DEATH OF A LOVED ONE: A poem

To our eyes the sun sets
And the sky grows dark,
And the feel of a strange, cold wind
Creates a chill, which we can not subdue.

We feel that the darkness
Has never been this dark before,
And that the light in our lives
Has been forever shut out.

But the light that we now miss
Has not been subdued or even dimmed.
It has gone beyond the horizon
To brighten, even more, our FATHER'S HOUSE.

And if through faith,
We think along these lines,
We do not see the end,
But only the dawn
Of a new and glorious day!

 By John "J.C." Speight
       (1972)


Today is the day that we have the service for our Mom. And I want to thank all of you for the kind words and the cards. They mean a lot.

This poem was written by a friend, and grand father to our son, my son, who lives with his mom. He lost his grandfather on Memorial Day. JC was 89 years young. He had a zest for life. He served in WWII on a B-17. He never bragged about it, but would get a look in his eyes when he talked about missions and buddies from that past. He even had some of my son's uncles go with him to a reunion to see and fly, once again, in a B-17.

I was proud to know him.

Thanks for bearing with me through this time.

Well, I'm sad

My mom passed away Monday. I've been thinking of what to blog about it, but I've got nothin' right now. 

I'm sorry; so look for me in the next couple of days. Thanks.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 5/20/13

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."
-- William Arthur Ward, American writer

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 5/13/13

"Thought is the blossom; language the bud; and action the fruit behind it."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

KNEE UPDATE: It works... Kind of.

Well, my knee is getting better. It is going to take some time for it to get back to what it was. I managed to ride a stationary bike for about 3 minutes. YAY! So, I need to work on that. As far as walking goes, I'm doing pretty good. It's easy to overdo it. I need to remind myself before that happens. I need to take it slower, and not try to walk a mile or more every day like I was doing.

It swells up pretty good when I overdo it. Setting with my knee bent at the computer? I can only keep it bent for about 5 or 6 minutes at a time. So, some of this was done standing up. Sleeping is okay, as long as I don't roll over. I wake up every time I roll.

There is a lot that I'm getting antsy about -- yard work, gardening, poop patrol for Nugget. Things that need to be taken care of. Like, our truck needs an oil change, it needs to be washed and waxed. I need to get the '67 Charger up and running and ready to sell. Get new tags on our boat. And, and, and. . . the list goes on.

Plus, it's time to do some fishing! HERE FISHY FISHY! And time to get out and do some metal detecting,  camping, prospecting, gold panning, and such. I've got projects to do, like re-doing a Coleman stove. And, Kathi has things that she would like done. I've still got a sofa to move and replace.

The list is growing. The leg is willing, but just not up to snuff yet. I'll get there.

OLDIE BUT GOODY: Knife stain remover

All of us guys, and lots of ladies also, have a few knives laying around that we don't carry with us every day. Grandpa and my dad, every year, at Spring time, would start getting ready for fishing. Out came the tackle box and the old knives they used for gutting, scaling, and filleting. Plus, they would pull out their hunting knives also.

They would take the knives and clean the stains off of the blades. First, they would crush a chunk of red brick, with a hammer, to a fine powder. Then they would raid the kitchen and take a large potato. They would cut the potato in half and dip the cut end into the brick dust, then rub this on the stained knife.

It would remove small rust and blood stains. Grandpa had the same knives in his tackle box for over 30 some years. When he passed, my dad ended up with them. My dad gave me the ones he had. I've used them for more than 20 years.

Now that my dad has passed, I have those knives as well. It's time to get a tater or two and find an old red brick, so I can set out on the patio, clean some knives, and day dream about past fishing with Grandpa and my dad.

I've got a whale of a tale -- or two!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 5/6/13

"Dream no small dreams, for they have no power to move the hearts of men."
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Writer, artist, and politician

A knee update and some unbelievable stuff (not in a good way)

A friend shared this with me. I thought it could not be real or more ridiculous, but it appears that it probably is.
Go take a look:
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/05/01/Breaking-Pentagon-Confirms-Will-Court-Martial-Soldiers-Who-Share-Christian-Faith

That is very upsetting. And unreasonable. And makes no sense. What do you think about it?

On personal news: I went to the doctor Monday. He could see some improvement, so I got a different knee brace instead of the immobilizer. He told me I could walk, do some knee exercises, and drive as long as it doesn't hurt.

I go back in a month and if I have improved some more, I'll be good to go -- just time for healing. If it looks as if I have not improved or have backslid, I'll have to have an MRI and maybe even surgery. So, I'll be good and do my best.

Thanks to those of you who sent comments and/or well wishes. You helped!

I have more for next week. I'm working on getting back to blogging now that I can sit at a computer a bit.

Take care. And thanks for stopping by.