One long summer day, a string of fake pearls turned into a lesson on kindness. My dad was a fair, practical man, with a great sense of humor and a twinkle in his eye. He worked two full-time jobs — farming by day and repairing planes at Dover Air Force Base at night. He faced constant pressure to keep the family financially afloat. Leisure was a luxury he rarely experienced. On our family farm, everyone worked. My younger sister and I were tasked with simpler chores — like dusting and folding laundry. These jobs offered time for play, and we were often concocting some Tom Sawyer-like plans of making money.…