My Melancholy day

My day started off early yesterday and quite frankly it started out sad.  I was going home to a friend’s father’s funeral.  Had not seen Bill in about 30 years but one thing for sure that if you were a friend of a States street kid we were friends for life.  I got back home early and took a little tour of the area.  How it has gone down, some houses are not even there any longer.  I traveled down my old street and had to go up Kentucky Ave where as a kid I was always amazed how far away the state of Maryland was.  It’s really close, just over the river but funny thing was I have been to 49 countries and all 50 states but as a kid I thought it was so far away.

I traveled down Indiana Ave and headed to my middle school.  Could not get there as they planted a grass strip where the road uses to be.  I even noticed they had a name for the old dirt road that went back to the woods.  I remember leaning against the fence watching fights back in the day how it had all changed.

The service was at Riverview Baptist Church, where as a kid I went to services, Sunday school, and was actually baptized there.  It was a melancholy day but I felt a lifting that words could not describe.  I was sitting next to Leslie and Dave and it was a great experience for me as one side of me felt very uplifted but the other felt bad as I was there for a funeral.  Leslie was impressed that I knew the Consolation responses but I have good eye sight, I was reading the lady’s in front of me. We got a good chuckle out of that!

I came away from the service realizing how blessed I am. I have wonderful people in my life from my past and it amazes me how time separates us but we still are connected. I went to the services, had a beautiful lunch and said my goodbyes; I was back on the road heading to Delaware.  The pastor said some things that were mind boggling.  The one thing I took away from it was how cool it is to be blessed when you’re on this earth and how blessed you will be when you leave.   Until Next time!

Tough times!

I always wondered what made people tough and what is in their soul to make them do what they do.  First disclaimer is I do not consider myself tough.  I think of the single mothers who everyday raise their families.  I look at the military wife who has to face the everyday crap they have to put up with. I think of the vets who have lost limbs and going thru the recovery process, those folks are tough.  I look back at me and think of what I have done as far as my health.  Cancer, Strokes, Broken bones, I have had it all and survived.  Not tough just life! I look at people who everyday live with pain and go through the day as if nothing is wrong, those folks are tough. 

You never really know what kind of people you are dealing with.  I know a person who cuts themselves when they are dealing with stress.  Things look great on the outside but hurting on the inside.  Folks, who are dealing with weight issues, pressure from their peers, etc, not talking about high school peer pressure, but the everyday pressures of life.   We need to just be nice to people, I am sure you have heard the saying laughing on the outside but crying on the inside. 

I have not liked this 2012 year so far.  Way too many of my friends have lost their life, parents of my friends have deceased, people have lost their jobs, it is a tough year and we are only at the beginning.   For 2012 we have made resolutions to get in shape, lose weight, eat right, be a better person, etc.  I think the one thing we need to do is step in another person’s footsteps for a minute and try to understand where they are coming from.  Bet it is not easy!  Until Next time.