Life was hard on the ranch. The man had five sons, each of whom assisted in the family enterprise. Whenever their "interest" in the ranch was observed to lag, there was loco weed to pull, stables to clean, and so on. The boys grew to appreciate the Sabbath because, as one put it, "This was the one day dad wasn't trying to work us to death."
One son longed for a life at sea and, when he came of age, joined the navy over his father's protests. Some months after farewells had been said, a letter arrived back home as follows:
"Life in the navy is pretty good Pa. The food's not bad, the work's easy, but best of all, they let ya sleep real late in the morning ..."