Wordless Wednesday Stealth

Would you be worried if you were the duck?

Tombstone Tuesday Emma Gildon

Irish Praises of God

I have always loved reading Irish verses, limericks, and songs.  They have a lyrical and meaningful way of expressing the joy of the spirit and life.  As I have said in previous posts, my mom and dad always said they "had lots of Irish in them", so I was partial to the Irish.  Well not so MUCH Irish in me, but I married a man who had a LOT in him.  If his great grandfather had not changed his name from Aylward, we would have sounded a wee bit Irish. If the Hero were alive, I would have had him write a poem for me.  He had a way with words.  Have been searching for what happened to his writing. But, again, I digress.

When I first read this verse, it struck me because I love lying in the morning listening to the birds outside my window, then  I step outside to view the beautiful world.  This is how I start the day.
The author of this poem was not known .  It reminds me of those who write, not to publish, but for the benefit of others.  Later someone uses their work, because it is powerful.  On the other hand, many monks wrote just to praise God and did not want recognition.  Which ever it is, the words are meaningful to me. 

8th century (translated by Brendan Kennelly) 

God's Praises

Only a fool would fail
To praise God in His might
When the tiny mindless birds
Praise Him in their flight.

Christ's Bounty

I pray you, Christ, to change my heart,
    To make it whole;
Once you took on flesh like mine,
    Now take my soul.

Ignominy and pain you knew,
    The lash, the scourge,
You, the perfect molten metal
    Of my darkened forge.

You make the bright sun bless my head,
    Put ice beneath my feet,
Send salmon swarming in the tides,
    Give crops of wheat.

When Eve's wild children come to you
    With prayerful words,
You crowd the rivers with fine fish,
    The sky with birds.

You make the small flowers thrive
    In the wholesome air,
Your spread sweetness through the world.
    What miracle can compare?

 The picture is mine out in the yard.

Tthe clip art is from Graphic Fairy and Dover Design,

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Sentimental Sunday The Hero and The Pick Up Truck

This was not told until the Hero was gone.  He made me promise to not tell my son-in-law while he was alive.  LOL  I think Red Beard already knew.
It all started with the Hero losing his job when the company he worked for was sold.  That is a more serious story.  One that will have to be told later.

The Hero had a 1979 pick up truck he loved. Well, maybe loved is too strong a word, he was really glad to have.  He had bought it from a sweet friend for a thousand dollars, because she needed to reduce her vehicles and we needed a pick up on the farm.  He also had done odd jobs to make ends meet.
When he lost his job, he decided to go into contracting business doing terrazzo floors and decks, etc.  My son-in-law decided that he wanted to do it too, so they went down this journey together along with my oldest son.
One job was in Wichita Falls, Texas.   Not too long after they arrived to do the job, the truck started having a challenge starting.  The Hero was short on money, so he devised the old time method of starting a standard, which entailed the boys pushing the pickup and him popping the clutch.  Ha Ha...I can still see the boys finding a hump in the road of the campground they were at, a slanted parking lot, a wide open space to push the truck and to get it started. This went on for 6 months.  The fellows would complain and fuss, but never did they refuse to push.
When that job was over and they finally came home, the Hero found a job that paid.  He then, took the truck in to get it fixed.

He came back home with the sheepish grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye, swearing me to secrecy, that it was the starter that had been the problem and it only cost 15 dollars to fix.  The guys would have given the 15 dollars to not look silly pushing the truck down the streets to get it going.  Ah, life is sometimes a jolly thing.

Sentimental Sunday The Hero and His Wonderful Car

When the Hero came home from Army Boot Camp to resume his life as a reservist.  He faced many challenges.  The job he had had did not work for him.  His wife had divorced him and took all material items of value including his car.  His dad asked him to come to work for him.  In order to do so, he had to obtain a car.  He asked around his friends if anyone had a cheap car for sale.  'Sure thing', they said.  Old so in so went back home to Saudi Arabia and left his car behind to sale, good deal only 50 bucks.  The hero thought "Great! I will have transportation and not be in debt.!" Needless to say, he purchased the car.  It was not in great shape, no duh, but it did run.  Now he should have known something was a miss when he had to track down the owner out of states to obtain a title.  This is not the car obviously, I borrowed the picture from 1953 Chevy Classic site to illustrate the car.
We went on some dates in it, but the funniest story was of him leading a company truck to a job site in it.
Remember, this is 1969 in Houston, Texas.  They were finishing the loop around the city.  The incident occured on South Loop 610.  This picture was taken at the same area the incident occurred.

 The Hero was in lead trying to stay with the sight of the truck driver.  He was moving right along with the traffic, when a car whipped in front of him and slammed on their breaks.  Easy enough, right.  Not.  He slammed on his breaks and it started his car into a spin.  He remembered going around at least twice before stopping.  When he came to a halt, he was headed in the wrong direction.  All the cars behind him had stopped.  Every door on his car was wide open, the trunk and the hood up.  I can imagine his bewildered look as he unsteadily got out of the car to assess the damage. When he saw what had happened, he started laughing and went about closing doors, the trunk and hood. Got back in the car, turned around, and continued their trip.
Later, the truck driver, an older man, sat and laughed as he told everyone at the shop about the crazy driver the Hero was and his miracle car.  The Hero just shook his head and said. "What an experience", then he grinned.

Wordless Wednesday Phillipines War

Sentimental Sunday The Hero and His Imaginary Friend

This story is taken from the Hero's personal history he started a year before he died.
It is in his own words.  I added the pictures his mother gave to me.

"I had an imaginary friend too. I suppose I had first dreamed of him. Whenever it was necessary for me to play alone, which was not very often, I would play with him. He was very real to me. He had a horse. I guess I wanted a horse. My friend was me; but with, all the options I wished I had. I had only seen a horse on TV or at the movies. However, a photographer had come by the house taking pictures of children in cowboy attire on the back of a pony.

I suppose the pony caught my imagination. The main thing my friend had, that I desired, was a horse that would take him anywhere he wanted to go. So he would tell me about his exciting life. Like how he rode the horse to the Shamrock Hilton Hotel.

 When asked what he did with the horse, I was told that he tied it up in the back by the pool cabanas. I reported the incident to my family and they got a chuckle of it."

He had a bond with the Shamrock Hotel.  Maybe it was because it was constructed when he was born and was considered a great building of its time.  It really bothered him when it was demolished in 1987.