What If

Yesterday while listening to the radio I heard a song that made me stop and think. The song was "One More Day" by Diamond Rio. If you have never heard the song stop reading and go to YouTube and pull up the video. This will give you an idea what i'm writing about. Its a beautifully written song. The song proposes a wish is granted that the person singing could have one more day with a lost loved one. Someone that has passed on to the afterlife.
    This got me to pondering. What if every five years you could bring one person back for a day. Who would you choose? Would you choose anyone? I got to thinking of all the loved ones I've lost throughout my life. Would it be my grandfather on my Dad's side who I never really got to know because I was so young when he passed. I could get to know a man that I've only heard stories about. I am sorry I never got to know him and it would be cool to meet him. I have only a few of these wishes throughout my lifetime how high up on the list is my granddad whom I've never known?  Would it be either of my grandmothers ? Most definitely  I would love to sit and talk with them for hours. I could let them know their diciplining was not in vain and I turned out ok. I could let them know that they influenced my life and that I would not be who I am without them and their memories in my life. Would it be my older brother who I did not get to grow old with? He was only 25 and had so much life left. I would love for him to meet Cynthia. I would love to wrestle with him one more time. I think I could take him this time maybe. I would talk music and football.  That was two of his greatest loves as well. My mother would be number one on the wish list. Man I miss her so much every day. I just want her to know I'm ok.  I would have to break out the Barry Mannilow  collection and dust it off.  Just to sit and rewind, go back in time and visit the past. The truth is there are so many to bring back for a day it would be hard to choose. 
     Then we are faced with the dilemma of saying goodbye again. Ripping open that old wound and sorrow and grief of losing them the first time.  It's missing them even more all over again. Would it be worth it?. I'm sure most of us would say yes, it  would definitely be worth the suffering we would endure. One day would never be enough.
   The one question that would have to be answered is what does the afterlife hold for us? Wouldn't that take a little fear out of death if we knew what was waiting for us on the other side.
   I know this what if is just a dream but that is what all what ifs are.  I can take comfort and peace in knowing each of these lost loved ones, the ones mentioned and those that are not, are a part of my life every day. Those memories are all I have. I can take a few minutes every day and let my mind drift back to those days when they were were all in my life.  That is all have.  We keep moving on because life doesn't stop.  We just have to live our lives in way that someone would give up a wish to bring you back for a day.
  Kenney Big Skinny Pope

Itsy Bitsy Spider

On my way work one day this week, I climbed into my truck preparing to back out of the driveway. As I checked my side mirrors I noticed a little spider on the passenger side mirror trying desperately to climb off. For anyone that knows me well, there are three things I don't interact with. I do not like Spiders, snakes or mice/ rats. This spider being one of the three was on his or her own in finding a way off the truck. I figured if it didn't make its way down, once I reached cruising speed of 70 mph it would fly like it never had before. Maybe in its last seconds on earth it would be an adrenaline rush. The last few seconds just flying at what must be like the speed for a little spider. Maybe in some way I was helping the spider fulfill something on its bucket list. I'm not real sure how Spiders think but it could have been a possibility.  So now I am cruising through a neighborhood at 35 mph.  This spider is a trooper. He or she is under duress as the wind force is shaking as it scurries trying to find safety. I am thinking little spider you ain't seen nothing yet. We are fixing to hit the highway and you will be airborne in just a few. I hope you brought a helmet. So as we hit the highway the spider crawls up to the plastic housing surrounding the mirror. It's in a place where there is virtually no wind force to blow it down the road. That spider rode from the Westside of Fort Worth to South Dallas. This is about a 45 minute trip. Kudos spider I have driven you farther than you could walk in a lifetime. When I got out of the truck I left the spider right where he was because in a weird way he or she earned my respect. Now comes the hard part of readjusting to a new way of life for this spider. It in an unfamiliar place with new obstacles to conquer.
      As I got to thinking about this very minor event for me but probably momentous for this spider this thought came to me. Isn't life for us a lot like this spider's crazy ride? We are traveling down life's highway at what seems like breakneck speed with no idea where we are headed. Like this little spider we have traveled so far that we could not get back to where we were if we had three lifetimes. Every day is an exercise in overcoming new obstacles. Many of these said obstacles are things that we arbitrarily place in our path throughout our years of travel. We do this because we think that we will never have to go over the obstacle, but there it is waiting on us. Some of the obstacles we face are from situations arising in which we have no control.  Most animals are created with the basic instinct of survival. This means they don't concern themselves with the past they are constantly looking forward. The spider wasn't concerned about getting back to where it was it was only concerned about moving forward in survival mode. We can't concern ourselves with looking back at yesterday or 20 years ago trying to change the past or regretting past mistakes. We can learn from them, making our future a better place to be in.  Just like the spider had no say in where he was going, we living life experience the same daily. We might not know exactly where life is going to take because there are so many unplanned or predicted twists and turns. We can make the most of where we are. We can climb down off of the mirror and clean out our 8 legged pair of pants because sometimes life is scary and at times its a harrowing ride. Then once again there are those simple moments when you feel the love of friends and family and thank God for giving you another day. Those exhilarating days are what makes life worth pushing on down the road for another mile or two.
   The truth is that spider could have bailed anytime but chose not to. Jumping from the truck at that speed would have been certain death. It chose to hang on and see where the ride was taking it.  The spider's family and friends were a memory and now the spider moves on to the big city. Brighter days hopefully with new opportunities and memories.  Maybe and more than likely this spider had no idea what transpired a few days ago. There is a slim chance it used its little spider Mobile phone and called it's friends and family and said I am finally taking that trip I talked about to find myself.  It never takes long to find yourself in Dallas and it might be ready to come home soon. If you find yourself in Dallas and see a spider with eight thumbs up in the wind trying to hitch a ride back to Fort Worth pull over and give him or her a mirror to ride back on.
  Enjoy the ride.
Kenney"Bigskinny Pope"
7/16/2016

4th of July

Another family barbecue-get together another hot summer day.  Another dip in the pool to cool off, yes you guessed it, another 4th of July celebration. its one of those times of the year  we all get together. It's a time of memory making. It's a time of reflecting and celebrating our freedoms. For some it may be just a day off but for others it's a reminder of those who fought to give us our way of life. Even today as we are celebrating there will be some there with us who gave up a part of their life to make sure you could do what you are doing today. There is not one of us who have never experienced going through a war could imagine the mental anguish. That is something our Veterans experience on a daily basis. Some have learned how to cope but they never forget. Some never quite get there. Society and our Government forgot them. You can find these lost souls living on the streets or in homeless shelters. They deserve so much more than they have been given. What a price was paid for our right to worship how we see fit. What a price paid to just live our lives on a daily basis freely.  It's possibly one of two days a year they even come to mind. I know I take my freedom for granted, how could I not? It's all I've ever known. These days the fight is on our soils.  Wars and battles still rage. We hear about it almost every day. We now more than ever depend on our Veterans to protect our homeland from those who wish to do us harm. The 4th of July is more than a pool party or some dogs and burgers on the grill. It's a time to stand by our military and support them. It's a time we fight the government so that our vets get the heathcare  they deserve. It's a time to be there for a family member who has served and is having a hard time readjusting. It's a time to give back to those who never thought twice about giving it all if it came down to it. It's a time to listen and learn and to care about more than ourselves. Honestly if it weren't for our soldiers what kind of life would we have to celebrate. In the spirit of 1776, Happy 4th of July.