Bill was my uncle. And he was the uncle that lived the furthest away. For some reason he always had this mysteriousness about him. I was for some reason drawn to him. I didn’t realize what it was until today. You see for some reason I can remember almost every conversation that we had ever had. He would call up from Florida and I would be so excited to talk to him. We talked about music and he sent me Ted Nugent CD’s. We talked about cars and he always said he was going to send me a mustang but I knew that mustangs didn’t travel through the mail. We talked about motorcycles and I remember when I told him that I got my motorcycle license, he wanted to send me on of those too but all of his motorcycles were way to big for a beginner.
One summer, I was in Fort Lauderdale with some friends. Picture this. Beaches full of girls in bikinis and all I wanted to do was have lunch with my uncle. We finally met up on the last day I was in Florida. I ditched my friends for him.
Bill didn’t visit Connecticut that often but when he did it was always a special occasion to me. He came up to visit about two years ago when my grandmother was sick in the hospital. We went down to the hospital café to get some food; we sat there, ate, and talked just the two of us. For some reason I felt very close to my Uncle Bill. Today I realized that he truly, genuinely cared about not just me, but also my interests and what mattered to me. Of course I will miss him but I know exactly where he is right now. He is riding his motorcycle as fast as he wants to on a cloud high above. The wind feeds crisp clean air into his lungs. I’m sure he stopped just for a few minutes to look down on us here today with a smile that fills the sky.
Go ahead Bill, Go ahead and ride. It is what you went to heaven to do.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Where Were You Last Night
“Where were you last night?” asked Billy.
I hesitated but replied, “Oh, I stayed home.”
“I tried to call your house last night,” he said.
“Well, I was kinda tired.”
“That’s not what your Mom said.”
I immediately cut him off, “Look! What are you getting at?” I said.
He just mumbled, “Never mind.”
We continued to walk down Broad Street. I mean I couldn’t tell him where I was. He wouldn’t understand. I did feel bad though. I sort of left him hanging last night at the movies. We were supposed to double date with our very cute girlfriends. I think he was just disappointed that I didn’t show up again. This was the fifth time this month that I ditched him. I knew he was sick of it but in a way he was getting used to it. I really did feel bad. I’m normally not like this. He just wouldn’t understand. Usually best friends can tell each other anything but this was different. I am absolutely positively sure he would not understand.
We reached the ice cream shop and when he opened the door I said, “I’m really sorry about all this.” Billy had no response.
We walked into the ice cream shop. Jessica and Amber were sitting in the far corner. These are the girls. Yes, the girls Billy and I had been after for the longest time. As soon as we laid eyes on these two sisters, we fell in love. They were twins but not identical. I really liked Jessica and Billy loved Amber so it all worked out. Best friends always compromise. We finally got dates with them two weeks ago. Amazingly enough we ended up becoming couples. We sat down with them. Billy leaned over and kissed Amber on the cheek. As soon as I sat down Jessica gave me the look. We all know what the look is. I knew she was mad. She asked, “Where were you last night?”
I said I was really sorry and leaned in to kiss her. It wasn’t good enough. She pulled away and I knew I was in trouble. I was sure that Billy was not going to help me out this time. I was in a bad jam now. All I needed was time to think of an excuse. Jessica pulled me close, looked deep into my eyes and said, “You know that I like you. Why aren’t you being honest with me? I’m honest with you.”
Oh no, I thought. There they were those puppy dog eyes. How can I lie to those clear blue eyes? So right then and there I decided to tell them. Those clear blue eyes can do wonders.
“Okay,” I said, “Here it goes. I’ll tell you where I was last night.” I hesitated for a moment then I spoke. “Last night I was…I was…I was at the Westbrook Retirement Home painting my Grandmother’s toe nails Tickle Me Pink and singing the I Love You Barney song. Are you happy now?”
I hesitated but replied, “Oh, I stayed home.”
“I tried to call your house last night,” he said.
“Well, I was kinda tired.”
“That’s not what your Mom said.”
I immediately cut him off, “Look! What are you getting at?” I said.
He just mumbled, “Never mind.”
We continued to walk down Broad Street. I mean I couldn’t tell him where I was. He wouldn’t understand. I did feel bad though. I sort of left him hanging last night at the movies. We were supposed to double date with our very cute girlfriends. I think he was just disappointed that I didn’t show up again. This was the fifth time this month that I ditched him. I knew he was sick of it but in a way he was getting used to it. I really did feel bad. I’m normally not like this. He just wouldn’t understand. Usually best friends can tell each other anything but this was different. I am absolutely positively sure he would not understand.
We reached the ice cream shop and when he opened the door I said, “I’m really sorry about all this.” Billy had no response.
We walked into the ice cream shop. Jessica and Amber were sitting in the far corner. These are the girls. Yes, the girls Billy and I had been after for the longest time. As soon as we laid eyes on these two sisters, we fell in love. They were twins but not identical. I really liked Jessica and Billy loved Amber so it all worked out. Best friends always compromise. We finally got dates with them two weeks ago. Amazingly enough we ended up becoming couples. We sat down with them. Billy leaned over and kissed Amber on the cheek. As soon as I sat down Jessica gave me the look. We all know what the look is. I knew she was mad. She asked, “Where were you last night?”
I said I was really sorry and leaned in to kiss her. It wasn’t good enough. She pulled away and I knew I was in trouble. I was sure that Billy was not going to help me out this time. I was in a bad jam now. All I needed was time to think of an excuse. Jessica pulled me close, looked deep into my eyes and said, “You know that I like you. Why aren’t you being honest with me? I’m honest with you.”
Oh no, I thought. There they were those puppy dog eyes. How can I lie to those clear blue eyes? So right then and there I decided to tell them. Those clear blue eyes can do wonders.
“Okay,” I said, “Here it goes. I’ll tell you where I was last night.” I hesitated for a moment then I spoke. “Last night I was…I was…I was at the Westbrook Retirement Home painting my Grandmother’s toe nails Tickle Me Pink and singing the I Love You Barney song. Are you happy now?”
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Both Sides of the Coin
I must decide
One or the other
Two sides of a coin
Both equal
What to choose
Here or there
A fork in the road
Left or right
Am I ready to choose
Where will it lead
Will I only have one chance
Will I decide in time
Or will it decide for me
I must decide
Heads or tails
One or the other
Two sides of a coin
Both equal
What to choose
Here or there
A fork in the road
Left or right
Am I ready to choose
Where will it lead
Will I only have one chance
Will I decide in time
Or will it decide for me
I must decide
Heads or tails
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Two Piece Puzzle (Dann)
Imagine this, a two piece puzzle amidst a thousand pieces. You search and search through these thousand pieces to find the two that match. Just as soon as you think the pieces line up there is something that just isn’t right. You try to force the pieces together because you think they should fit. Soon you bring yourself to the realization that the pieces really don’t fit and your search continues. You begin to feel hopeless. This two piece puzzle amidst a thousand pieces will never be found. You give up hope and think that it will never be possible. You push the puzzle pieces aside in frustration never to be finished.
Then one day soon something catches your eye and you glance at the thousand pieces. You fiddle with the pieces for a minute or two with no rhyme or reason and like magic you find a match. Suddenly, you realize that there just isn’t one two piece puzzle, there are many. Almost five hundred two piece puzzles suddenly emerge. In this box of a thousand pieces it turns out not every piece fits with another piece but in the end most find a match.
Then one day soon something catches your eye and you glance at the thousand pieces. You fiddle with the pieces for a minute or two with no rhyme or reason and like magic you find a match. Suddenly, you realize that there just isn’t one two piece puzzle, there are many. Almost five hundred two piece puzzles suddenly emerge. In this box of a thousand pieces it turns out not every piece fits with another piece but in the end most find a match.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
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