STILL A LOT TO LEARN

 

“I am the smartest, most powerful being in the Universe!” the human said. 

“For I have the most developed brain.”

The Universe chuckled at the human’s arrogance, 

“If you are so powerful” she said, “then make it rain.”

“Make the sun rise, direct the wind, 

create a moonbeam, a snowfall...a whale,

guide the tides across the ocean

sing like the nightingale.”

“Create a rainbow across the sky…

change daytime into night…

tell a flower when to bLoom…

spread your arms…take flight.”

“Cause the leaves to change their colors

make a star from the heavens fall…

paint a sunset…make it thunder

create a waterfall

The Universe smiled then touched the shoulder of the human

She was compassionate yet stern.

“It’s true you may be smart,” she said.

“but you still have a lot to learn.”

THE TIL VALHALLA PROJECT

 

A story to remind our soldiers on this Veteran’s Day…may you never feel misbegotten…

for all of you who have fought and fight for our freedom…shall never be forgotten:

He wore a black shirt into the bookstore…and immediately I was impressed

when he faced me and I saw the words ‘Until Valhalla’ emblazoned across his chest.

Working in the bookstore has made me somewhat of an extrovert….

so I immediately asked him what was the meaning of the words upon shirt.

Turns out the Til Valhalla Project was started by Korey Shaffer, a Veteran, and his wife

after a close friend of Korey’s from the Afghan war…sadly…took his life.

Korey, a proud and strong Marine, was injured in that war…and even with loving wife…

was facing a slew of difficulties adjusting back to a normal life.

Korey didn’t take the suicide of his friend well….no…not well at all

while grieving and dealing with his own demons…he turned to alcohol.

After learning of the way his friend and comrade-in-arms had died…

Korey realized the unit he served with had an alarming amount of suicides…

Determined to defeat his own demons and get his life back on track…

Korey, to honor his fallen friend…began to make a plaque.

I can’t imagine his mixed emotions…all the sentiments he was feeling

but somewhere during the making of that plaque…Korey started healing

In some unintended way for Korey…that plaque worked much like a balm…

and when it was finished he gifted that plaque to his now deceased friend’s mom.

Who loved it…told all her friends…and not only did Korey get great feedback…

but he was inundated with requests…from other families…all who wanted plaques.

As demands grew…for more plaques…to help ease the pain of those forlorn

from the minds of Korey and his wife the The Til Valhalla Project was born.

’til Valhalla’ comes from Norse Mythology…and is something soldiers say

as they head off into battle…not knowing if they’ll return that day.

It ties the soldiers together…completing a sacred bond….

It means not only are they comrades in life…but they will be comrades beyond.

And though I’ve never fought in a war…I’ll respectfully  wear my ‘UNTIL VALHALLA ‘shirt…(like that veteran’s in my store…mine is the color black)

To help the families of all our fallen heroes…receive one of Korey’s plaques.

The money spent on TVP projects not only honors those who’ve died….

But also helps in the ongoing fight against Veterans suicide.

THE TIL VALHALLA PROJECT

 

A story to remind our soldiers on this Veteran’s Day…may you never feel misbegotten…

for all of you who have fought and fight for our freedom…shall never be forgotten:

He wore a black shirt into the bookstore…and immediately I was impressed

when he faced me and I saw the words ‘Until Valhalla’ emblazoned across his chest.

Working in the bookstore has made me somewhat of an extrovert….

so I immediately asked him what was the meaning of the words upon shirt.

Turns out the Til Valhalla Project was started by Korey Shaffer, a Veteran, and his wife

after a close friend of Korey’s from the Afghan war…sadly…took his life.

Korey, a proud and strong Marine, was injured in that war…and even with loving wife…

was facing a slew of difficulties adjusting back to a normal life.

Korey didn’t take the suicide of his friend well….no…not well at all

while grieving and dealing with his own demons…he turned to alcohol.

After learning of the way his friend and comrade-in-arms had died…

Korey realized the unit he served with had an alarming amount of suicides…

Determined to defeat his own demons and get his life back on track…

Korey, to honor his fallen friend…began to make a plaque.

I can’t imagine his mixed emotions…all the sentiments he was feeling

but somewhere during the making of that plaque…Korey started healing

In some unintended way for Korey…that plaque worked much like a balm…

and when it was finished he gifted that plaque to his now deceased friend’s mom.

Who loved it…told all her friends…and not only did Korey get great feedback…

but he was inundated with requests…from other families…all who wanted plaques.

As demands grew…for more plaques…to help ease the pain of those forlorn

from the minds of Korey and his wife the The Til Valhalla Project was born.

’til Valhalla’ comes from Norse Mythology…and is something soldiers say

as they head off into battle…not knowing if they’ll return that day.

It ties the soldiers together…completing a sacred bond….

It means not only are they comrades in life…but they will be comrades beyond.

And though I’ve never fought in a war…I’ll respectfully  wear my ‘UNTIL VALHALLA ‘shirt…(like that veteran’s in my store…mine is the color black)

To help the families of all our fallen heroes…receive one of Korey’s plaques.

The money spent on TVP projects not only honors those who’ve died….

But also helps in the ongoing fight against Veterans suicide.

https://tilvalhallaproject.com/pages/about-tvp

HELPING A STAR FIND ITS WAY HOME

 

They love to take long walks along the beach before the sun’s first light

A mother, father and their daughter…while the sky’s still filled with night.

On their walk one morning …they hadn’t traveled vary far

when their daughter pointed to the heavens and said, “Look! A shooting star!”

As they walked a little farther down the beach…was it luck…

or something Fate had planned…

for shimmering in the moonlight…was a starfish…in the sand.

“I wonder,” their daughter said, “If this is the same star we saw shooting across the night?”

Her mom and dad both smiled, “We think you could be right.”

“What are we going to do?” Their daughter said as she began to cry.

“How do we get this fallen star…back into the sky?”

“The solution is quite simple.” Her parents said. “Pick that star up…tenderly…wade out into the water and place it in the sea.”

“You needn’t fret or worry…If that star’s a her or him…

for every star is born with the ability to swim.”

“And each arm of a starfish is created with its own eye…

which will help to guide him on his journey to where the ocean meets the sky.”

“And once she reaches her destination…when the time is right

that star will rejoin all the other stars that brighten up our night.”

The daughter did as we was told…and when she was back on land and dry

She said, “I’m pretty sure when I let her go I saw her wave goodbye.”

They love to remember the smile on their daughter’s face…

as across other shores they roam…

The day their daughter helped a fallen star….

find it’s way back home.

STILL AN OPTIMIST

 

Even when an election doesn’t go my way I consider myself an optimist 

when all is said and done.

I believe most people would concede…optimism makes life a lot more fun.

I believe I was born an optimist, 

it circulates through my blood

It helps me survive life’s little adversities 

and withstand it’s terrors and floods.

It’s not that bad things don’t happen to me, 

that my life is without catastrophes or strife

but my optimism reminds me I’m only having a bad day…

in what is a wonderful life.

I’m not disparaging pessimism…

our need for some pessimists is resolute. 

for while optimism created the airplane…

without pessimism we’d have no parachute.

It was an optimist who created the pencil…

a now common, ubiquitous prop…

but it took the mind of a pessimist 

to put an eraser on the top.

It’s possible in the end pessimists may be correct, 

but I refuse to take their side…

I gladly ride with optimism on my shoulders…

sit back…an enjoy the ride.

So I’ll stick with my optimism. 

I’ll use it to help me waltz through all my pain.

I’ll use it to weather any storms that may arrive. 

I’ll use it to dance out in the rain.

And when the world turns its darkest 

and I’m feeling bruised and ministering to all my scars

I’ll use my optimist to remind me it’s only in darkness, 

when I look up…that I can see the stars.

If you wonder if there are more optimists or pessimists in the world…

think of this the next time you’re in a pinch,

The average pencil is 7 inches long 

but the eraser…less than harn an inch?

A LOVE POEM

 

A LOVE POEM

There are many ways to say I love you

many styles

many forms

many techniques…

I can stand atop a mountain and shout it from the highest peak…

But words echoed from the mountain top are only temporary…

they are not meant to stay…

and once they’re placed upon the wind…they quickly fade away.

I can walk along the beach…

where the ocean meets the land…

and in letters tall and wide

write ‘I love you’ in the sand.

But words written in the sand are only temporary

they are not meant to stay…

and soon after they are written…they are quickly washed away.

I can send a note with flowers…perhaps some roses or some phlox…

I can tell you that I love you with candy in a box.

But flowers sent and candy given are only temporary

they are not meant to stay…

For flowers wilt and once the candy’s eaten the box is thrown away

Yes, there are many ways to say ‘I love you’ 

ways that quickly disappear…

so I prefer to hold you close

and whisper in your ear…

For words, once whispered in your ear,

once that message I impart….

they shall echo for eternity…

in the corners of your heart.

JOHN AND JUJUBES

 

You may wonder where this story’s going but bear with me please

as I take you on a little journey from friendship to Jujubes.

We met him on one of our morning walks…soon after we retired…I’m not exactly sure what year…it was where our two walks coincided…by the water…on the pier.

He, like us, was walking early…it’s also how he began his day…

At first we only shared a smile and a Good Morning as we passed along the way.

But from those simple smiles and greetings we found a basis to build a friendship on…

Now he calls us the Happy Wanderers…and we respectfully call him John.

I’m not sure exactly when it happened…when our lives began to blend to the point where I can say with certainly…the three of us are friends.

I suppose it was when we stopped passing each other on our morning walks…

when we took the time to get to know each other…when we took the time to talk.

Now we talk about our families and our children when we pause in the early morn…

We were there to congratulate John when his great grandchildren were born.

John loves to share memories…of his family…of the crisp New England air…

and at over 80 years upon this Earth he has a host of memories to share.

We were talking together one morning…enjoying a cool October breeze…

When John’s face lit up then he asked us, “Do you remember Jujubes?”

Of course we remembered Jujubes…and John smiled as we stood there by the shore…

for when he talked about Jujubes…he wasn’t 80 any more.

He was a child at a movie theater up north…long before he retired south…

watching a movie with his friends or family…stuffing Jujubes in his mouth.

Many days later…with a flourish…but without much fanfare, pomp or fuss

John surprised us with some Jujubes…a box for each of us.

As he handed us our Jujubes he said with a twinkle and a smile…

“The best way to eat them is not to chew them but to suck on them a while.”

Which I did….all the way home a mouthful of Jujubes I was sucking on…

as I thought about how lucky we are…to have a friend like John.