Family trees abound the landscape,
From afar they show no weather,
Closer inspection it cannot escape,
Some leaves and limbs are worn and withered.
Swinging, swaying, ever falling,
Buffeted by winds of fate,
As the leaf goes, my fate is calling,
What will be my date?
Now in the fall of life,
Leaves are falling all around me,
Reminiscing about my pa,
Consoling, cajoling my aging ma.
Cotton ball,
Willie’s playmate,
Lizard hunter.
Plant destroyer,
Possum killer.
Man’s best friend,
Loyal companion,
Zoe will miss you.
Soon to be resting in the arms of an angel.
Beloved of Lee, Katherine and Allison.
Ever I look inside to find,
Whether I’m OK or lost my mind,
As a parent my answer’s found,
When I see the pretty face of my Allison.
Allison, so fair and fine,
Ringlet curls in the sun shine,
Kind and gentle always caring,
But meeting challenge with courageous daring.
I try my best to honor my parents,
In her turn she’s never errant,
The world is an oyster and she is a pearl,
I’m ever blessed, cuz she is my girl.
– Love ya’ Squid … Wint
Crying is a funny thing really,
Why sometimes does it feel so silly?
Saw a guy once who laughed til he cried,
Feelings are not so easy to hide.
In my world tears are cleansing,
They can soothe a heart that is rending,
Without tears how hard would it be,
To forgive those so dear to thee?
So I say, “Let’s cry one and all,
Let the veil of denial fall!”,
Take one another in a loving embrace,
A salty kiss is life’s greatest taste!
They are defenders,
They are menders,
Kind of like your cars fenders,
With their love they are senders.
They are cleaners,
They are never meaners,
They make a lot of beaners,
In fights they are inbetweeners.
They are teachers,
When you’re small they are reachers,
During playtime they can be creatures,
Always giving, never leechers.
They are cool,
They take you to the pool,
They wipe your chin when you droll,
Did I mention they are cool?
They are lovers,
Though they’re often hoverers,
God-like love like aboverers,
They are our Mothers!
– Wint
Riding down the road the other day I found myself thinking that I was lazy listening, and singing, songs. What I mean by that is singers rarely enunciate well enough, for me at least, to understand what the heck they are saying. I recognized that it didn’t really bother me much and certainly not enough to actually go look up the words to songs. Hence … the lazy part.
Back when I was painting for a living my sister worked for me for some years and was most times afforded the opportunity to hear me sing as I would almost always sing along to the radio. One afternoon she started laughing near uncontrollably as I belted out, “Long haired yellow dog!”. When she got a hold of herself she looked at me and said, “Long arm of the law!” (In my defense … while I am not able to pull out the name of that song just now I can say it was NOT Kenny Rogers “Long Arm of the Law” that was on the radio that day.)
See? I had (lazily) sung that song literally for years and by then knew the words by heart!
(IMO … Jagger is the worst with Springsteen running a close second.)
I do only two kinds of jobs 1) Those I like 2) Those I don’t.
The first kind of job leaves me feeling competent, exhilarated and wanting to do more. The second kind of job leaves me feeling sometimes competent, tired and glad it’s over.
If your main job is not the first kind of job, you are in the wrong job for you. Trust me, I’ve been there.
Sometimes the environment turns the first kind of job into the second kind of job. Been there too.
Bottom line … do the job. Feeling productive is a primary key to happiness.
My dad told me once that everyday he tore down and built back up his understanding of God . At that time he and I both struggled with our understanding of God and I kind of glommed on to that idea. Today I can really only say, “I don’t know much about God but I am sure glad he knows a lot about me.”
My good friend, I’ll call him “Bob”, is hurting today. How I wish I could fix him and am so motivated to say something here about him, and my frustration with it all, in hopes God will be so motivated to lay a hand on Bob’s heart.
I believe God will intervene in Bob’s life.
Wint
I have lived with it for years. It is now so much a part of me that I hardly notice it, but at times it comes into such sharp focus that I am barely able to see through and beyond it. What it is? It is the veil of denial.
This veil is a risk, a protection, a tool, a hindrance, a irritant, a suave. It cannot be managed but it can be subjected to perspective by applying consideration and reason.
At this moment I embrace the deep love I have for my sister and I curse the veil for ever having marred my perception of the perfectness of that love. She has been and will always be my sister Jan from whom I receive boundless support and love.
God I beseech you today to bless and care for my sister. Please pull back the veil so that I might see the blessing that she is in my life.
Wint
“It’s okay, you don’t have to believe. Just believe that I believe.” Do what? You have got to be kidding me, right? Based on this guys belief I am supposed to take an incredibly difficult step in my life and share with him my most dark and painful feelings? Guess what, he wasn’t kidding and I did.
At that time in my life I was 35 years old and I was financially and spiritually bankrupt but not morally, thank God. The only possessions I had fit in a trunk and I was indebted to everyone I knew and to any institution that had the misfortune of ever extending me credit, including the IRS. The depth of my indebtedness was irrelevant as I had no prospects and no ideas on how I might cultivate any. Indeed I was an apparent sad sack battling for a perspective on humanity and light at the end of any tunnel.
In the months leading up to this encounter I had listened to this man talk about himself and life. Bits and pieces of his stories might have resonated did not stir some kind of awakening of any thing like that. There was something intangible, indefinable that touched me and I do not have the words to manifest it in my mind or to put down here. What was true for me was I did believe in him. This man was passionate about life and had a comfortableness within life’s uncertainty that was extraordinarily attractive to me. He had something and I wanted some of it. I sidled up to him and we bowed our heads to speak to God.
For the next 25 years my discipline included sustaining my relationship with this man and it is so today. I am unable to engage this man in my mind without acknowledging the humble beginnings we share, the similarity of our paths through this life, the blossoming of my self-awareness facilitation he witnessed and took part in, and the deep and abiding awareness and love of God in our lives and for each other.
This man and I have taken many steps together over the years. Never in lock step and ever waiting for the other to catch up when our paths momentarily parted.
By what measure do we assess success and progress in life? For me, success in life is not measured by finances, possessions, relationships, or by any other means commonly used by folks these days. For me success in life is measured by the steps I’ve taken and by my willingness to take the next.
Proudly I call out to this man by name today … “James! Love you like a brother! Peace.”
Wint
Lee Pylant Dot Com 