And Then It Is Winter

[Chaplain Scott]

Really good stuff guys!! In one of my two current "day-jobs", I am a hospital Chaplain and I get to see a significant number of older folks where either the husband or wife are on their death beds. Its an honor to sit with them, listen to their stories and honor the love and committment these men and women have shown each other for 40-50-60 years.

I also get the chance to sit with a number of WWII and Korean vets as they prepare for their final roll call, and listen to their stores. When I leave their rooms, I salute them, and often, they seem to hear the old Bugle Calls, they sit or lie straighter in bed and return my salute. I feel honored.

Some things I would do over, but spending 30 years in the uniform of my country is one of the things i would over again without hesitation.........

[Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Dusty

lol I don't know, but this ol' bald guy's older than I am:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVhAIO8wY9k

LOLOL!

[lovemycountry]

Originally Posted by Chaplain Scott

Really good stuff guys!! In one of my two current "day-jobs", I am a hospital Chaplain and I get to see a significant number of older folks where either the husband or wife are on their death beds. Its an honor to sit with them, listen to their stories and honor the love and committment these men and women have shown each other for 40-50-60 years.

I also get the chance to sit with a number of WWII and Korean vets as they prepare for their final roll call, and listen to their stores. When I leave their rooms, I salute them, and often, they seem to hear the old Bugle Calls, they sit or lie straighter in bed and return my salute. I feel honored.

Some things I would do over, but spending 30 years in the uniform of my country is one of the things i would over again without hesitation.........

Very heartfelt, Chaplain Scott. you are doing God's work sitting with the Vet's. I too, feel honored when I talked to and say "thank you for your service" to the old timers and young alike. They are sooo appreciative for the comment. I retired from "home sales" ( not selling homes) in the renovation field. Part of my enjoyment was seeing the "vet" license plates and thanking them and asking about their service....I coudnt care less about the sale but got "that feeling" when I showed my respect to them.....priceless

[jkirkthomas]

Old Dog New Trick has a statement at the end of each of his posts that says: "You only live once; live well. Have no regrets when the end happens!"

I have to agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment, and it echos something I wrote several years ago (poetry is my second calling). I spent some years in Saudi Arabia, and we used to say that it was not part of the real world, that the normal rules didn’t apply, and sometimes it certainly seemed that way. Everyone was so far away from home that as a mental construct, the rest of the world after a while began to recede almost to the vanishing point and into insignificance, as if it didn’t exist. Everything was so different over there, the culture so alien, the rest of the world so distant, that we might as well have been on the back side of the moon. Anyone who has spent time anywhere in the Middle East would probably concur. I’m sure that’s why a death among us, even of one not well known, cut a little deeper. A death brought home how transient we all are and how quickly life can be taken from us. This life can be cut short so quickly and so unexpectedly that we cheat ourselves if we do not “seize the day” and live each one to the fullest. Lao Tzu said:

"A good traveler has no fixed plan, and is not intent on arriving."

It’s not the destination that’s important, it’s the journey. You must not only make every effort to see that your life has meaning and purpose, you should also enjoy every step of the way, or you might miss the best life has to offer. I wrote the following after I had been there for about a year, and we had just lost two of our number. So, with apologies to Robert Herrick for the use of his opening line:

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, each day might be the last;
Your future is not certain and may never come to pass.
So drink your fill of life, for if it all should end today,
What is it that you wish you’d done or savored on the way?

Who will not risk can never win; the timid never know
What grand adventures might have been, what magic might have flown.
The only thing that’s certain sure is what is in our past,
And that we cannot change, the door is shut behind us fast.

On down uncounted ages, many lives have come and gone,
We vagabonds and soldiers die away and are reborn.
Our life is ever short, so now before your time to go,
Have no regrets and take big bites . . . don’t just wish it so.