A Wake-Up Call

I peeled my tongue from the roof of my mouth and tried to swallow that bitter "morning after” taste.  Prying one eye open…I came face to face with the reality that I was sleeping with seventy-year-old grandmother.

The question was; “How did this happen?”

Yesterday, it seems, I crawled into bed with this hot college co-ed.

But that was nearly fifty years ago and I’m still seeing the same smiling face.

The reality is…I had the good fortune of sharing a bed with this "Hottie" for nearly half a century.  Certainly this is Divine Providence…because there is no way that Miss Mary could have put up with me without God's help.  Happy Birthday…Miss Mary.  Thanks for being such a wonderful wife, loving mother and fantastic grandmother. May God bless you on this day...your birthday...your 70^th birthday…and everyday here after. 

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for this undeserved gift that has blessed me in more ways than I can count.   

Amen.        

Another Hectic Day

3 pm---I checked my busy schedule in the hope that nothing had been over looked only to realize that I had completely missed my 2 pm.  

Rats! I had slept right through it. 

Cooking The Holiday Bird

I set the oven to 325 degrees per my wife’s instructions.  After several hours…as guests started to arrive…I discovered that you must select “START” in order to start the oven.  That’s when I knew my goose was cooked.  Well done…I may add.  Golden Corral here we come.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!!!!

A Little Peace And Quiet

  Today would be my fathers birthday…so Happy Birthday…Dad.  As a kid…I remember my father saying, “all I want…is a little peace and quiet.” This was always his answer to the question “what do you want for your birthday?” actually it was his answer for any and all occasions.  

   I would like to apologize for all the trouble I caused my father as a child and adolescent…I missed the chance to say that before I grew up and he was gone.  Also, I never told him that I loved him.   

   So, Dad, on the occasion of your 100^th birthday I wish you the well deserved peace and quiet you always asked for.

Your prodigal son

P.S. I love you

November 26, 2014

Thank You

Last weekend we attended our granddaughter’s 7^th grade class play, a surprisingly well-done version of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.  Then Sunday morning we did Mass at St. John Vianney.  In spite of all the distractions…people coming in late and leaving early, the little children taking the parents to the restroom at the most inappropriate time and the general commotion of a large church…Father Troy’s sermon had a pointed question that I just could not get out of my head.  He asked “What if you had everything you thanked God for last night?  What would you have?  What did you thank God for last night”?  My answer haunted me…for I had not thanked God for anything last night…absolutely nothing…I would have absolutely nothing. 

In my defense, I am a morning person that cannot do much after the sun goes down.  My brain turns off and I am unconscious before my head hits the pillow.  So in an effort to do better I started a list…a thank you list.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you for my soft warm bed,

And a pillow to lay my head.

Thank you for a roof wide spread

So the rain it may shed.

Thank you for each night and day.

Thank you for the words to pray.

Thank you for the food to eat.

Thank you for that tasty treat.

Thank you for blue skies above

For those are the days I love.

Thank you for my good health

Worth so much more that riches or wealth.

Thank you for this land of plenty

‘Tis not the case for so many.

This land can be a barren waste

For all of us who make haste.

Thank you for a wife so kind

She…I know you did find.

Thank you for your saving deed

This is what I really need.

I thank you for everything.

There is not much I can bring

To the table you have set

This is my big regret.

Thank you for this very day.

Help me live my life your way.

For this one thing I do pray

So that I may not stray.

For all YOU give it seems not fair

When all I have is a little prayer.

Thank you Lord for my every breath

I owe it all to your death.

Amen.

Mustard Seeds

Everyday I question things like…moving mountains with mustard seeds.  My brain can’t figure it out.  Virgins having babies, a god who lets people put him to death and the three-in-one thing.  It’s all too much for my little brain to understand. 

But then I walk out side and look up into the early morning darkness at all the stars that stretch from horizon to horizon, the amazing sunrise and the breath-taking day.

Something is going on…something much bigger than my brain understands. 

There is someone or something out there that can do all this.  There must be a god…an all-powerful God…who can do these wonderful things I don’t understand.

It seems I have a choice between a God I don’t understand that gives me peace, joy and comfort; or a world mired in chaos that I do understand but drives me insane.

So, I think…mustard seeds, mountains and all the other stuff.  Why Not?

The humbling feeling that washes over me at Mass leaving me breathless and unable to speak…unable to speak the words “Thank You” that are trapped inside…this I understand maybe not with my brain but with my heart.

Dear Lord Jesus

Just a word from this nave

Before I go to my grave

Thank you for the brains you gave

Thank you for the hearts you save

Grant me that I may be brave

So I might be your slave

Amen.

Brushing My Tooth

Standing in front of the mirror while performing my morning rituals…I thought of my mother…who always harped on brushing teeth.  For the past seven decades I have been in the habit of just giving the pearly whites a token once over.  As my tongue counted the missing in action I realizing that I should have listened to my mother.  So, today I am turning over a new leaf and I am taking her advice seriously. 

 And in other news…I am ashamed to say…that I have finally decided to take God seriously.  For it seems that my way of doing thing have lead to nothing but tooth decay and moral decay.  My “once over and done” policies have left some gaps in my life…gaps that dentures cannot fill in. 

 Dear Lord Jesus…

 You can fill in the holes for us poor lost souls, such that I may be.

In a rush…I did not brush…yet, you have set me free.

 My ego aside…all pumped up with pride…from this I must flee.

I now realize, keep my eyes on the prize, is the only way for me.

 What you did, got into my id, for this I am filled with glee

You showed the way…You did the pay.  I’m confident of You Three.

Thank you

Amen 

Twiddling My Thumbs

I sat twiddling my thumbs as I stared at the four walls of the exam room.  It was my annual check up that I do every three years whether I need it or not.  I suppose I am extremely fortunate to have enjoyed relatively good health of the past seventy years. 

I have never suffered from any exotic disease like Ebola, Leprosy or the big “C”…maybe a head cold, a touch of flu and some hay fever…but nothing debilitating.  

Now, I am starting to feel my age…little aches and pains that remind me that I am no longer the bulletproof teenager that never considered the possibility of sickness or death. 

The road ahead is shorter than the road behind me…I tend to ponder the ramifications of the hereafter, the after life…eternity. 

I need to walk the straight and narrow…lay off the white bread and tasty desserts.  After all…how will I get through that narrow gate?

Now it is so clear to see

You have taken care of me.

So many times I stumble and fall

But, You were there through it all.

Thank you Lord, for good heath

That in fact, is my wealth. 

I’m committed to finish the race.

My one desire is to see Your face.

Amen.

A Trip Back In Time

Pushing the trip odometer button I cleared the fourteen hundred miles and hobbled into the house noticing all the bugs plastered to the front of my vehicle…verification of the fact that El Paso is a long, long way from home.

I had just spent a lot of time traveling...a lot of time to thinking...thinking back in time.

I couldn't help but recall the memories of those long ago college days and memories of a friend.  He had a leprechauns’ glint in his eye and chuckle in his voice.  Upon meeting he immediately became my best friend…he was not hard to like.

There was something genuine, something authentic, some indescribable quality about him.  His wit and humor…his take on life was always up beat.  

He was always so full of life...His thought process totally captivated my imagination and he was always a pleasure to be around.

Although for the past twenty years he had suffered from Parkinson's disease it never affected his outlook on life.  He lived life to the fullest and was an inspiration.

Kevin Shannon was everybody’s best friend.

Rest in peace, Kevin...Now you get to sit at the table with the big kids...enjoy the everlasting party. 

Dear Lord,

Kevin has run and finished the race.

And not left here without a trace.

I know that YOU have made a place

For that impish smiling face.

Amen.

Pie Is Good Medicine

Like chicken noodle soup for the body…Humble Pie is good medicine for the soul. 

The first bite is hard to swallow but the more I eat the less distasteful it becomes.

Humble Pie:

3 cups of conceit

2 tablespoons of smugness

1¾ tablespoons of self-importance

1 pint of pride

2½ oz of arrogance 

Mix thoroughly,

Bake until ready

Cut into large portions

Serve with generous helping of sincerity

And

Swallow hard.

  

Humble pie is no pie in the sky

‘Tis better than a stick in the eye

Not to mention a nail through the hand

For that I’m sure I could not stand

As I swallow hard…I thank the Lord

For all the dressing and the blessing

And all the meals and the good deals

That feed my needs…and even exceeds

Amen.