrical engineer, but continues to practice the considerable skills imparted to him by his ancestors and his neighbors in a small town in Upstate New York. One neighbor in particular, the grandfather of a boyhood friend, was a man named Gottlieb (Swedish for “Beloved by God”) Peterson, a highly skilled woodworker, particularly adept in the art of pattern making. (A pattern maker creates exact wooden replicas of metal parts and gears needed for large machines. The patterns are used to make impressions in special casting sand; molten metal is then poured into the open impression to make the actual part.)  Although he probably didn’t realize it at the time, old Mr. Peterson had a profound effect on the arc of my friend’s life.

Is this going somewhere? Be patient!

Mr. Peterson believed in the importance of doing any task to the best of one’s ability. To that end, he kept a poster on the wall of his pattern-making shop listing “Twelve Things to Remember.” (These twelve “things”—or so the story goes—were originally attributed to Marshall Field of Chicago department store fame in 1889.)  Years later, when my friend Dockmaster had an office of his own, he kept a copy of Mr. Peterson’s “twelve things” on his wall—maybe as a remembrance, maybe as a guide. Dockmaster recently showed me a copy of those long-ago “things” and I was gobsmacked. They are as true today as they were then, and so now, I want to share them with you. Here goes:

1. The Value of Time.
2. The Success of Perseverance.
3. The Dignity of Working.
4. The Pleasure of Simplicity.
5. The Worth of Character.
6. The Power of Kindness.
7. The Influence of Example.
8. The Obligation of Duty.
9. The Wisdom of Economy.
10. The Virtue of Patience.
11. The Improvement of Talent.
12. The Joy of Originating.

Now read the list again. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if each of us could practice all these skills, or even a modicum of some of these skills? What a better world we could create! What better people we would become!

We live in an age that seems to have devalued, or even erased most, if not all, of the items on Mr. Peterson’s list. We  power through our days, addicted to our devices, mesmerized by technology, dazzled by gold. Far too many of us live in a culture of excess that disregards all ethical considerations. We’re insensitive to all the beauty and diversity that surrounds us. Empathy, kindness, and respect have been marginalized. We’ve even swallowed Gordon Gekko’s “Greed is good!” repast, and now far too many of us believe that greed is not only good, but also necessary for progress and prosperity. (We’re even willing to overlook the fact that the “Greed is Good” philosophy was first espoused by Ivan Boesky, a notorious Wall Street inside trader!) Now, Mr. Gekko’s warped vision has been hammered into the platform of a once-great political party that currently controls two—maybe even three—branches of our government. How desperately sad!

I had dinner last night with three good friends, and I asked them how should we resist all the current abuses of power taking that are taking place in America every day. What pattern could we make to create the right tool for the job? None of my friends had a good answer, nor do I. So, I went home and reread Mr. Peterson’s (or Mr. Field’s) list, trying hard to believe we’re still capable of remembering what is good, true, and timeless. We can do better.

Can’t we?

I’ll be right back.

Jamie Kirkpatrick is a writer and photographer who lives on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay. His editorials and reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Washington College Alumni Magazine, and American Cowboy Magazine. His most recent novel, “The Tales of Bismuth; Dispatches from Palestine, 1945-1948” explores the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is available on Amazon and in local bookstores. His newest novel, “The People Game,” hits the market in February, 2026. His website is musingjamie.net.