The Book Ferret Lesson

When I was fifteen years old, I was determined to work as hard as I could and save up my money so I could buy my first car before turning sixteen. My mom instilled a relentless work ethic in my siblings and me. She taught us never to expect things to be given to us, but if we work hard to achieve our goals, nothing is impossible. The only thing standing in the way of what you want is your willingness to work for it. No excuses. It’s not up to someone else to make you successful; that falls solely on your own shoulders. So I worked my butt off that entire summer between fifteen and sixteen. I saved every dime. I had my first car paid for before I could legally drive it.

My first job that summer was digging footings for a man named Mr. Folds, who was building a new house. This was a few doors down from where my dad lived, so I was in the right place at the right time with a shovel in hand, ready to work. It was a cool job, but it was brutally hot and hard work. It was even better because I got to spend extra time with my dad during those days, since he would take me back home to my mom’s house, where I lived afterward. I later learned that the man I was working for had a famous son, whose song I’d listened to on the radio, and I was a little starstruck.

It was awesome to see someone from my hometown, or close enough, achieve that level of fame by pursuing their childhood passion. He didn’t live in New York City or have rich parents; he just followed his passion. This musician later went on to be nominated for multiple Grammys and became the artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for a time. How cool. I’ve never met him, but I may one day, since he lives just down the road now. Even if I don’t, it is still cool to know that regular folks can achieve great things if they let their passion lead. One day, I hope my story will have a similar resolution.

I quit working with Mr. Folds midway through the summer because the pet store I dreamed of working for accepted my application. I was elated. As you may know, I love animals, so this was heavenly for me at the time. Of course, sometimes the idea of something far outweighs the reality of that same thing. My first week working at the pet store relegated me, the new guy, to ferret cleaning duty, emphasis on the doodie. Ferrets are amazing creatures, but they’re absolutely disgusting. Still, the good outweighed the bad, and I was glad to be working alongside so many wonderful creatures. The people were okay, too.

There’s a lesson here, somewhere between physical labor and shoveling heaps of mustelid excrement. I imagine the moral is that if you want something, you’ve got to work for it. You must outwork your peers to rise above the fray, and sometimes it’s necessary to put up with shit others won’t to get to where you know you’re meant to go. You can’t be extraordinary by doing the ordinary. Nothing is going to be given to you. Nothing of any value anyway.

I’m fully outside of my comfort zone currently. Promoting my book feels like ferret work for me.

The irony of this article, this resolve at the end, and a funny aside is that my first event is coming up on Veterans Day, and you’ll never guess the name of the place. I promise I didn’t intend this, and I’m six paragraphs into this article and laughing at the full circle moment I’m having because I didn’t have this idea at the start of writing this piece.

The event for my book is at a local bookstore in Winston-Salem called the Book Ferret. As you’re reading this, I’m realizing the providential moment of epiphany I’m having about hard work, doing the things you don’t like, and making a way through passionate pursuit to chase your dreams. Funny how life works, ain’t it? I guess hard work DOES pay off in the end. This is only the beginning. You’ve got to earn it every single day. The work never ends.

_____________________________

Stan Lake is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker currently living in Bethania, North Carolina with his wife Jess and their house full of animals. He split his time growing up between chasing wildlife and screaming on stages in hardcore bands you’ve never heard of. He has been published by Dead Reckoning Collective, The Havok Journal, Reptiles Magazine, Lethal Minds Journal, and many others. He filmed and directed a documentary called “Hammer Down” about his 2005 deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in with Alpha Battery 5-113^th of the NC Army National Guard. You can find his books, collected works, and social media accounts at www.stanlakecreates.com

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.