MY PLACE AT THE END OF THE AISLE

I had the honor of officiating a wedding recently and I had to stop and smile

You see I have a unique perspective from my place at the end of the aisle.

Everyone else faces the front, all eyes on the bride and groom

Since I am turned the other way I see everyone in the room.

One has to wonder, as we view world events, if love isn’t on the decline

From my perspective at the end of the aisle I can report...love is doing fine.

Love is clearly visible at every wedding I attend. 

It’s radiates and warms the hearts of family and friends.

It’s in the tradition of matrimony and despite the changes it’s been through.

It’s still in something old, and new...in something borrowed, something blue

It’s in two simple words ‘I do’ spoken as the knot is tied

It’s in the gentle caress upon her daughter’s by the mother of the bride.

It’s in the squeeze of a hand between Mom and Dad as this new day’s about to dawn

It’s a smile they share as they wonder silently....where...has the time gone.

It’s in the way people look at one another, it’s in little whispers in the ears

It’s in the gentle touch of two lovers hands, it’s in the joyousness of their tears.

It’s in the elation of a mother watching her son on this momentous day

It’s in the pride of a father’s smile as he gives his baby away. 

It’s in the look on the face of a young couple standing without pretense or pretext

It’s in the wave of a touch spreading across the room from one generation to the next.

The wink of an eye, a pat on the shoulder, a hug, a kiss...the sounds

If you’re looking for proof of love in this world...go to a wedding...it’s all around.

I think that’s why I like officiating a wedding...it’s my way to gently compile

Proof that love still rules this world...from my place at the end of the aisle.

THE LITTLE THINGS

As I was thinking to myself the other day I had a chilling thought

I think I am a happy man but I write about sadness a lot.

It occurred to me the best way to fight a world where sadness reigns as king

Is by finding our true happiness in all the little things.

With that in mind this rhyme today is my attempt to bring

A smile to your face as I explore life’s little things.

Things like popcorn at the movies, falling leaves, kind words, 

Vanilla pudding, chocolate ice cream, the singing of the birds.

Puppies, breakfast for dinner, the chiming of church bells

Eating peanut butter from a jar, the way a baby smells.

Looking at old photographs, hiking on a trail

The laughter of a family, a dog wagging its tail.

Remembering as you make a call how phones were once all dialed

Laughter, love letters, sharing silence, reading a story to a child

Flying a kite, a good book, doing something totally unplanned

Sitting in front of a raging fire, the beach, the ocean the sand.

Clouds, stars, rainbows, the clouds up in the sky

Hot chocolate on a cold winter’s evening and summer fireflies.

Cookies hot out of the oven, a bride and groom walking down the aisle

Children, grand children, root beer floats, a hug, a kiss, a smile

My list, thank goodness, goes on and on...but these are mine alone

So I’ve left you time to consider some little things of your own.

Here is the portion of this poem in which you can now partake

Because it seems abundantly clear to me...we have a choice to make

Do we look for sadness in the world and wallow in all it brings

Or shall we find our happiness in all the little things?

  

DRAWING DAY

You may not find this on the calendar but today is special anyway

June 7th every year is known as Drawing Day.

For anyone whose ever drawn and animal, a tree, a bus 

This day is set aside to celebrate the drawer in all of us. 

When a child draws an out of proportion person with giant hands or feet

People hold up that drawing and say how talented...how sweet.

But when an adult draws giant hands or makes one arm a little too long

People give him funny looks and assume there’s something wrong.

When I was little my drawings were cute, or so my parents thought.

But my drawing talent never progressed the older that I got.

For years when our kids were little every vacation we ever took

I would draw a cartoon every night and we’d keep them in a book.

I’d draw a picture depicting a funny situation then add a sentence or paragraph

But more often than not it was the drawings themselves that made my family laugh.

They’d see my oddly misshaped figures, “Who’s that person?” They would plea.

“My eyes are too big, and where’s my nose...I know that can’t be me.”

I tried to explain I was like Picasso and my drawings reflected that

But they’d reply,”I can’t imagine Picasso would make my head that fat!”

“Dad, you drew me without a neck and my legs look so arthritic.”

I often wondered, “Did Picasso have such an array of critics?”

But as time marches ever onward and our memories begin to fade

Every now and then we pull out those old books and browse the drawings I once made.

Oh we still laugh at the contorted figures but I don’t find it demeaning

Because somehow over the years they’ve acquired a different meaning.

It seems the older we get and we realize life’s moments pass by in a blur

We need to stop and remember how important those moments were.

The drawings themselves become secondary as we chuckle our way through them

And everyone, including me, is simply glad I drew them.

DONUT DAY

You can have your Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter or Thanksgiving holiday

But, in my mind nothing, holds a candle to today...it’s Donut Day!

It is celebrated on the first Friday in June...every year without delay.

But, come on people...who are we kidding...every day is donut day.

If you’re looking for tranquility or a little inner peace

Take a circular shaped piece of dough and drown it in hot grease

Then sweeten it, top it or put something scrumptious in the center

How can we have something this delicious and not know the true inventor?

Powder, sprinkles, coconut, chocolate, how easy it is to see

A donut’s not only loaded with flavor but versatility.

Think of the shape of a donut and the symbolism the circle brings

Halos are made of circles...and so are wedding rings.

Yes who would have thought the circle of life with all its hopes and dreams

Could be ordered in a drive thru at your nearest Krispy Kreme? 

One way to know donuts will be around for quite a long duration

Is when they become a part of your memories when you are on vacation

A few years ago Deborah and I took a trip...a whirlwind three week campaign

We visited New York, Virginia, Rhode Island and drove up the coast of Maine.

We saw the Amish in their buggies, Acadia, and took a ship out to the sea

We visited Niagara Falls, the White Mountains and saw the Statue of Liberty

One of the highlights was spending a night in the Adirondacks of New York State

For there in a little shop on our way out of town were the best donuts we ever ate. 

So many memories run together, people, places, sunrises...sunsets

But those donuts from that little shop are something we’ll never forget.

Yes, donuts can change our mood, they can make us happy when we’re blue

I’m quoting Homer Simpson here....”Donuts...is there anything they can’t do?”

So here’s a tip if you want to celebrate a treat that’s so extraordinary

Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts today...no purchase necessary.

THE LUTHER BURGER

Just when you think you can no longer be surprised, when you think you’ve seen it all

We turn the corner and sure enough...again we are appalled.

A woman makes herself look like a Barbie doll, people inject bacteria into their lips

They paint Chows to look like pandas in China, you can buy Cajun squirrel potato chips.

Yes Cajun squirrel potato chips...now there’s a mental picture I cant erase. 

Makes you wonder doesn’t it...just how a squirrel might taste?

And then there’s the Luther Burger...take a juicy burger, add some cheese

Some strips of bacon, lettuce and any condiments you please...

Now here’s the part that makes mouths water and reputable doctors scream

Your bun is not a normal bun...it’s a donut from Krispy Kreme.

Eat enough of them and your heart will be weak, there’s a chance you’ll be obese

But it’s billed as having a salty-sweet taste with surprisingly little grease.

That’s the world we’re living in now...where our portions can be super sized

If it doesn’t have a lot of grease...only then are we surprised!

1300 calories and 45 grams of fat are going directly to our thighs

And that’s before we drink a soda or wolf down any fries.

Paula Deen has her own take on this burger sure to make mouths drop

She makes it as described above but adds a fried egg on top.

In America we don’t worry about fat or calories...we just keep adding more.

Congratulations on created the ultimate food...a burger to die for. 

So next time you’re looking for a lightly greasy burger still guaranteed to make you fat

May I suggest the Luther burger...and try squirrel chips with that!

THE TREE WITH A HEART

Do you believe trees have feelings? I do. It’s part of my malady.

Basically, I give human characteristics to everything I see.

I was born with this affliction and I own it with dignity and grace

Besides, from where I sit, it makes the world a more alluring place.

Take the trees around my neighborhood to me they’re more than works of art

I have always thought of a tree as sensitive, possessing a kind heart.

It’s really not that crazy for me to think the trees might care

They do provide us all with oxygen and help to clean our air. 

They allow us to climb their branches, on many trees have we all played

They provide us food and shelter and cool us with their shade.

Studies have shown that people who are sick or have lived through a disaster

When they view or in the midst of trees...heal a little faster.

Trees mark the seasons, they hold our swings, under their canopies lovers yearn

They do all these things and more...yet ask for nothing in return.

I’m not alone in thinking this...look at all the artists who have drawn them.

And if people don’t think trees have hearts why do they carve so many on them?

The other day a city worker stopped by our house...in his truck tools overflowed.

His job: to trim a large tree branch that hung into the road.

We watched him prune that branch away...how quickly it was dissected

The tree, for his part, stood their stoically and never once objected.

When the man was finished unbeknownst to him...he left a work of art

The stump of the branch he left behind was the shape of a perfect heart.

As we rejoiced in our discovery nearby church bells began to ring

A tiny bird perched on that heart and a love song he did sing...

More proof that trees have hearts and those hearts are selfless and strong

Of course you didn’t have to tell me...I knew it all along.

WHERE I DRAW THE LINE

I think of myself as a nonviolent person...I like all creatures great and small

I believe in living in peace and harmony with those that walk, swim, fly and crawl.

But the other day when reaching into my closet to pick out a shirt to wear

For a brief moment I felt something brush up against my hair.

Unperturbed I donned my shirt and as I was getting ready to leave

I was amazed to feel a roach on my arm then watched him crawl out my sleeve.

It’s turning warmer in Florida and we all no what that means

Hotter days, more humidity and roaches in our jeans.

On most days I can live at peace with roaches...those sneaky evildoers

If they let me live in my house and they stay within their sewers.

It’s a simple rule I like to follow...what’s there’s is there’s...what’s mine is mine.

But when they try on my shirts and sleep in my bed...that’s where I draw the line

They show up in the oddest places...it’s like they’re made of vapor

The kitchen counter, the shower, the commode....I wonder, do they use toilet paper?

What’s the protocol when they’re in my house, if I smash them am I a sinner

Or do I buy them presents at Christmas and ask them to Thanksgiving dinner?

Of course not, that would be inviting misery, it would be a huge mistake

For roaches are not givers...all they do is take.

So I catch them and try to make them understand what terrible guests they’ve been

But while I’m counseling the one I caught...another twenty move in.

Since they don’t listen to reason and they’re not looking for absolution

I have but one alternative...to promote their execution.

So I kill them any way I can, a magazine, rolled up newspaper...my shoe

I know it’s not very pacifistic but what’s a man to do? 

After all, when I find them in my car, at my parties, and sipping my red wine

Well...even a nonviolent person has got to draw the line.