So my dad had a wife before my mom, I grew up 16 or 17 years without ever knowing about her. In fact, nobody in my family knew about her. I found out about his first wife from him while we were going through his personal files, while he was deathly ill with pancreatic cancer; in one of the files I found a black and white picture of a beautiful blond gal dancing. So I asked him who it was, and he said casually "oh, that's my first wife", and then proceeds to tell me this story:

While he was a pilot officer in the RAF, flying nuclear bombers, he met this gorgeous young woman, who he knocked up accidentally. This being the early 1960s, with him being from a well respected family, he married her. Soon after their nuptials she miscarried, he was upset by this, as he would've never married her if she wasn't pregnant. So, she tried to console him by saying "it might not have been yours anyways", as it turned out she was sleeping with at least 2 other men, and that's when he knew it was done. He proceeded to pack her shit, then dropped her off at her parents, all the while she was crying & begging him not to leave her. He spoke with her one more time after that, while he was in medical school, and she was the receptionist at a hotel in Zermat, Switzerland, which coincidentally him and his buddies were going on a ski trip to.

He had a decent marriage with my mom for most of my life. Although right before his diagnosis (the prognosis of which was very grave, it only gave him a 3% of living 1 year), he secretly bought a house and was going to leave her. He drove me to see the place, right before I was getting on a flight back to boarding school, he then asked me if I wanted to move in, I said of course I'll live with you (there was no question about who I'd be better off with). When I asked why he was leaving he said "a big part of it has to do with you, I don't think your mother understands you or treats you right, also I'm not very happy right now" (to be fair, his unhappiness might've been the cancer though). But that's not part of this story.

Anyways, he told me always use a condom and don't trust people easily. I really wish I didn't have to learn those lessons on my own, but of course I did, and I know I'm better for it now. My old man was a good fella, wish I'd payed more attention to what he taught me with regards on how to behave and live. But I know I was blessed just to know him at all.

So gentlemen, I'll leave you with this: keep improving yourselves, take smart risks, achieve something, and don't take life too seriously. GYOW.