Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Breakfast



Breakfast one of, if not, my favorite meal of the day.  Whether you are a bacon and eggs person, or a cereal and toast person it’s how you start the day.  Somehow it sets the tone for your attitude for the next 4 or 5 hours until lunch.   I can remember those specials night when it was just my Mother and I for dinner the sister were out somewhere and Dad was working.  She would look over at me and say “let’s have a breakfast dinner.”  Nothing was more special than to have bacon, eggs, biscuits, and gravy for dinner are you kidding me?  Knowing full well you were going to get to eat it again when you woke up.  Now that’s living my friend!!

Well I say all of that to tell you of my most recent breakfast memory I have made.  I have spoken here numerous times about my adopted sister’s daughter who has married one of the finest young men I have seen in a long time.  There was the post about the way he treats not only his wife but his Mother.  A finer young man I would challenge you to find.  Anyway back to my story
We were at dinner the other night and he asked me if I wanted to go to breakfast with him and his wife the next morning.  I said sure.  Well this isn’t your run of the mill breakfast, oh no sir!  This was a go out to a local air field.  Get into a Cessna 182 fly to Oxford Mississippi eat at the local legendary breakfast place, Big Bad Breakfast.  Be taken on a private tour of the Ole Miss Campus.  Back to the airport flown back home and all before 11am!!

Talk about special, man!!!!  I have a love for airplanes few know.  I worked around them for over 25years.  There is a saying in the airline biz.” Once you have worked around planes you have Jet fuel in your veins” Well this episode let me know mine is still alive and well.  The coolest part about the entire thing is I got to ride in the right seat.  That means I was wearing a head set, listening to all of the radio traffic and simply had the best seat in the house.   As we flew down we talked about the scenery it was slightly over cast but a wonderful day to fly.  All the way down and back I am like a kid in a candy store looking for things on the ground I recognized.  Simply taking in all of the beauty of flight and the peacefulness that being up there gives you, if that’s your thing and I promise it’s mine. 

As we were flying back I was taken back to thoughts of my Mother.  I can remember one day she said to me let’s go eat lunch.  I said sure let’s go.  We proceeded out to the airport, got on an airplane, flew to San Francisco, and had lunch at fisherman wharf!  My Dad worked at America Airlines for almost 40 years so we could fly for free if there was a seat.  And back in those days there were always seats.  So we went to the west coast for lunch.  As I sat there looking out that window I somehow knew Mother was watching that airplane as we were flying home and loving the fact that all these years later I am still up for a good meal no matter where I had to go to enjoy it.  May we all have the chance to do something this special what a blessing.

Well once again I find that no one is really more blessed than me.  Think about it.  In my life I have done something twice most people never get to do even once.  I have gotten on an airplane flew to some wonderful place.  Eaten, got back on an airplane and flew home.  Talk about lifestyles of the rich and famous. The ole bless man has lived it, twice. 

Well thanks to my pilot and his understand wife, she sat in the backseat and allowed this old man to have the best seat in the house.  A seat I know is hers and will remain hers for many years.  You have made the Blessed Man a happy one.  This trip is a memory I will cherish forever.  I will never forget that feeling as we were leaving the ground on the way down there.  I have taken off a thousand times but there is something about, for the lack of a better term, being in the driver seat that makes it a totally different feeling.

Why am I humming Rhapsody in Blue? Only a few will get that one so I embedded the link.  You will get it the second you hear the first note, I hope!!!!

Peace,

The Blessed Man

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Girls



You might be asking “What does the blessed man know about girls?”  Well I grew up in a 900 square foot house with 4 of them!!  That’s right and oh and I forgot to mention it had one bathroom.  Yepper’s me my dad and 4 girls, 3 sisters and a mother.  I can remember it like it was yesterday, I was maybe 5 years old my Dad calls me over to his chair and told me we always had to have each other’s back.  I, of course, told him always why did he say that?  He told me if we didn’t they, “the girls”, would separate us and kill us!!! So funny.  To this day I still laugh out loud whenever I think about that conversation. 

Well there is about to be another invasion of girls.  My Memphis family is about to add 2 to the family.  And the really cool thing is they are going to be about a week apart in age.  I can remember I had a cousin that was about a month older than me and we were always very close I think the age had a lot to do with it myself. 

Well of course the big story for me is PoP PoP.  When the reveal was done the other  night he was a biggest smile there.  He has one little girl already and she is the apple of his eye.  And speaking of that little girl I should say young woman she is graduating Nursing school a week after all the babies are born.  Girls Girls Girls.  All pretty and smart.  How blessed we are as a family to be adding two more wonderful children to this already love drenched family.  One will be in Atlanta and the other here.  Well I can tell you the one here will not walk until she goes to school because one of her grandparents will always have her in their arms.

As I sit here thinking about family and little girls I have often wondered what it must be like to have a little girl.  I know I would sit by jealously watch my sisters interact with my Dad.  He was always somehow a little gentler, a little more forgiving, a little more patience and loving with his girls.  He loved me I am sure but I always had a higher standard and was always expected to watch after the girls.  I remember the night we found out he had cancer he told me I was now to take care of the girls.  He did love his girls.

As we enter into the girl portion of this phase of life how blessed I will be to watch someone I love dearly have a dream come true he has said for years.  He wanted a little girl.  Well my brother you have two coming.  I can see them now.  Standing in his kitchen both holding their little arms up smiling and saying PoP PoP can we have-----?  And him smiling and saying of course you can my angels.  Give me chills just thinking about it.  You know sometimes it is better to see someone get something than to get something you want yourself.  This is one of those times.  I am so happy and proud of DeeDee and PoPop no one wanted grandchildren more than them and be able to watch this is a special moment for me.

With all of the changes going on in my life the old adage "the more things change the more they remain the same" is very fitting.  I guess it will always be about the girls.  I know I love everyone of them that is in my life; from my angel of a wife, to my adopted sister to my real one which I never see enough.  So, all those years ago my dad had it right you got to take care of the girls.  Well Pop Pop if you ever need help taking care of your girls I stand ready and willing.

Peace,

The Blessed Man