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Pop-Pop

We said good bye to Pop-Pop this weekend. He had 94 great years and his memory will live on as well as the many stories and tales of his life. Here is his Eulogy for those who wanted a copy of it.

Robert Canniff Weeks

Robert Canniff Weeks, we lovingly called him “Pop-Pop” was so many things. He was a son, a brother to 9 siblings, a father, a husband to Kay and Pearl (He always said “I was lucky enough to have two great wife’s”), grandfather to so many, a loving dog owner (Corky, Max & Lizzy), cat lover (He loved Charlie, Megan’s & Cody’s cat), great truck driver, motorcycle enthusiast (even when it was snowing out), friend to so many, Land owner to so many locations; Smith Hill where the “ball diamond was… “for all family to use”, Hundred Acres (which was originally only 50 acres, and when they purchased additional land adjacent to make it a hundred acres, they called it “All Up Hill”, The Lake Property, aka “Red Creek”, he loved the highest point and called it “My Park”, and other sections he called; The east end, the gravel pit, & wagon wheel.  Pop-Pop was most importantly a very proud Navy Man, serving on the USS Augusta which was the flagship for the invasion to Normandy and carried two US presidents, Roosevelt and Truman. Notably Pop-Pop was also a great softball player, winning the Senior World Series.

For those you might not know me, I’m Dan Rosica, other just say “he’s Keely’s husband”, You might be thinking… “why am I saying the eulogy today…?”.  I’ve known Pop-Pop as long as I’ve known my loving bride Keely, and for the past 15 months, Pop-Pop has lived with us in Livonia NY.  

As you can tell by my appearance, I love to eat, but more importantly, I also love family and can’t start a dinner without saying grace and having everyone sit at the dinner table together.  I would start off as my father, Red Rosica did, saying the standard “Bless us, Oh Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord, amen … and ALWAYS end with a special thanks to…. And add something that is on our mind that day, especially something that Pop–Pop would connect to.  Keely would always kiddingly jab me for going on way to long….  And Pop–Pop would always end the prayer with a “Thank You”.  I think he really enjoyed my prayer and in planning his own funeral, Pop-Pop requested that I say the Eulogy today.

 

I would like to offer special mentions to:

• My loving wife, Keely who cared for Pop–Pop, hugged him, got him to take a bath and kept him from tying rope around everything, including the shower head in the bathroom. 
• Uncle Bob, for always taking Pop–Pop out for a drive and spending hours upon hours reminiscing with Pop–Pop.  Pop-Pop loved the spot they found driving around Livingston County as the highest point and would park there.  He wanted to buy that property….
• Aunt Millie for keeping sense of all things and her loving way of convincing Pop–Pop of something.
• Uncle Norman for being the best brother possible and helping Pop–Pop with every major chore in his life. 
• Cookie (aka: Kay and Mike: So special in Pop Pop’s life, He really loved your chair…
• Art who helped Pop–Pop fix everything at Red Creek. He was Pop-Pops travel partner on the USS Augusta reunions.
• Brian and Scott for all their help. 

Plus, all those who I don’t have time to mention.

Pop-Pop did some really amazing things in his full, peaceful… and happy life…but it was also the little things about Pop–Pop, that made us smile, make us proud and make us who we are…So over the past week, I have put together a compilation of some of these little things that I  call…

Pop-Pop’s Rules for a Full and Happy Life:

➢ Save everything & anything you can….

➢ Don’t forget to watch The Lawrence Welk Show on Saturdays at 7:00 PM

➢ Make use of things, especially if they are made of Styrofoam and can be used as a seat.

➢ Find every opportunity to lagh

➢ Rope or string, can fix anything.

➢ Always find the funny in something and remember to laugh and smile.

➢ Tarps are god’s blankets, save every tarp you have ever owned.

➢ Always carry a pocket knife and wear your keys on string around your neck.

➢ Remember family first, especially your brothers and sisters

➢ Remember to misplace your wallet or car keys occasionally

➢ Always say Thank you, esp. after grace….

➢ Never forget a name

➢ Treat your friends with love and respect and cherish the healing power of family.

➢ Dents in your car are a measurement of pride.  If it’s broke down, park it out back.

➢ Wait… wait… don’t throw that out…we might find a use for that someday

➢ Read as many books as possible, hopefully on History

➢ Know where you’re driving, don’t drive the highway if you don’t have to.  Route One O Four is One Hundred Four.

➢ Be proud of your service to your country.  He was so proud of serving on the USS Augusta

➢ Be humble and don’t bring attention to yourself

➢ Compliment instead of complaining

➢ Shout out “Ahhh, that water tastes good”, same applies for “black coffee”

➢ Eat a meatball sub weekly, especially with extra sauce

➢ Always remember; Smith Hill, Hundred Acres, The Lake Property (Red Creek)

➢ know your family members birthday dates

➢ eat every morsel on your plate, scrape it with your spoon 37 times

➢ wait 2 hours for dessert?  Eat Coconut cream Pie as often as you can

➢ Do the crossword puzzle from the D&C daily.

➢ Dance and sing as often as you can, esp. in the supermarket

 

…….AND KNOW THAT POP-POP WAS SURELY ONE OF GOD’S FINEST, FINEST PIECES OF WORK….

 

Thank you

~djr

Dan Rosica

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New neuroscience reveals 7 secrets that will make you persuasive (this works)

Great read and impactful in work, home and with friends…. ~djr

Science_Backed_Ways_To_Have_Better_Conversations_Get_People_to_Like_You-800x450.jpg

Exec Summary:

Here’s how to use neuroscience to be more persuasive:

  • Prior Beliefs: Don’t start with how they’re wrong, start with common ground. (You may disagree with me on this but we both want to get better at persuasion, don’t we?)
  • Emotion: Make them feel and get your brains in sync. (Look! Smiling puppies!)
  • Incentives: Focus on rewards, not warnings. (Incentives will get you what you want, I promise.)
  • Agency: Give options, not orders. (Would you like to offer them two possibilities or three? Totally up to you.)
  • Curiosity: “Fill the gap” and focus on the positive. (The headline of this blog post was not chosen at random, my friend.)
  • State of Mind: If they’re feeling down, present the conservative option. If they’re feeling good, focus on the riskier upside. (Before I explain this further, how are you feeling today?)
  • Other People: Showing the popularity of your position helps. (Every smart person I know follows this rule.)