Broken wing, come on home

About a year ago I got a call from out west of the mississippi river, Colorado. Only persons I know there is my daughter and her family. The call went something like this . . . "Dad, Josh has been hurt and they flew him out of the grand canyon in a helicopter" then "I am packing up Wyatt and we are going to Arizona". It was worse than it sounded. Unbelievable, unfathomable and it cut straight to my soul. Paralyzed from the chest down, Josh had to take two helicopters from the canyon to reach the the nearest trauma center. C-5 was shattered beyond repair and it was pressing against his spinal cord. A few days and surgeries later, we have an update. No change. No change in Josh's body or in my daughter's belief that he will be fine. I remember my daughter saying that the doctors kept using the term paraplegic. That word was unacceptable and she told them all not to use it, ever.

Today, Josh, little Wyatt and Danielle live in a hotel room close to the hospital and rehab center. No change. No change in Josh's body or in my daughter's belief that he will be fine. Their day goes something like this. Midnight, turn Josh (six foot two and 200 pounds) so he doesn't develop bed sores, again. Repeat every two hours. Don't wake up Wyatt. Morning, spend three hours doing all the daily procedures. Ensure the twenty seven medications are taken on time and in the correct amount. Don't wake up Wyatt.  Train, oversee and watch closely the latest home care aide. Say a prayer that she won't drop Josh to the floor like that other one did. He is still in physical therapy from that incident. Cross your fingers and wish with all your heart that you won't have to call 911, again. Repeat every night, every day.

How can someone, anyone do this day in and day out? They take naps in the car while waiting for Josh to return from therapy or the hospital. No family within three thousand miles. They take it hour by hour never day by day. On a bad day it goes minute by minute and on a real bad day breath by breath. I couldn't physically do it.

But then ...

It is a very wise person that knows what is important and what is not. They are together and that is what matters most. I just pray that one day they will be together here, with the rest of their family.

Come on home, you can mend that broken wing right here.

The me you never knew

The Rabbit in the Moon

Someday, One day soon

I will leave this place, my home

Fly away to the Moon

As I watch the world fall from under my feet

I am free, I am flying, and I am gone

Flying higher, farther away from my home

One day, someday, I will be home

That day, one day soon

You will look up and see

The me you never knew, smiling back at you

The Rabbit in the Moon

Something to think about.

According to some folks, I have lost my mind. Well, that may be true but there is a good reason for their concern. I am still functioning as well as anybody else on the planet but I see the world in a different, sometimes very different light. I gave up the things that kept me sane. Things like hesitation, hate, envy and all the other self indulgent qualities that make us "Human". 

It wasn't hard or difficult to loose my mind, no not at all. The trip to madness was quite short. All I did was realize that time is not the enemy, I was. Today time is just a passing moment that I enjoy without ever attaching myself or a meaning to that moment. Kinda of like watching a leaf float down a creek. You watch it float by and you think, yes we do . We ponder where that leaf is headed and from where it sprang. What holds the leaf from sinking and how. Once the leaf passes from view, we refocus. But for those few fleeting moments, you were focused and all the world was absent from your consciousness. You lost your mind, for a moment or two.

You don't have to be crazy to enjoy the moment, but if you savor every moment people may call you crazy.

I kinda like being the only insane person in a crowd of normal people. They all give me something to think about.

Yes, that was a good day.

Somewhere, there is an old pair of boots.

I remember the day I got them. I was so proud of those old boots. I spit shined them until I could shave in their reflection. I needed those boots for my first jump out of a perfectly good aircraft, knowing it was going to land all along. Yes, I needed those boots. Even though those boots were older than I was, I loved those old boots.

Zero dark thirty just outside Columbia, Georgia and my boots are shining in the moonlight. We board the C-123 aircraft. I was thinking that this plane is older than me too. It was only a ten minute flight to the drop zone in Alabama, no time to rethink this paratrooper thing. Stand up, hook up, check equipment and stand in the door. The sun is rising and the sky is grey. We wait for the light to turn from red to green. The next moment the light changes and all you hear is "Go, Go, Go". As the wind slaps my face I look overhead to ensure my chute opened up. Next I look down to make sure my shiny boots are still on my feet. I pull on the left riser trying to turn my chute into the wind. 22 seconds later my old boots are covered with Alabama red clay. Damn, I am pissed.

Later that day I clean my boots and shine them back up. All in all it was a good day. I got my jump wings and my Dad's boots got to fly.

Yes, that was a good day.

Another day ...... Another new me

Some mornings are better than others, know what I mean? This morning I looked in the mirror and staring back at me was a familiar face, but it wasn't me. Just someone I used to know. An old acquaintance from my younger years. His eyes were a little older than I remembered and his hair was styled shorter and more conservatively.

Smiling, I turn away from the reflection and wonder. "Where did he go and what is he doing these days?"

The old me in the mirror is just that, someone I used to be. Someone I used to know.

Today, I am older, wiser and better looking too! At least, that's what I say to the person in the mirror.

The artist within

Within each of us is a palette adorned with all the hues of a rainbow. The goal is to let those colors shine through. I always wondered where those crazy tied dyed shirts came from. Looking at the sheep above, now I know.

"No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist."

Oscar Wilde

No person sees the world as it is, we see it through the eyes of our personal learnings, life experiences and of course our memories. I doubt that you and I could agree on the exact color of blue. We all see the world a little differently. 

Plaid wool scarves come from . . . . . well, you know the answer to that.

Some of us are just too special for words. But they all give us something to think about.

Self expression, no matter the venue, is a God given right not a gift. Or maybe it is?

Defining Ones own dreams

Are you ready?

I will recant the dream and you try to figure it out.


Alligator, a single, tiny baby alligator is biting at your toes. You just kick your feet in the water of the small pond and think "What a pain". You just shrug it off. But, there are several small children running away from the pond, screaming about the alligator. Across the lake is your ex keeps shouting "I'm sorry".


What do you think?

Now let me tell you about the person who had that dream. The lady has a small puppy with very sharp teeth. Her daughter came to visit with her two baby girls. The girls don't have a dog and are quite afraid of the puppy. The "ex" thing? The lady received a call from her ex about something that happened a long long time ago.

Funny, how our brain looks at the world from two completely opposite points of view. One logical and one creatively. Dreams are always painted in metaphors of our own design. The same object, thought or circumstance in someone else's dream holds a completely different meaning to them. Their mental dictionary has definitions written exclusively for them as does ours.

Now, about your dreams . . . . . 

How to define a break-up

Yes, it's hard to put your emotions into words when the love of your life has just sucker punched your heart. So allow me to help!

Wanton Domestic Seperationism; An awaking and cognizant act of admitting to one’s self, that you may be the only sane person in this relationship. Followed by late night secretive scheming and detailed planning of your escape back to the realm of Reality, Nil Desperandum! (Page 238)

Compatatational suicide; Knowing that you are consciously driving your lover crazy. A willingness to do something that will impale a grave wedge into the very heart of your closeness. Taking one for granted for far too long, followed by an unconscious willingness not to care. (Page 46)

Marital Blisslessness; The absence of marital bliss. That lonely feeling experienced while sleeping next to the love of a lifetime and feeling utterly alone, once again. Usually followed by claiming squatter’s rights to both the remote and the living room couch, all night, every night, forever. Amen. (Page 153)

Extreme Companionshiplessnessism; when the term “together” does not include your significant other. It does include the kids and some family pets. The act of being companionless, even when you hold your life’s partner close to you. Followed very closely by a nervous trip to the local divorce attorney. (Page 71)

Rut-a-tation factor; a rating of just how lonely you are standing next to your significant other. Rut-a-tation is a phenomenon that occurs in relationships sinking from the excess baggage of Taken-for-grantedism, competition, and the awkward realization that you do not really know your lover, anymore, at all. (Page 208)

There, now don't you feel better?

Center of the Universe . . . . No, it's not you

Do you have friends who only call you when something is wrong or they need you to do something for them? You love them dearly but they seem to be very busy when you need them! Kinda like a one way street.

I'm not sure why they do those things but I have a theory. Maybe, it’s just a big ole helping of “What about Me-ism”. If you are unfamiliar with the fore mentioned terminology. Allow me to explain. I keep a unique and very specialized dictionary next to my bed. I read once that the good Doctor of children’s stories possessed one, so I acquired one too! I’m not sure where or when I apprehended mine. My dictionary contains, alphabetically of course, all the words that never were but really should be. Kind of a long title, but Man is it handy. When I need a word that does not exist, I simply look it up. I have included the definition below for the words above from the dictionary I keep next to my bed.

What about Me-ism; An extremely crippling disease that occurs when you become the center of the known universe and you are continually upset about how others are unable or unwilling to verify this universally known fact to you, each and every day! Oh and everybody else’s problems are just that. Their problems, you need to talk about yours, now! (Page 257)

Bernard Baily hit the proverbial nail on the head with his comment about the center of the universe.

“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.” 

~Bernard Bailey

I love those folks! I just hope that they are not too disappointed about that discovery thing.

A place in the world

There is a place in the world for each of us . . . . our lives, our time and our purpose was conceived long before we ever were. 

Who you are and what your purpose is has been in your heart all this time. What you dream of every night and all the thoughts you carry with you each day are your purpose. Like a tiny seed that longs to grow into a tall oak tree, your purpose waits inside your heart. Yes, everyone will offer you advice, guidance and theories on your purpose. They mean well but only you know why you are here. 

It takes faith to follow your dreams and courage to announce that you are going to be , well . . . . . you. 

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Oscar Wilde

I tried to be all the people others wanted me to be. Now, I am just me.

"Once upon a time, I was standing lost and alone, in the dark woods of my life. I watched the snowflakes fall, softly towards the ground, only to melt away. . . . . just like the years of my life." 

Bert Anderson

But, that was a long time ago. Today, I stand in the light of a new day, hand in hand with my bestest, good friend. Because, dreams really do come true.

 I owe my bestest good friend a debt that I can never repay, for she has given me my “voice” and has guided me to where I was always supposed to be. Sitting on a yellow mushroom with red polka dots by a winding creek, under those magnificent tall, Oak Trees surrounded by soft, green grass . . . .  Telling tall tales and short lies to three tiny, epic, blue birds. I now know that my purpose is to tell stories all about how dreams come true. 

Once I was a paratrooper,a restaurant owner,a radio sales guy and a fool. Now I write and illustrate picture books for children all about "The Rabbit in the Moon". 

As "Pops" Armstrong sang . . .  "Yes, I say to myself. What a wonderful world"