Lessons from a Lifetime of Wisdom
After retired Oak Park River Forest High School Spanish teacher Arthur “Art” Albores died at 94, his three sons looked back at his life and came away with a blueprint of sorts to guide their own.
Lessons from a Lifetime of Wisdom
- Never hesitate to order the bacon.
- If a young child hands you a toy phone, answer it.
- Never miss a parade.
- Carry a thin wallet.
- If you leave the barber without getting your eyebrows trimmed, you blew it.
- Always wear colorful socks.
- You can never have enough pairs of reading glasses — three is good, but 10 is better.
- Take naps.
- Volunteer at a homeless shelter.
- Remember to floss.
- Drink martinis but only sparingly.
- And, most important, be a part of your children’s lives without ever telling them how they should live them.
Lessons from a Lifetime of Marriage
- Buy flowers for your wife.
- Say yes to her wild adventures.
- Let her kiss your head tenderly.
- Let her tears be yours and your laughter be hers.
- Hold each other while you walk so you can steady her, and she can steady you.
- Guard her like she is the last flicker of a candle in the wind.
Arthur Albores and his wife Carole met at a party in 1971. People were hanging out, sitting on pillows (it was a thing back then), and Mr. Albores struck up a conversation. She was leaving the party when he stood and, in a loud voice, boldly asked for her number. She gave it to him but told a friend, "That guy is nice, but I don’t think I want to go out with him."
The next day, she went on a ski trip, broke a leg, and thought about the guy she’d met at that party. When she came home to the house where she lived with her parents, her father told her some guy named Art had been calling every day.
Five months later, they were married.
A Life of Service
Mr. Albores worked for decades as a Spanish teacher at Oak Park River Forest High School and then taught Spanish at Northern Illinois University for about another decade.
"He had a wonderful combination of sternness and lovingness that made him a great teacher and a great dad," said Peter Albores, who lives in Los Angeles, where he works in advertising. "We lived in a little stucco house in Oak Park, and in a second-floor bathroom there was a laundry shoot that went down to a wooden basket in the basement, and me and brothers would fly down it, and he’d hear a thump and come running down and roll his eyes and tell us not to do that, but he never yelled. He wasn’t a yeller."
Conclusion
Art Albores and his wife Carole were married for 53 years. The father’s views on their marriage left the sons with some of their fondest memories and life lessons. As they look back on their father’s life, they are grateful for the wisdom he imparted and the memories they shared with him.
FAQs
- What are some of the lessons that Arthur Albores left his children?
- Never hesitate to order the bacon, be a part of your children’s lives, and more.
- What were some of the lessons he learned from his marriage to his wife Carole?
- Buy flowers for your wife, say yes to her wild adventures, and more.
- What was Arthur Albores’ career?
- He worked as a Spanish teacher at Oak Park River Forest High School and Northern Illinois University.
