The stories that come from long ago have a kernel of truth to them. That is why they have survived

For Tatertot
How often we look back on the road that wound through our lives? Only to find it would have been much better if we had taken the easy way. But perhaps some of us are destined to blaze trails yet unknown. It was so with me. And yet I can't but think how much I wish something different for my own son. None of us wish our children to hurt others .Nor do we want to see them in pain.

For she who crossed roads with me then diverged in the woods.

How can any of us say we are not afraid to die?
To see another waste away is such a painful thing.Yet we still see them as we wish to remember them

This I wrote to my daughter on her last night as a child.The night before she left for college

Sometimes the thoughts of the mind take me back to times that seem like yesterday. However the day has set on those times and the new day risen on better ones.

Life the timeless healer has once again conquered all. As what was once a torrid tempest has become a minute squall. The Light that burns twice as bright lasts half as long!

It is almost comical to me just how naive we men are about our own weakness. So I wrote this for the women to understand what it is that drives men. For the men this is no surprise it is what men are taught from cradle to the grave.

When we age I find we trade youth for treasure of experience .

Who among us can their heart doesn't go out to the poor. Especially when we enjoy the holidays as we see they are alone. Who can say with any assurance Just which way the wind will blow when we finally set our sails? I had a friend here tell me he just had a daughter and was so happy. Then he said "But I am homeless and she and my wife went to live with my wife's family". It broke my heart. How lucky are we to be safe and warm?

We all could use a little more knowledge and forgiveness

Written to a friend who lets her heart guide her mind too often >And in this case is headed for a train wreck.She is dating a married man who swears he is leaving his cheating wife.I said "Huh"? "What is he if he dates you"?

Some of us have had the pleasure of meeting a gold soul.And thankfully never forgot it .
I wrote this for my friend George whose heart led my soul through life when I needed him most. Would that I could grant him a few of my own years.
George suffered a stroke 10/25/12 and all was touch and go. Though he has recovered I feel the hand of time on my shoulder. Reminding me that life is precious! What is the value of a man? To me George is the greatest man I ever knew. It has become quite evident that I will have to face this pending loss. I hope I can do this with the dignity befitting this great man. From this once wandered man to be I would just say. "No one was ever more loved than he is by me."
"Thank you George."

Written to commemorate the day I ran into my childhood sweetheart at a party Some 25 years later than I had last seen her as a child

A man among men he was the greatest adventurer of all time. Managing with 5 of his men a final 800 mile sail in a open dingy over the roaring forties in the Southern Ocean. Using dead reckoning and only two sightings in over two weeks sail. Fought starvation and frostbite through the fifty foot waves and storms. To land successfully on a tiny sliver of an Island called South Georgia. Then went back and save all his men. His sail and subsequent crossing of the interior of South Georgia island on foot,was miraculous. So much so the disbelieving whalers there rescued the tiny boat from the far side of the island. Carrying it on their shoulders, as if it were the Ark of the Covenant.
Returning to England he has always been a light to men. Those who seek adventure and purpose from the daring and dignity of their lives. His efforts to not only save oneself. But to pick up and carry his comrades home to safety as well. Stories told of him from the survivors of the Scott expedition say his character was kind and conciliatory to men of all walks. One man remarked" We were starving. None had eaten anything in 5 days. Shackleton forced his last biscuit upon me. Even though he too was starving. A man can't imagine the magnanimity of such a act, who's never experienced it. But I shall never forget it!" He was to this man at least one of the greatest men who ever drew breath.
"
Article London Times : Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.
"

Can anyone know what will come
when the wind blows us cold and gale
Or what direction it be from
when finally we set our sail

My darkest days were comforted by the poetry they inspired.
One of my favorite poems is this one. It tells the tale of how pain is so relative to our age and circumstance
Softened by Time's consummate plush,
by Emily Dickinson

Softened by Time's consummate plush,
How sleek the woe appears
That threatened childhood's citadel
And undermined the years.

Bisected now, by bleaker griefs,
We envy the despair
That devastated childhood's realm,
So easy to repair.

Strange it is to find out too late.That the ones we love, loved us as well. And in looking at us saw themselves. When I was young everyone over 30 was an idiot.The older I got. The smarter they seemed. And the more foolish I felt.
So it is no surprise to me as a father of my own.That my children think me a bit off as well.
There are as I see it two fields of thought on this subject.My own father a strict task master left me to enter the adult world alone and afraid. It has always been my own contention that a child should come from a loving safe secure beginning. In so doing we bestow upon them the chance to enter the world unafraid. While the other way makes us struggle and eventually results in coming to the same conclusion. We have a much better time of it. Personally I think it better that a child have a foundation.

Tate

For Becky my beloved Wife
Her spark for life lit the fire in my mind.

How many times do we walk by those we could so easily help?

For the one who got away. A dream that was once an obcession

There is no point in asking Why Me truth is because you are available .

Wondering how I wish to be remembered

A lesson in forgiveness. I remember this as if it were yesterday. The father didn't cry till he turned to walk away. His heart broken at the sight. This horse was tied to all the mans fortunes. As he was to stand stud for 10 more years. But the loss was not something the man could do anything about. His horse was dead. His son was alive. He recognized this right off. So to the son he granted absolution. If ever I saw the hand of God in anything it was this day this moment in time. I will forever be grateful to him for this lesson in Life! This was one of those moments where Love and Life met at the crossroads and gladly he was found not to be wanting. A moment that will no doubt stand for his soul in judgment. One of the worst feelings a son can have is to know he dashed his fathers dreams on the rocks of life!

Having been divorced I can tell you it is not unusual for a man who loves with his heart to inherit the winds of perdition.

I see this more times than not a woman scorned .A heart broken !

I'm sorry but if I am to believe the Martyrs I would have to concede that Almighty God needed lowly me to punish the unclean. As he was unable to do it himself. Well where is the God of Noah that with a wave of his hand flooded the world? If he was that ineffectual I think I would go looking for enlightenment somewhere else.

The quintessential question remains by what right do any of us claim divine guidance? There comes a point where judgment is beyond us and we have to leave these things to the individuals involved. Our personal beliefs have no right being imposed on others rights or beliefs. Even in the case of protection of the innocents. This is such a divisive question that it causes violence. However in the enlightened parts of the world this is not a problem like it is here in the mostly evangelical, protestant, pilgrim, country of the hypocrite. We as Americans tend to believe we are the ones who are most enlightened. It always amazes me how ignorant we as Americans""is"! As we plod along polluting the world at a exponential rate. Then wishing to overpopulate it with unwanted children in the name of God. Truth be known this countries real God is the Almighty dollar. I only wish Twain were still alive as I am sure his witticisms and opinions would be most welcome by the truly enlightened. And shunned by the clergy.It was only a few years ago that the Catholic Pope apologized to the world for having imprisoned Galileo Galilee in his home,For the crime of saying the Earth was not the center of the Universe. At that rate of religious attrition religion should catch up to the education of the 21st century sometime in about 500 years or so. Protecting the rights of other peoples unwanted children .And paying to raise the majority of them through the state will never alleviate the conscience that we offend by our insensibility .!

Be the beacon your child uses to light his way!
Not the darkened night he shuns!

To Lucy Hamilton princess of Ireland, With whom I had planned a life. She could not leave her sainted mother who was ill. I am touched by the devotion.

Haven't we all thought back to the moment we were up to bat?
With the weight of the world on us we then struck out.
Baseball is the national sport here. It is the only sport to have a commisioner all powerful who is in charge of guarding the integrity of the game. In 1919 the first commisioner Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis was elected to the lifetime post to combat the cheating that the white sox had done in the world series. Even though all were aquitted he banned them all from the game for life saying "No player who gambles on the game of baseball or sits in conference with others who do and does not tell his franchise will ever play the game again." He added What these men have done is to plant a doubt in the minds of every American school boy who ever looked up to them with honor. Forever crushing their sense of fairplay and honesty"!
The White Sox were for years then after refered to as the Black Sox!

Childhood:
Softened by Times consummate plush,
How sleek the woe appears
That threatened childhoods citadel
And undermined the years!
Bisected now by bleaker griefs,
We envy the despair
That devastated childhoods realm,
So easy to repair.

Emily Dickinson

I knew a man like this once. His life all but lived. He patiently waited for the end.Which wasn't long in coming. Children give us the legacy that makes the bitterness of our short life more tolerable

Can any man say he is not beholding to the spring from which life flows? Kathy died Monday May 19th at 3 am. She was the soul, both part and parcel of our clan. As in the times of the ancient mariner we all hear the call of sirens that gesture us to sail home. Continuity of purpose flows from the wellspring of our lives. In the end we all find we are drawn inexorably home, to the hearth from around which we told our tales of long ago and spun our yarns of a life well lived. The well spent life will always beckon from the winds of change a call for home. Kathy was the glue that holds to us all. She was the keeper of our stories and heritage.

I pray all I am, all I may ever be, can be found in the hearts of those I have loved.
And who have dared to love me. As in the times of the ancient mariner we all hear the call of sirens that gesture us to sail home. Continuity of purpose flows from the wellspring of our lives. In the end we all find we are drawn inexorably home, to the hearth from around which we told our tales of long ago and spun our yarns of a life well lived. The well spent life will always beckon from the winds of change a call for home.

For life's time waits on none of us.
It masters fate with earnest callous.
Caring for none in favored mercy.
Helping not who it shows malice.

The times they are a changing .

There is a beautiful relationship between the soul of humanity and the sea.And any who have spent time at night listening to the calls from ancestors from across it know what I mean.The pulse of the ocean in the crashing waves say to us we are Home.

Such a metaphor for my own life the tin man. Often I am right as rain. Moments later set by depression and doubt. Then the rain comes washes away the blues and I am fine again. The sun comes up and shines upon me again.All my worries pale in consequence.
Tate

I'm sure given the same circumstances and life. I would do the same things again. Such is the truth of humanity. We do not think much on the truths of life until we are made to. If only we could live life backwards. I think I would like to be Benjamin Button.
Tate

Don't we all wonder if another is the one for whom we were meant?
How many lifetimes must we pass by before our soul finds it's hearts desire?
This was for the green eyes cased in Honey Hue, that I once knew.
May she find this dream to be her own . i have at times wondered about this idea. What if we lived again and again only to walk right past our soul mate each time ?

It isn't that rich people are per-say bad. Nor that poor people are good. It is the human condition that sets up society by stature. And counts wealth by monetary gain. Money is never happiness. Yet we are told all the time that it is. Look around you. See the multitudes rushing to amass their fortunes. And for what. Women who followed Gloria Steinem's ideals that you can have it all are miserable. Why? Because you can't have it all. You can't spend a life climbing the corporate ladder. Waiting to reach some plateau in your late 30s and then start a family. Children are not easy to raise. So why does money seem to make so many crazy and so many unhappy? Because money can't hold a hand. Money can't read a child's bedtime story. And money cannot make memories that last a lifetime. Shared life does that. Family does that. Descendants are the answer to selflessness. I cannot forget the look of a child's face who waited for dad to come pick him up when we were children. Only to hear again and again dad was too busy to come get him.The dreams of happiness preached on wall street are the lies that will not live forever neither will we. The smiles of children stamped in the mint of memory are the coin of the realm of happiness!
Tate

Sometimes we find who we are is as simple as where we came from.

Will we never stop beating the drums of war ? Only to pave the streets of conquest with the souls of children. I wrote this after attending the funeral of a friends dear child. You know goodness has a sound to it. It is the laughter of children Who play unafraid in the streets of a town. Lacking that we have failed to secure anything. Goodness is not what we won't do. Nor some question of whom we exclude. It is the unselfish act of humanity. That sees ourselves in those we include.

Oh the taste of youth .How sweet it was to jump from bed, everyday in the constant summer of my memories

This for my friends may I always have the door open when they need me.

I often wish if only all children could be so blessed. To be shined on by providence. Born a native son to the Midwest.

We spend too much time worrying about things that matter not.

Simple pleasures are their own reward. People we don't need 15 pairs of acid or stone washed jeans. That come in 28 different sizes and cuts. Happiness comes from needing little and giving much. If you learn to be content everything else is an unexpected joy.

Not a serious write. Just a thought on my own responsibility for some of the pain I have known in the past. I caught my own reflection in the mirror and couldn't help seeing I am guilty as sin! lol I couldn't help it the Paper Moon movie is such an icon of Americana.
Just having some fun the paper moon movie reminds me of the racetrack and the kids both grown and not who acted so badly they ought to put them in a test tube and study them lol

Time has a way of answering our questions if we listen.

Well I have struggled against this as many men have