Took on a new sponsee yesterday. Yesterday morning I attended the funeral of a friend’s 96-year-old dad. It was one of those funerals to which we should all aspire. Outstanding father, civic leader, businessman, philanthropist, poet, and philosopher. An overall success by most measures. The only blemish was that he and his late wife had been outstanding parents of the year and distinguished alumni at TAMU (come on, the Aggy war hymn as your funeral procession?) Anyway, as I was telling my new sponsee, one of my fears was I didn’t want my kids to remember me as a tragedy. “Dear old dad, such a troubled soul died drunk in a roadside ditch. So sad.” I was tired of being burdensome. That’s why my living amends are so necessary. Ego? Sure. Unhealthy? Not if my motivations are genuine. My dad might have been a no-good, dirty home-wrecking drunk for a while, but he made up for it in the 29 years he was sober and working a program. I’m optimistic that my life will follow a similar path. It’s the least I can do for my wife, her family, my kids and their families, and the rest of my friends and loved ones. Stop doing harm.