You know I have given this much thought of late. The recent Supreme court decision on gay rights has split the country asunder. As for me I have a sister who is gay I simply want for her happiness. The government has no business in our bedrooms or our private life. We seek to marry those who bring our lives meaning. Follow your own path. It is not for others to impede the road upon which choose. This is not a question of morality it is a question of rights. By what right does any man have the ability to tell another who to love? love thy brother as thyself.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

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

I have always been exceptionally grateful for the few friends I could count on one hand.They are the ones that renew my faith and give my life dignity. The picture is of my daughter and two friends.Two with whom she is still friends. She is in her 4th year of college with Emily her room mate pictured in the back.

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

When I raced horses I met some of the most interesting souls. To them the family made up of fellow horsemen were their world. In many ways they taught me most of the values I hold dear. If my heart were a hard drive three quarters of it would be filled with the thoughts, feelings and lessons they gave freely to me. I remember when this happened I was 19. The Finns were a tight knit family. We were racing the secondary circuit. No one seemed to have any money most of the time. The blow dealt the Finn family that day was so devastating I couldn't help but feel it. I thought to myself I am so young I can always make more money. It was just a matter of what was the right thing to do. After that the Finns regularly schooled me. Each time I was in to race my own horse Fred or Merle or one of the others would roll up alongside and make sure I not only got out in the end, but that also knew when to move. When you are young in that sport there are so many things to think about and do in a race such as monitoring the stopwatch. A young man gets confused and overwhelmed by all of it. One occasion Freddy came alongside in the last turn and yelled " Hey Tate it's time to pull"! Then he promptly went wide to let me out. It is so much better to have friends when one is in such a profession. They can help you or they can crush you. The arrogant man will bite the dust.

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

Ole Farley was a regular fixture around the track. He had been everywhere ,done everything, or so he claimed. Teller of tall tales and whimsical dreams. He was the epitome of our childish inner selves, and I adored him. He was to this little boy a fascinating figure from history. Take a bow Farley. You were one of a kind and the worlds greatest storyteller.

Whenever my son asks for my permission I always ask myself now, who will it hurt if I say yes? If the answer is only myself I always say yes. A lesson I learned the hard way. It seems I learn best that way. I should say the reference in this poem to blood being spilled was metaphoric, not literal. In this case I had just lost quite a bit in the divorce and was distraught. Little Tate just wanted my attention. When he started nagging me I turned on him and launched a tirade his way. The look on his face as a tear arose from his soul was heart wrenching. Having never seen me so upset he was devastated. The barb launched his way rebounded off his innocence to strike me dead center in my own heart. I had broken both our hearts. If ever an experience wrung the very water from my soul, this was it!

Will man ever learn his children are his future? Other peoples children mean just as much to their family as well. May we all pause at the thought of pain for any childs sake. To our servicemen I would like to say "Let your heart be your guide and though you might be scarred by your experiences. May your memories flow to the times when the noblest of your nature won out.

We face them every day, and sleep with them every night. Our character is defined by how we deal with our mistakes! For those of us who learn best the hard way this is both bittersweet and true

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"?

The days of life may dim at times and new things always feel unsafe and insecure. But what we fear is infirmity. However Life is only good as long as it is changing and growing. Like the seasons we come and go and face the end like any man. So it is that when the time comes I'll conform to the masters plan

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

Are we not afraid of the thought that we are no better?

Who can truly say that only they know the heart of another soul? The sad truth of this is that it is a true telling of an actual event.The people I met through the years engrained their stories in my mind. Where I wrote them down and stored them. All I met there were at odds with life. So I suppose judge not lest you be judged. With Peaches I realized his fascination with me was partly my youth and part my resemblance to the treasure he had lost. May he find peace in his afterlife so denied him in life.

Set to Etta James version of Cigarette ashes

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.

Some of the parents who listened to doctor Spock in the 60s and 70s.Those who tried the kinder gentler approach to raising little Henry. Are now held hostage by their unruly children. So thank you doctor Spock for everything you didn't do. And for all the answers you professed to have but really never knew. Now the public schools want to discontinue the teaching of cursive writing and spelling . As they see it why do we need them anymore? However they also told us we didn't need the phonics that they discontinued back when children could read? The schools got one thing right. Why try to teach children to write if they can't even read? I would truly be interested in knowing just how many parents have been told by teachers that their children need medication. So if this is the case I would like to take a poll. Tell us all how many of you there truly are. Is this just a way to manage overflowing classrooms? When was it we gave teachers the right to diagnose medical problems? In years gone by we would have thought that an affront. It is truly out of their expertise. But I hear over and over that that teachers recommend certain doctors to make sure the children are medicated. If this is not the case tell me. I could be wrong . However it seems it would be more productive to fix the broken schools. Instead of saying the children are broken.

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.

In a garden long ago we walked and spoke of a future. Reality became a much better predictor of happiness

The air is sweeter, the night is cooler. Life springs forth anew. Such is my life since meeting Rebecca. I remember thinking to myself, what does she see in me? I am prone to times when I am depressed. I wondered till recently how Becky would react in those dark days. Thankfully she is a dream come true. She took my hand, calmed the seas of doubt and led me to the light!
"God grant me this one extravagance. May she and I dance till the end of time"!!

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

Wondering how I wish to be remembered

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

The hopes and dreams of my ancestors echo down through the years to tell me "who we are" is as simple as where we came from..
My mother, had 4 of us to care for go back to school and work. I sometimes wonder why she didn't drop dead from the work. I meant this to be an endearing piece to honor the struggles of life. It has been an observation of my own life that the men I valued most seemed to own the least. This is so true that I cannot deny it. I imagine it was true life struggles that gave to them their great nature. I simply wish to shine the light upon our own misguided ways. The worship of the almighty dollar has never tucked a child into bed. Nor held the hand of a grieving woman. Money cannot buy love. Nor can it manufacture it. The reason the son of a rich man can wreck a 50,000 dollar car and think nothing of it is simple. To him that is what his father was willing to pay to placate the son. In the mind of the child the car is what the father is giving him to replace the time he doesn't have for him. So since the child's life is not important to the father neither is the car valued by the son.

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

I don't know what it is, sets a mans soul afire. But I was one of those souls who wandered the world searching for adventure. I still roam the lower 48 as if they were my own back yard. Will my poor restless heart ever find peace?

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.
"

I need not say what this is about. We all know don't we? Go see your parents and grandparents.
Life's time waits on none of us.
It masters fate with earnest callous.
Caring for none in favored mercy.
Helping not whom it shows malice.

They wont be here when you find the time to visit.
Do it while you are thinking of it.
There is no regret like that dealt to the one who wasn't there when needed.

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 ?

Spring renews all then forgives the pains of winter with hope.

To have a great lifelong friend is one of the greatest and most profound experiences. I would encourage all who have not done so to try it. The answer to all who would topple your life is the unwavering devotion of the great friend! Theresa, May we all know the wonder of the warm breeze that you bring to our lives. This the blessing that counts above treasure, built from the bricks and mortar of the small town and life spent running the fields together. Written for Theresa . Taken from my interpretation of my wife Becky's feelings for her. Recently Theresa's husband became ill. It has been a great comfort to her to have Becky.
Tate

Who can say with any certainty that one day this will not be their own fate? "There but for the grace of God go I". These people had hopes dreams children families. Who cares why they have fallen down? It is the duty of humanity to lift them to their feet. In this era of globalization we have taken a step backwards in civility. Gone are the days of pensions and compassion. Crushed under the jackboots of the giant corporations that don't believe in humanity at all. Corporate profit is all that matters to the world now. All are made to be thrown out none are saved or even repaired. Our politicians are as corrupt as ever selling our birthrights to the highest bidder and leaving the old and infirm along the side of the road. Greatest place in the world? The day will come when we are given the choice to end our days through euthanasia. Rather than to live as an outcast to the society that no longer values us. Welcome to the 21st century. Everything we hear is an opinion not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective not a truth. Many have been convicted on an opinion of a perspective.

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

My son got into little scraps and he said it was because they teased him calling him Tatertot LOL He came to like that name as it wore on him. I could spend all night trying to explain the behavior of boys.Truth is there is no reason or excuse for us lol.

Drake and I have had a bond that was as strong as any father and child. I passed my knife onto Drake because he would appreciate it. I had hoped whenever he held it he would think of the bond between us. Then last Christmas my own son Tate gave me a new knife a Winchester of such exquisite beauty. Tate and I have always been extremely close. When I die, as I will, I hope this blade helps my son to remember the love that forged our bonds through life. May they hold to his heart long after I'm gone. For Drake may he always know with what Love I always think of him and hope for his future. Drake will always be as loved by me as my own blood. He is to me one of my own.

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.

For Biff whose smile lit the world and whose loss set the sun to grieving.

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

What is a life for? If we cower from truly living are the extra years truly living?

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

I dreamed a dream that became Rebecca my wife. Herein lies the truth of a tangible life. Oh on our deathbeds will we look back and find the thing we cherished valued and loved was something we barely touched yet dreamed might touch us;that of the love of another unconditionally reaffirming our right to exist and reason to live.

Sometimes love is in the first sight! This was written for Rebecca. Seldom do the paths of dreams and reality meet .Rebecca is one of those.

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 .!

The years pass us by so quickly. Sometimes I wonder what has happened to them all. However I am blessed with a loving child who has given me so much. I share these memories with all my friends in reverence to the life and love they have marked.

For many of the years of my life I wondered why I never felt at home when I traveled far and wide? Then as I aged it came to me. There is a reason birds fly back to where they were born and fish swim thousands of miles to spawn in the rivers they were born from. Who we are is as simple as where we came from. So I came home to start a family and pass that to my own children.

I remember that night as if it were yesterday. It was Christmas eve 1968. The missions to the Moon which originally were an attempt to beat the Russians. Turned out to be more than the sum of their parts. It was a great time to be an American. But on that night there were no nationalities. As we looked back upon that little blue marble in the vastness of space. I realized everyone who ever lived came from there. from Adam to Da vinci. The largest crowd in history watched in awe that night as Apollo 8 rounded the Moon. Then without a script the crew decided that they would read from Genesis. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. Then from the mission commander came " From the crew of Apollo 8. We wish you all a Merry Christmas all of you on the good Earth." I had never seen an adult cry as my mother did. And on TV the members of Mission command were all in tears as well. As each and every one realized the enormity of what they were doing. Martin Luther King, Bobbie Kennedy and John F Kennedy had all been assassinated in that decade. The world seemed poised to tear itself apart. But for that brief moment something grander in the human spirit shook the world. It brought us back from the brink. It is hard to imagine now but they did all this with little more than a slide rule. I remember my great great grandmother who had been born in 1878 and was then 90 yrs old watching in absolute astonishment. As a boy at the time I remember we all studied math and science. We knew that was essential to passing the grade as an astronaut. To us the old idea of wanting to be a fireman or policeman was now for slackers. We wanted to be hero's. We watched fearless men who knew they were atop the worlds largest Roman Candle. Any one of which could in an instant become the tragic Titanic of the age. Most astronauts seemed not to fear anything or anyone. To a boy of nine they were the personification of the pioneering men who won the west. They lit the fuses of those candles and rose into the heavens. Taking the hopes and dreams of this little boy, all of his friends and the rest of humanity along with them for the ride. I have to admit the Americans know how to put on a show. Who else would take a four wheel drive golf cart to the moon to play golf?
This was mans finest hour! I was watching the history channel the other day. A World War two veteran and holder of the Congressional Medal of Honor was speaking about his latest talk to a high school. He said he was introduced by a high-school senior as being a veteran of World War Eleven. If this is the case we will never walk on the moon again in our lifetimes.
.

Out from the black of eternal night shone a ray of light!

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