bransonglobe.com LOCAL • FATHER’S DAY Continued from page 4 about it someday.” We went through a lot of hard times, and I look back now on how he was able to be stoic in those moments and pull us together. We do laugh at those struggles because when our mettle has been tested, it’s been the best of times. TOSG: What was one of the most important things he taught you? JO: He was an amazing man. He didn’t teach me how to live; he showed me how to live. TOSG: You guys were famous at a relatively young age. How did he help keep things in perspective from a family point of view? JO: It was always, “One for all.” It didn’t make any difference who was out front as long as it was an Osmond, and we were to support each other. We had a career that wasn’t as narcissistic as that of a lot of people in show business because we were part of a team, and it wasn’t just about us individually. I was the first one in our family to record and have a hit record. I remember going to my dad and saying, “Hey dad, I’m number one, I have a Gold Record. Isn’t that cool?” We owned an apartment complex at the time. He looked at me and handed me a stick with a poker on the end of it, and said, “Go pick up the trash son. Do something valuable.” You’d think that was hard, but he always had a way of keeping me in perspective. Jimmy pointed out that they always prayed before every show because his dad wanted them to keep the right perspective. He said, “We always felt when we were on stage that we had a responsibility to not only entertain people and give them their money’s worth but to bring God into our productions and to realize where we get our blessings from. Father always had a mission about him. It wasn’t necessarily to preach our religion but just to share Christianity, love, and family.” This column was originally written for Father’s Day of 2015. However, its message of a son’s love for his Father, and a Father’s for his children, is timeless. Happy Father’s Day! June 19-20, 2020 • 7
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