I've got loads and loads of patience
And I'm just as proud as you
If it goes until I'm dead and gone
I won't come running on after you
But if you enjoy remembering
When you were my best friend
I'd really love to wake up sleeping
In your arms again
There was kids outside the window
On their first day back at school
The morning after our first night
Me and you alone
On the second of September
I knew I'd found a friend
I'd really love to wake up sleeping
In your arms again
I've never been this lonely
And there's nowhere I can turn
But there must be strength in lonliness
And lessons to be learnt
You broke my heart in smithereens
I swear it will not mend
I'd really love to wake up sleeping
In your arms again
The Blues on Bluesville were something special tonight. Here's a sampling:
"The little girl you lovin' is busy lovin' someone else."
She's a mean mistreater and she don't mean me no good, She's a mean mistreator and the girl treats me mean all the time....... Gottal Love the Blues. LOL
"Somebody's been Diggin' My Potatoes... " ---->Think about it. LOL
"If a Woman's Love Was Whiskey" ...I'd be drunk all the time. LOL ...and if her love was water you'd have to save a drowning man. Oooh baby come love me one more time. ..."
Haha, Chris Thomas King is singing "Stones in My Passway".
I went to see Newt Gingrich give a talk tonight in downtown Cincinnati. The man has some great ideas that he and his group www.AmericanSolutions.com are working on presenting to the American Public. There were around 600-800 people in attendance at the Netherland Hilton in downtown Cincinnati. THe man really loves his country. It was nice saying the Pledge of Allegence with the word God in it.
"I Know You're Out There Somewhere" - The Moody Blues
I know you're out there somewhere
Somewhere somewhere
I know I'll find you somewhere
And somehow I'll return again to you
The mist is lifting slowly
I can see the way ahead
And I've left behind the empty streets
That once inspired my life
And the strength of the emotion
Is like thunder in the air
'Cos the promise that we made each other
Haunts me to the end
CHORUS
I know you're out there somewhere
Somewhere somewhere
I know you're out there somewhere
Somewhere you can hear my voice
I know I'll find you somehow
Somehow somehow
I know I'll find you somehow
And somehow I'll return again to you
The secret of your beauty
And the mystery of your soul
I've been searching for in everyone I meet
And the times I've been mistaken
It's impossible to say
And the grass is growing
Underneath our feet
CHORUS
The words that I remember
From my childhood still are true
That there's none so blind
As those who will not see
And to those who lack the courage
And say it's dangerous to try
Well they just don't know
That love Eternal will not be denied
CHORUS
You know it's going to happen
I can feel you getting near
And soon we'll be returning
To the fountains of our youth
And if you wake up wondering
In the darkness I'll be there
My arms will close around you
And protect you with the truth
I love my children. It is so cool to do things with them.
My daughter visited me at lunch today and I took her on a short tour of University of Cincinnati's campus. In all these years, I never really showed her where I got my two degrees. Man has that campus changed in 20+ years.
Tonight, in the annual effort to appease my wife, I took my 19yr. old daughter and 15yr. old son to the Zoo for the Festival of Lights where we end up in Santa's workshop getting our picture taken with Santa. My wife insists on the kids getting their picture taken with Santa every year. Well a few years ago when I took them to the zoo, they insisted that I get in the picture too. So every year since, the three of us head to the zoo to get our picture taken with the "real" Santa that you can find at the Cincinnati Zoo.
THe three of us really do have fun at the Festival of Lights. It was a great night for it. Clear weather, just cold enough to feel like Christmas. It was one of those nights that even though the zoo was crowded, everything we did was just the right timing. It all started when we first got there and walking up to Mirror Lake to one of our favorite Christmas songs being played with the lights flickering in time with the music.
Life is very strange indeed. My dad has been on a wild roller coaster ride for the past few months. Today he entered another downhill slope. After looking perky and doing well on Christmas Eve, he gained 10lbs. overnight meaning he's continuing to retain water. His feet were so swollen he could not get his slippers on. The hospice nurse put him on oxygen today to try and help him with his struggled breathing. This process really does suck.
When he was asked at one point during the family Christmas Eve, what he wanted, he said, this is it and he put his arms up as if he were hugging the room. He had all but one of his children present with most of their families. Many of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He sure was enjoying Christmas Eve. It's a good memory to have because he's not doing well today. They have him on some of the highest doses of diuretics they can put him on and his fluids continue to be out of control.
Haha, over the Christmas break my son was standing in the kitchen and as my wife passed by she punched him in the arm. He started laughing so she tried punching him harder, and harder, and harder and..... She really thought she was going to cause some discomfort and he just kept laughing harder.
Then at the Christmas Eve party a family friend bumped into my son and he just kept raving all night how solid he was. He kept asking over and over when did he grow up?
My niece's husband then asked me what college he was attending and couldn't believe it when I told him he was only 15yrs. old and a sophomore in high school.
He's been in the weight room working towards next year. We're checking into some YOGA or PILATE classes this week to help with flexibility and strength in his legs. He's already pumped about being ready for next fall.
Well the saga continues. The latest on Dad is that they can't stop the fluid build up with a catheter and diuretics. He has a 24 hour nurse and Hospice continuing to monitor his condition. He can't even get up to get into his electric wheel chair because it's too painful in his legs.
The prognosis is that he has days/weeks left. He's on pain medication now to make his final days more bearable. He's made some comments that makes you think he may finally had enough. I've seen it before, it's amazing how the spirit can influence how long someone stays alive. But once they decide it's enough they can go instantly.
I watched my mother-in-law go through this. It was weird, it's as if she knew when she was finally going to die. My wife was going to take a long weekend trip with her Dad. The night before they left my mother-in-law told her to not come back from the trip if something should happen to her. She told my wife to go and enjoy her trip with her father.
The Thursday night she left for the trip my mother-in-law suffered a stroke. Over the next 2-3 days she progressively got worse. My wife and her dad returned as scheduled on Sunday afternoon. My wife visited her mother that evening and basically said her good-byes. At 4am that Monday she passed away.
I've heard other strange stories like that from other people. The will to live sure can be a deterrent to the inevitable. But once one accepts their demise and decides its time, the process sure kicks into high gear.
He's lived a full life and at age 84 he's about to move on. All that we can do now is make sure he is as comfortable as possible. I've never been real close to my dad, but he was always there through my childhood providing a nice lifestyle. We didn't have a lot of things but we never really wanted for anything either. He worked a lot of overtime to put 6 kids through Catholic grade schools and high schools.
I'm not a smoker but one of the things I always will remember were the times he would come home from second shift at the plant. He'd sit at the kitchen table, have an ice cold beer and smoke one of his cigars. You knew he was home because even upstairs in the bedroom you could smell his cigar.
In high school I was no angel. The times I broke curfew and thought I got away with it, I knew I was nailed when I'd get in the house and my dad would be sitting there and in the dark you could see the red ash on the end of his cigar. As I look back on that, I can imagine how funny he thought it was to pull that one on us.
I've always felt that to instill discipline you need a balance of respect and fear. I felt that he had a way to reach that balance. There were times he would come down hard with the discipline but there were a couple times that he knew I had punished myself enough worrying about what he was going to do when I got home.
We weren't that close as adults, but he's a good man that a lot of people love. He will be missed. It's just so hard to see him in so much pain.
WOW & ARRRGH! I'm not sure which word best fits this one. I have a sister-in-law who is a real piece of work. I've never liked her or trusted her. In the beginning all the family loved her and I told them something was not right. Through the years the rest of the family has come to agree with me. I could write a small book about the "evil" things she's done, and I do mean "evil". Here is the latest evil stunt on her part.
I visited my dad yesterday and he told me that this evil in-law had been by recently and told him how bad he looked. She didn't stop there. She told him he looked like how her grandmother looked just before she died. What an azzhole. In these last few days or weeks, you try to comfort a person that is in my dad's condition. You make small talk or whatever. He knows the inevitable is near but you tell the person about what you are doing and share other small talk etc. Well, my dad's mind is still intact it's just his body that is failing. My sister-in-law probably thinks dad's mind is going as well and she's playing these mind games on a person who's not long for this world.
If you hear of me being arrested for homicide, just know, it was definitely justifiable. AARRRGH! I guess that is the more appropriate word. THis same in-law has been known to try and get money out of my dad by comig around whining about their financial state and how they need extra money. She's been agravating my dad like this for years. I've always felt that there are some souls in this world that are just evil and this woman is always finding ways to prove my point. Like I said I could write a book about her exploits because believe me this is not the first time she's done something so mean and inconsiderate. My dad was really pissed off. He's told the nurse that if the sister-in-law calls to tell her he's asleep.
We have a 24hr. nurse program set up to take care of my dad in these last days, and the nurse is supposed to be there at all times, unless she is asked to step out of the room while the family member is visiting. My sister-in-law is the only one I know of who has asked the nurse to step out. Frikking witch!!!!
Well the time is near. Dad took a turn for the worse today and Hospice nurses are now tending to him 24/7. Yesterday his swelling in his legs had dissipated but his feet were still very swollen. When I helped the nurse remove his socks because he said they were hurting his feet I was shocked to see how swollen his feet were. They looked like little footballs they were swollen so much. My brother-in-law told me that this evening they were twce as big as they were yesterday.
Hospice is making him as comfortable as possible and have said that it could be hours or it could be days.
Some day I may share some deeper thoughts on this world we live in. But for now I'm just glad that Hospice is there to make my Dad's last moments as comfortable as possible.
It's a Peter Gabriel kind of night. A couple years ago for Christmas I received "Peter Gabriel Play the Video" DVD. It's a great piece containing all of his greatest music videos. The guy was an artistic genius.
Here's another one of his songs from this DVD:
Peter Gabriel — Washing Of The Water lyrics
River, river carry me on
Living river carry me on
River, river carry me on
To the place where I come from
So deep, so wide, will you take me on your back for a ride
If I should fall, would you swallow me deep inside
River, show me how to float
I feel like I'm sinking down
Thought that I could get along
But here in this water
My feet won't touch the ground
I need something to turn myself around
Going away, away towards the sea
River deep, can you lift up and carry me
Oh roll on though the heartland
'Til the sun has left the sky
River, river carry me high
'Til the washing of the water make it all alright
Let your waters reach me like she reached me tonight
Letting go, it's so hard
The way it's hurting now
To get this love untied
So tough to stay with thing
'Cause if I follow through
I face what I denied
I get those hooks out of me
And I take out the hooks that I sunk deep in your side
Kill that fear of emptiness, loneliness I hide
River, oh river, river running deep
Bring me something that will let me get to sleep
In the washing of the water will you take it all away
Bring me something to take this pain away
Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
Had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information
(I) just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
"Son," he said "Grab your things,
I've come to take you home."
To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Tho' my life was in a rut
"Till I thought of what I'd say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" he said "Grab your things
I've come to take you home."
(Back home.)
When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" I said "You can keep my things,
they've come to take me home."
Peter's videos are just so intriguing and a bit mind boggling. "Digging in the Dirt" is just out there to the point it's almost disturbing. But you find that you can't stop watching it.
I know some people are going to think I'm strange and uncaring, but my Dad's Visitation tonight was actually fun. You'd have to know my Dad and how much he enjoyed a good time to understand why I am saying this. At one point tonight when the funeral home was packed shoulder to shoulder with people I stopped for a minute or two to soak in the moment. What I heard were a slew of friends and family standing around the room chatting and sharing many happy stories. All you could do is hear "Happy Talk" throughout the whole place. It was then it hit, Dad was smiling down on this crowd. This is what he would have wanted. No make that expected. Friends new and old showed up to talk about the good times and the fun memories about my Dad. Like I said, I never really got close to Dad in my adult life but I knew people always loved being around him and having him around. This Visitation was the perfect picture of his life. People hugging, laughing, smiling and remembering.
I've never been to a Visitation quite like this one and I think everyone left in a better mood than the mood they came with because of all the good feelings in that room tonight.
I really want to thank Coach Faust. He couldn't come down from Akron tonight but before the Visitation was open to the public the whole immediate family was present for a phone call from Coach Faust over the speaker phone. Dad loved and respected Coach Faust and I truly believe the feeling was mutual. Coach Faust said that Dad told him once that if anyone of his boys stepped out of line that Coach Faust had permission to punish them twice as much.
It was really cool to also see some of the old Moeller football coaches stop by tonight to pay their respects. Phil Gigliotti, Dick Bareteri(sp? sorry Coach), Paul Smith and Ted Hall were four that I was able to talk to this evening. Bill Clark made it to the visitation as well. Bill was a good friend of Dad's from Procter & Gamble besides being the weightlifting coach that got the Moeller program started.
Family, friends and lots of happy memories and stories. There were plenty of pictures as well showing Dad's life. It was cool to see the really old pics from his childhood and his days in the Army back during WWII. He served in a Tank Battalion group that fought in the European Campaign.
My son and daughter really enjoyed meeting so many old family friends and hearing some of the stories.
It really was an awesome night that I know Dad would have fully approved of and enjoyed.
Thanks everyone who attended. Your presence and condolences were appreciated, and your smiles and happy talk were truly loved!
It's been one long week. On Tuesday the funeral was held for my Dad. It was a pleasant mass service at the catholic grade school we all attended. The priest's sermon wasn't anything special but after the sermon the Deacon, who's known the family his whole life, got up and read a tribute to my Dad. He read the lyrics from a song my Dad used to sing at all the weddings. That brought the tears out. The coolest thing was after we traveled from the church to the cemetery. We did not go to the grave sight because of the weather so we had a prayer service in one of the rooms.
When we pulled up two soldiers in their Military best uniforms were waiting. When we entered the room where the prayer service was to be held there was another soldier standing there holding a bugle. Once the prayers were said the Bugler played Taps. I've never been to a funeral that has had Taps played before. It was awesome. Then watching the pageantry of the soldiers folding the flag was really special. What a fitting closing to the day's formal ceremony.
THen off to the wake. Again, lots of "happy talk" and cheer in remembrance of Dad. During the wake the men folk went outside and we all lit up a cigar in Dad's honor. He was a lifelong cigar smoker. During that time some fun stories were shared about the life and times of Dad and his sons(sorry can't share those here ).
He lived a long life and lived it to its fullest even up to the end. He'll be missed but always remembered.
Here is a great article about Master Sgt. Steven Jessie who is from the Ohio Army National Guard. He is in charge of the honor guards in our area that see to it that the promise for every honorably discharged serviceman receive a funeral with military honors if it is requested. This Gentlemn and one of his Honor Guard teams performed the ceremony as described in this article at my Dad's funeral earlier this month. It was a beautiful and very emotional ceremont, simple as it may seem.
FOr those of you who experience the passing of a man or woman in your life that served and was honorably discharged I highly suggest you make sure they request this ceremony. Unfortunately when my father-in-law passed away in 2007 we were not aware of this and that "you had to request it". My father-in-law would have loved to have had this ceremony at his final resting. So make sure you ask for it. In my Dad's case the funeral home mentioned it and we will be forever thankful that they brought it to our attention.
Received the new Celtic Woman CD/DVD yesterday. My son was being a wise arse and told his mother that dad got his new porn dvd. I wonder where he got that trait for being a smart azz They have replaced two of the women in the group. It's growing on me but it's not as good as most of their past work. I was really disappointed in their rendition of Amazing Grace I was really looking forward to hearing them sing this one, but they just didn't nail it. A rare miss by this group.
There is a Phil Collins song on this set that I don't ever remember hearing Phil Collins sing but the Celtic Woman sure do it justice. Here is the Song:
Quote:
Originally Posted by MoeDude
"You'll Be In My Heart"
Come stop your crying
It will be all right
Just take my hand Hold it tight
I will protect you
from all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry
For one so small,
you seem so strong
My arms will hold you,
keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken
I will be here
Don't you cry
'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart, always
Why can't they understand
the way we feel
They just don't trust
what they can't explain
I know we're different but,
deep inside us
We're not that different at all
And you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
Don't listen to them
'Cause what do they know
We need each other,
to have, to hold
They'll see in time
I know
When destiny calls you
You must be strong
I may not be with you
But you've got to hold on
They'll see in time
I know
We'll show them together
'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on,
Now and forever more
Oh, you'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be in my heart, always
Always
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