Tying it up

 Making the most of any situation

The way things used to be....

Time slips by faster every year. It seems only last week I was training for my first LOTOJA. It seems like an entire life time ago that I was just finishing my freshman year playing football in college. There is so much I have willing forgotten, while other things I hold dear to my own heart. I think we tend to do that and in the process, we forget who we really are and from where we came. I can tell you this for certain; we all choose to forget and remember what we want, how we want, regardless of what is really true. I still look for those faces in the crowd that make me stop in my tracks. The familiar voice that rings above the loudest noise that only you can hear. As time goes on, those events become less often and more vague. But time continues on without regard for what we may otherwise think or desire.

Perspective

The way they should be....

Given enough time we can convince ourselves that who we are and what we have become is justifiable. Given the opportunity to do it all over again, only a fool would say he'd do it exactly the same way - either that or one who lies. We all know that there are things we'd do differently given the knowledge and wisdom of our years. But how about those that continue living the lie by rationalizing their deeds to climb over others in the process.  Well, that is life, but it doesn't make it right. When a person cheats in a race or test, but nobody else knows, there is still that one person that will also have the truth. As we get older our exterior begins to fall apart, exposing our inner self. For many this reveals an ugliness that has always been there - just hidden. For others it reveals an inner beauty that exceeds the rough husk of the former exterior that was always visible. Perhaps this is why some people age better than others - they are true to themselves and don't worry about the exterior appearance. It doesn't happen overnight, but rather over the course of a lifetime. Standing out front and looking back at the true cost of your life's decisions is a painful reality. Today is the day you take inventory. It is from the perspective of one that knows all of your deepest secrets. It is your true perspective.

....but the way they really are.

A reminder of true cost....

Everything has a cost. Be it money, material or blood. This image above is a reminder to me of others that paid a price without fanfare or self promotion. Hard things can be done - if we are willing to pay that price. Put yourself in the position of not knowing if you will live or die, because every day has it's risks. It can all be taken away tomorrow and who will you be when it is all gone? Those crews faced uncertainty every day they went up. You didn't need people trying to kill you. As many where killed during training and non-combat missions as were lost to enemy action. Rub the hair off that lucky rabbits foot - you need all the luck you can get. Gene Simmons has said numerous times that people said he was lucky. His reply: "Very true. I found the harder I worked the luckier I became". Nothing is free in this life - and I mean nothing. What part of you has died to become the lasting image that will remain? Wear it proud. Many people never had that opportunity to screw up as many times as we have, only to still succeed despite our own hubris. Tomorrow morning when you greet yourself in that bathroom mirror, remember what it all has cost to be there at that very moment.

Enough of the lecturing

It's time for the Porpoise to put on a bright new look and start moving forward. I'm hoping to see many of you along the way. We have lost too many of our friends not to continue. So maybe, just maybe....I personally will find the motivation and willingness to stand up and fight again.

 See you in a couple weeks..........

Click here for a little Ozark Gospel - "Look Away"

The Porpoise - 2025