When You've Already Said Goodbye

This is a poem I have written for my Grandpa Baird (Ralph McGilvery Baird). I hope it may say some of what he may be thinking right now:

If life is a pathway to eternity,
I have been traveling the last mile for the last few years.
It feels as though my feet are treading on the smoothest ground,
yet I feel as though the spring in my step is gone.
I used to walk along this path without any assistance,
and at times I carried others across the dips and hills in their pathways.
However, now I take frequent stops to catch my breath,
and I seem to be covering no distance.

The world goes on and buzzes around me
like bees buzzing in a hive.
You have no reason stay amid the stress
when you've already said goodbye.

The companions I have met along the way
have shaped me into who I am.
I have served in a time of war
and have seen the ugliness that hate can bring.
But, I have also gained strength from the lessons learned
on my own defending my countries freedoms.
I have taught the youth of this great land
and hoped and prayed they will exceed our grasp.

The world keeps spinning from day to day
like the records June and I would play.
You have no reason to stop and dance
When you've already said goodbye.

This mortal shell is weak,
yet I know clearer than ever the truths of this great life.
My spirit is strong within this old body,
and I would yell the thoughts of my heart if the breath was in me.
I have fought a good fight as Paul would say;
I have given my all to His cause.
My family has grown to numbers I could have never imagined;
Each tender heart aches for me and I wish that I could tell them.

I walked this pathway of life to live with all of you for eternity.
Death has no sting for me through Christ our Lord.
You have no reason to fear the next great step
when you've already said goodbye.

Olympic Gold Dreams

I like to run. It is a hobby of mine. I am not a super fast runner and I don't run everyday. I run three times a week for a little over 3 miles each day. Everyone else is asleep and I run and listen to my music. It is a very nice and peaceful time where I think about things I need to do, goals I have, etc...

Then, a few days ago I was running my regular route (through the neighborhoods where I live) when I heard a noise in the bushes. It sounded like two animals were in a vicious bloodthristy brawl. They weren't squirrels and they also sounded bigger than cats. Maybe a couple of dogs?

The sounds keep getting closer and closer to me. Keep in mind that I am listening to my music and can still here this very well. I finally decide to look down and I see that I am running over a sewer grate and this big angry sewer creature is clawing at me and coming out at me. This was the last thing I expected and my legs just take off. I had a burst of speed that a steroid-filled olympic sprinter would have died for. I could have made Carl Lewis look like Mr. Bean in those seconds that followed the discovery of the ferocious sewer monster.

Okay, so I look back over my shoulder as I am making this record breaking sprint and I see more of the body of this monster as it is crawling out of the sewer grate to determine if it wants to run after me. Its teeth are bared and I am definitely not sticking around.

At that moment when I felt like I was a safe distance, I realized I was so full of adrenaline that I could have thrown a semi truck like the Incredible Hulk.



Now, I have to be a honest here. The ferocious sewer monster was probably a big raccoon or possum (my guess is a raccoon). Obviously, I was on its territory. Luckily, I survived and maybe even realized my Olympic Gold Dreams. Ummm....if any one has this encounter on video please let me know. I would have loved to be a bystander of this whole ordeal.

Actually, I just found this picture on-line (no joke!!) and it is exactly what I am talking about except the raccoon was growling and there was plenty of gnashing of teeth. This raccoon also appears to be in some sort of a trap, poor thing.