Nurture vs Nature revisited
The discussion goes on with lay people and men of science. Is it Nurture or Nature that brings out the traits in families? We are all familiar with the Jackson Five in music, the Griffeys in sports and the Bush and Kennedys in politics. I would like to introduce you to the service side of the Bishop family, which runs as deep as the sport side, chronicled in the first Nurture vs Nature post.
Having lost all of my past history beyond my grandparents, I can only start with my father’s generation. My father was a great sports man and you can read about it in the first post. His gift to the service side was his years teaching sports to young men in what could now be called the inner city. He also worked with the Job Corp., where there is now a federal field named after him. He was also the first Black Deputy Sheriff in our hometown!
His brother mentored the girls under him in volleyball and basketball at Hudson Valley Junior College. My mother wanted to be a teacher. But at forty-two became a nurse where she found her place in a career she loved. My father’s sister worked long and hard in the mental health field. I can only slightly remember her. But I can bet her smile won over the most disturbed patients. Uncle Paul’s wife also works in the Mental Health field.
Many years of my life were spent in nursing, mostly in the mental health field. But even with working nights, I had a Girl Scout and Cub Scout troop. I felt the kids in my hood needed this. I have to smile when I thought of one mother when asked to donate something for a bake sale told me, “I work.” I just laughed because little did she know that before she had left home, I had put in eight long hours in a life saving job. Then came home to later take her little darlings on field trips with other scouts.
My two sisters both worked in a Willie M. program in North Carolina which cares for mentally ill kids who have legal problems. They both loved the work but one was injured and had to leave the job.
Does the service side stop here? No! My brother is a musician but he always has some young person under his wing teaching them the ropes. His son is one of the nicest young men you could ever meet. He is so gracious. But he is a fireman and an EMT. He is working toward becoming an R.N. As if we are not strong enough in the service “industry”, we marry into it. My sister-in-law, the fireman’s mother, was a policewomen for thirty years.
My son is a licensed Psychiatric Technician. He excels as a tech, but has the gift to identify medical problems for the doctor. They look to him and his accurate charting to aid them in their care of the patients. He should be an RN, but what do I know? To him I am just mother. Last in this service line is my daughter who worked with at risk youths where she could get gang bangers to respect her and defuse problems. I often feared for her safety, but the kids loved her.
Looking at this list of people all from one family who have chosen the service industry, Where does it come from? Nature or nurture? You be the judge!