FIRST VERSE She caught your eye freshman year chemistry class Jordache jeans & shirt of her favorite hair metal band She smiled at you and then you smiled right back You never knew a smile could rock you like that High school sweetheart survived the college years College graduation she said yes and you were both in tears Watching her walk the aisle in her dress and saying "I do" You both teared up again knowing this love was true Who knew that one smile could lead to her being your wife And fill your heart with love throughout your lives CHORUS Life is sometimes filled with laughter and heart break Some decisions work out and some end up as mistakes And over time, some people will come and go in our lives Some will become our inspiration and help us to thrive It doesn't matter race or religion, named Gonzales or Smith We should remember to love the one's we're blessed with SECOND VERSE You watched her born from her mother's womb And Suddenly tears of joy filled the room She'll grow up to be her daddy's little girl And the center of your whole world One day it'll be time to give that baby away But until then, she'll be the cause of your joy today Every decision you make will impact her life And you pray to God every day you'll raise her right You'll experience milestones together that make you melt And realize how good a true blessing in life felt REPEAT CHORUS Life is sometimes filled with laughter and heart break Some decisions work out and some end up as mistakes And over time, some people will come and go in our lives Some will become our inspiration and help us to thrive It doesn't matter race or religion, named Gonzales or Smith We should remember to love the one's we're blessed with FINAL VERSE Mom was your source of morals and love She even was the one who bought your first baseball glove Now you're both older and experienced so much life She helped out with the kids when you lost your wife But now it seems as though mom is the one needing you The Alzheimer's prognosis has been proven to be true She's going to need your round the clock 24/7 care And she'll be so blessed to have someone like you there Even those moments she can't seem to recall your name You'll see her smile and know she loves you just the same
REPEAT CHORUS Life is sometimes filled with laughter and heart break Some decisions work out and some end up as mistakes And over time, some people will come and go in our lives Some will become our inspiration and help us to thrive It doesn't matter race or religion, named Gonzales or Smith We should remember to love the one's we're blessed with Life passes quickly before our very eyes And we should love the one's we're blessed with
She's got a heart so big
Filled with kindness and love
She's the kind of woman
You spend all day thinking of
Some may see that kindness
As a weakness but I'd disagree
And I love the way she smiles
Every time she looks at me
There's a soul paved with gold
And a sweetness for miles
I love how she makes me feel
There's love in her smile
She gives me a warmth inside
And I miss her when we're apart
I want to spend my life with her
And always feel this in my heart
When my day is long and rough
I look at her and feel better
I love when we spend time together
And smelling her on my sweater
There's a soul paved with gold
And a sweetness for miles
I love how she makes me feel
There's love in her smile
I want to wake up beside her
And ask her all about her day
Be there for her when she's sick
Whether the sky is sunny or grey
That smile of hers is prettier
Than any famous work of art
And I hope I never am without it
It's forever in my heart
There's a soul paved with gold
A sweetness for miles
I love how she makes me feel
There's love in her smile
People who follow me on social media may think I am simple...naive...ignorant...or... well I am sure many have differing opinions on me. The truth is, I am simply being me and the way I want to view life.
For years, I have coped with depression where I hoped to die but could never go through with it and anxiety that got so bad I had a bad instance with it while stationed in Germany. I have used multiple drugs and been to at least 4 different therapists/psychiatrists over the years. One day while using Xanax (and sometimes probably over using it too), my daughter asked me if I needed it and I wondered myself.
I started to slowly work on finding things that would help replace my need to medicate. I explored writing as at least two therapists encouraged me to do and it was a huge help. I tried massage therapy because my back issues after the Army could use it too and it helped.
You know what also helped: making friends on social media who were awesome and generous. I found Twitter especially to be a place where I could have fun with like-minded people and have pleasant and fun conversations with. I found people I could discuss wrestling with...discuss sports with (especially Syracuse)...and other topics that I could learn from or at least just enjoy the conversations. I also used social media to learn about blogging and I loved the idea of sharing my ideas and thoughts with people I liked and valued their opinions.
That was 2009-2010.
Fast forward to 2016 and I am still blessed to have some of the greatest friends I could ever meet that I likely never would have met if not for social media. I have been given opportunities and been able to help share stories and experiences of mine and others in the hopes we could help others. It's been my escape at times from reality & my chance to be a part of the lives of my friends.
However it seems more so now than ever, there is a growing amount of hostility and hatred permeating throughout social media. People are constantly attacking others over their differences and turning them into personal attacks instead of ideological differences. What was once my safe haven for sanity is not a breeding ground for bullying, trolling and all around rude treatment of others who may live or think differently than they do.
I will admit that when I joined, my tweets may not have been politically correct and I may have rubbed people the wrong way (and likely sometimes still do) but I try not to do so intentionally. I'd rather have a discussion over our differences in a respectful manner than offending someone. I am a believer in you live your life and I will live mine so long as nobody hurts anyone else.
I know life is not all rainbows and cute puppy dog gifs but why can't there be a middle ground of respect? Why must some incite fear and anger to get their point across when most times respect will progress your opinions in a manner some may find more acceptable? I used to love checking my Twitter feed to see what news was breaking or what kind of fun idea was being enjoyed. These days I log in and I find my patience thin with all the negativity and constant bickering and personal attacks over every possible thing.
I don't pretend to have the answer to the worlds problems and I don't know how to help make things more cordial but I sit it writing this wishing I did. Life is difficult enough and yet often times we choose to make it harder by spreading hatred into others lives instead of love, respect and tolerance.
WHY????
Why can't we just say, "I know you live differently than I do and that is not the life I choose but I respect your right to live that life." and simply go about living our lives the way we want? Why can't we get on Twitter and Facebook and realize that we are different and try to learn from each other and grow as people? Why must we label others with political or religious labels and deem someone who thinks differently a lesser person? Why does it seems so difficult to live in a free and civil society when we love touting our freedoms meanwhile shouting to take away the freedoms of those we disagree with? And why does every thing have to be a battle of political correctness, class warfare and entitlements?
It's odd as I write this to think back to the joy I once felt knowing how grateful I was for social media knowing these days sometimes I truly wonder if it is even worth it despite the great friends I have made. What was once my source of happiness and escape is becoming more and more a reason for me to contemplate whether I should continue to use it before my past issues completely take me over. I miss those days.
I hope one day we start making better personal choices and respect each other the way I truly believe God created us to do. He created us differently to learn from each other and experience life as much as we could and instead of embracing that we seem to be more content to live lives filled with rage over every small difference or issue that comes about. I feel sad for our society and fear where we are headed. I fear for our future and I'd give anything to show the power of love and respect when we can work together to understand our differences and respect each others lifestyles. I hope one day soon our true leaders in society will stand up and preach about love and acceptance instead of spreading hatred and negativity. There is room in our society for all of us to lice as we choose and respectfully allow others to live their lives as they choose.
I pray we find something soon. I will continue to try and share joy and spread love but I fear so many seem content with the lack of civility and want to continue this way. As a result, social media will continue to be a playground for those who wish to look to pick fights and instead of embracing each other, push more boundaries and push people to limits that are unnecessary and unproductive.
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." Mother Theresa
For the love of God I love you as He wishes For the love of God I love you despite our differences We only get this one chance One chance at this thing called life I don't want to waste it Surrounded by hatred, negativity and strife I want to feel your love And how good it feels to love you too I want to go to Heaven one day Knowing I experienced love honest and true And when my time on Earth is through As I face God at Heaven's gate I can hug him with a smile Believing I spread love as it was my fate For the love of God I love you no matter your sexuality, faith or race For the love of God Let us all set aside our differences and embrace
There is this beautiful blonde girl that I adore
She catches guys attention as she walks in the door
Her entrance is like that slow motion movie scene
Where life stops for the prettiest girl you've ever scene
A hair flip and that smile will get your attention
But if your girl sees you noticing, they'll be tension
She likes to have fun and party it up with her friends
When not partying, she loves her Mountain Dew to no end
She can rock a cowboy hat and jeans or bikini...smokin' hot
And when she cares about you, her love is non-stop
Her life hasn't been easy; not every choice was great
But she persevered and maintained her strong faith
She loves her two girls and family with a strong passion
And when it comes to others and animals, shows compassion
She's a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll
Loves the movie Notebook and when Homer says "Doh!"
Of course I am referring to my awesome friend Dana
Who I've known since before American's heard the Macarena
And I am writing this today as a way to show her some love
Knowing we've endured a lot and is someone I'm proud of
My hope is that this will help put a smile on her pretty face
And acknowledge that thanks to her, my world's a better place
So Dana just remember that all of what I've said here is true
And I hope others experience having a great friend like you
For my first non-poetry post, I wanted to discuss a topic that many love and all of us are impacted by in some way or another, music. I love all genres of music but to me, it is more about the story a song is telling or what was going on in my life.
I have gone through periods in my life where all I listened to were comedy tapes or sports talk but music is also a huge part of who I am. I can still remember when I hear certain artists like Styx, REO Speedwagon, Van Halen very vivid memories of some of my surroundings and friends growing up. Whenever I hear any of Mariah Carey's first album, I think back to a very personal memory of someone special to me playing them on the piano while we listened to them and how it made me smile watching her play.
I like hip hop and rap but I do get bored when it just repeats the same line over and over again and the sampling is so strong that you have no idea what the message is with the song. I have no problems with songs that keep it light and have fun, in fact sometimes I am specifically looking for those but at least write more than 5 lines and make the music somewhat creative and not repetitive. I like Jay-Z, loved Bell Biv Devoe and Heavy D and listened to Public Enemy to learn from their music and there are many other artists/songs I have enjoyed over the years but to be honest, sometimes there are songs that almost sound like someone wanted to finish it in 5 minutes and that was all they could come up with.
The first country song that really made me a fan of that genre was Garth Brooks-Thunder Rolls which got me further into his stuff and explore others. Growing up in upstate NY in the 80's, country music was not exactly burning up the radio. Now, I have lived different places and met different people and can relate more to the music and stories of living in the country to the point that I enjoy a lot of it today.
Pink Floyd is a big favorite of mine but it was not until I met a girl in Houston, Texas who was such a big fan (and so pretty) that I started to get into them to get to know more about her and even went out and bought The Wall on CD just to impress her. She ruined the CD, we never really dated (though I think that was more due to my timid nature than anything else) but I learned to appreciate their music. Heck, back in high school I got into the Doors because a girl I had a crush on like them so I guess you could say that if it was not for crushes on girls, my taste for classic rock would probably not be as strong.
My favorite artist of all time though would have to be Billy Joel. There is something about someone who can just sit down with a piano and tell a great story that I love sometimes. There are three concerts I would love to see before I die and Billy is #1 on the list (Brad Paisley and Dave Matthews Band are the other two). Can I tell you every song, every year, every lyric? No and even some of his music some days I prefer to not listen to but he has such a variety of emotions and stories that 95% of the time, I could pop in his greatest hits and drive until it is over and not care about anything else but enjoying it.
I can even listen to opera and classical though I may not be able to tell you who performed the songs and at times, I have used them to help me sleep. I do enjoy heavy metal at times as well as alternative. And thanks to the influences of my parents, I also enjoy music from the 50's, 60's and 70's and yes even Barry Manilow.
So if you hear me singing a song or playing one in my car, don't just assume that it is the genre of choice. The best music either tells you a story that you enjoy or is a reflection of a memory that is so strong, you feel as though at that time you need to relive it. I have a variety of memories and many of them have musical influence and for that reason, sometimes I like to take a few minutes to think and remember what makes it so special to me. I am a huge TV lover and the first thing I probably learned to read was probably a TV Guide but music has a stronger impact on who I am than any TV show or movie. Besides, even many of our TV and movie memories are sparked by the music that is featured in them so it impacts just about everything in life. I always wanted to write a song that I heard on the radio and hear just one person say that they loved it and so it is why sometimes I wrote long winded poetry in the hopes that one day, I can turn it into a song that people would enjoy.
