Unconditional Friendship

I find it sad in today’s society that people do not know or have experienced unconditional friendship or unconditional love. It has become a very selfish, self-centered world. It’s all about them as if the world revolved around them. They will abandon or desert you if you ruffle their feathers or respond in an unacceptable manner even though you have no idea what happened or what you did wrong, Or even if you do recognize the problem the other person often will never forgive you.

I cannot think of a person who I have liked or loved that I now dislike or hate. I have been blessed beyond measure by the ability to accept people as they are without any expectations. The people who I have loved, I still love. Those who I liked, I still like; it never changes.

They have hurt my feelings, made mean or cruel comments, walked away from our friendship, taken advantage of me, talked behind my back or spread false rumors about me. Still after all of that I still like them. Granted, I do not trust them as I once did, but I still can be friends with them if they choose and if they don’t I still think fondly of them years after they have left my life.

It is so sad that other people don’t feel the same way or experience the joy I have with so many people. A true friend is a rare commodity.

There will always be people in and out of our lives. During the active times we can learn and enjoy knowing them. Often they have much to teach us or even help us grow. When the season of our friendship has turned to winter they will be gone or we need to leave. But if we leave, we should leave on friendly terms.

So dear reader, the next time you get angry with someone or disappointed, think first before reacting. We don't know what is going on in their lives. It is harsh for us to judge what we do not know, or make assumptions that are untrue, or have unrealistic expectation that the other person is incapable of living up to.

We are all on a path through life and each of us is at a different point. Sometimes we are ahead of them in maturity and need to wait until they catch up and other times it is the other way around. Sometimes we take detours and other times they do and we have to wait until we are on the correct path once again.

God brings people into our lives to bless us. You have the choice to accept the blessing or throw it away. The choice is up to you.

Cats in the Cradle

This is another moving reminder of how important it is to spend time with those we love.

Cats In The Cradle
By: Harry Chapin

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

To My Grown-Up Son

This morning I received a tweet ‘No matter how busy a person is, if they really care, they'll always find time for you.’ which brought many thoughts to mind.

In this hurried world we often neglect the people who matter the most to us: our spouse, children, parents, siblings or friends.

In the end, it doesn’t matter if we have a clean house, everything is in its place, we have new clothes, or the latest technology gadget. What matters most is the time we spend with those we love and are close to.

If we are too busy to share intimate moments with our spouse we may lose them, or lose the closeness we once shared. Or if we don’t spend time with our children they will find something or someone to replace the attention they are lacking.

Many years ago I was at a conference where the speaker read a poem. I went home found the poem and placed it on my refrigerator so that I wouldn’t forget those close to me. Over the years it became old and worn out and I put it away. Today I was reminded of that poem from the tweet so I would like to share it will you. I hope it blesses you as much as it blessed me so many years ago. Warning it will create a tear or two.

To My Grown-Up Son
By Alice E. Chase – 1975

My Hands were busy through the day;
I didn’t have much time to play
The little games you asked me to.
I didn’t have much time for you.

I’d Wash your clothes, I’d sew and cook,
But when you’d bring your picture book
And ask me please to share your fun
I’d say: "A little later, son."

I’d tuck you in all safe at night
and hear your prayers, turn out the lights,
Then tip toe softly to the door...
I wish I’d stayed a minute more.

For life is short, the years rush past...
A little boy grows up so fast.
No longer is he at your side
His precious secrets to confide.

The picture books are put away,
There are no longer games to play,
No good-night kiss,
No prayers to hear...
That all belongs to yesteryear

My hands, once busy, now are still,
The days are long and hard to fill,
I wish I could go back and do
The little things you asked me to.

An Answered Prayer

When I was young my oldest brother would often take the brother closest to my age and me to the Saturday matinee at the local movie theatre or invite us to his home to see Disney, children’s movies or sometimes TV shows with two of his sons, my nephews, one who is older than me and another one who is slightly younger than me.

I remember watching Don Knotts' movies and laughing so hard snuggled next to my brother. When I became an adult if I had the opportunity I watched them again, movies such as The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and The Apple Dumpling Gang and TV shows like the The Andy Griffith Show remembering the wonderful times I had with my brother. They always lifted my spirits if only just for a few hours.

One day I had the overwhelming desire to thank Mr. Knotts for the joy he brought into my life. Not only for the fun times watching his movies but also for the wonderful times I spent with my brother who was an adult living outside of the family home when I was born. Often young siblings never become close to their brothers or sisters that are much older than they are. In a small way Mr. Knotts added to the closeness I have with my brother still today.

Over and over again I had those thoughts of personally thanking Mr. Knotts but never knew how I could do that. I didn’t know where to find his address but also realized that he might have someone answering his correspondence for him and that he would never actually get my letter(s) of appreciation.

After hearing of his death I not only grieved for the loss of such a funny man who delighted so many people, including children, with his talents and gifts but also that I never told him how much I appreciated him for enriching my life.

Then Jeffrey Donovan came into my world during a time when I needed someone like him to be there. He brought a change to my life that I needed more than I even realized at the time that impacted my life then, now and will in the future. Even though we’ve never met or ever will, he has changed my life and enhanced it more than he will ever know.

As with most ardent fans I started finding out more about him then discovered he was on twitter. I started visiting twitter long before I actually signed up. I sat observing for some time before sending out my first tweet. Then one day I got the nerve to send Jeff a tweet. I was so nervous and frightened I would sound like a fool and embarrass myself by saying something wrong or silly.

I soon discovered that twitter was the answer to those prayers and wishes I had so long ago for Don Knotts. It was my avenue for thanking those who have enriched my life that I can never thank in person or through a letter that may never reach them.

Because of Jeff I have become a kinder more gentle person and more thankful than ever before for the small things in my life that I often took for granted. Because of this it has opened my heart and mind to new ideas to improve my life.

Not long ago I heard that I had the choice to be a curse or a blessing. I have decided to be the blessing and show my appreciation for the people who have come into my life.

I want to be the person that Jeff would want to be with. He like everyone else would prefer being around someone who is happy, positive, and without a chip on their shoulder.

So dear reader you have a choice; be a blessing or be a curse. I hope you choose to be the blessing in someone’s life whether you think they deserve it not.

Having a grateful heart brings such peace and happiness. I can’t imagine living without it.

The Changing Seasons

Throughout our life we will experience many changing seasons. Not only the changing of spring to summer to autumn to winter in the months of March, June, September and December but in many other aspects of our life as well.

We will have seasons with our families, friends, and acquaintances where we will experience the four seasons with them as well – sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly.

The circumstances that we experience also have seasons that will correlate with many of the conditions we also experience with the climate seasons. Sometimes a new circumstance will be much like a cold day in late March, other times it will be like a sunny day in May full of the fragrance of new flowers and the beauty of a blossoming apple tree. Other times it will be like summer where you wish it would never end.

But as with everything in nature eventually autumn and winter will come, sometimes too quickly and sometimes not quick enough.

Regardless of the season we are currently experiencing it is best to accept where we are now and know that we will get through it and eventually move on. This way we can enjoy whatever is happening at any given moment so that we do not have any regrets in the future.

Where we are now is not by accident. It is either from the decisions that we have made or others have made for us. Either way, it is an opportunity for us to love, grow, learn, and mature. Our attitude will either leave us with a pleasant or an unpleasant memory. It is up to us. By maintaining a positive attitude through the joys and disappoints that life brings, it makes the journey a wonderful experience.

My Rendition of Episode 702 from Scott Clement's Drawing

It was the second day of spring of 2013 that I found myself with my girlfriend, or rather my ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend Carlos Cruz in an abandoned office in one of Miami’s high-rise office buildings planning our next move.

Carlos, a bounty hunter, had spotted what he thought was a fugitive that had skipped bail not realizing it was one of Miami’s top drug warlords tied to the Russian mob; now his whole mob was out looking for Carlos. To make matters worse, the drug warlord recognized me as a spy from the time I spend overseas many years earlier. I had recently been assigned the task of locating this same individual since he was suspected of trading U.S. technological secrets for drugs throughout the Middle East. With tensions building in that region of the world, the last thing the U.S. government wanted was our technology secrets leaked.

If I could manage to successfully apprehend this individual not only would I be saving Fi’s life, but also calm the nerves of my new boss, Andrew Strong, who had reluctantly taken me as a new team member. He has been riding me hard and just maybe this would restore some confidence in my ability to be an asset to the agency once again.

The room only contained a small table with two office chairs. Fi sat at the table staring at the computer screen monitoring different locations throughout Miami. Fortunately, the power and phone system had not been turned off so we were able to set up shop. After Jesse hacked into Miami’s network of surveillance cameras we were able to locate a half dozen places to monitor the whereabouts of the mob members.

Carlos and I had just returned after having an altercation with one of the members leaving us each with a black eye. Once again an old cut had broken open from the punch sending my Bluetooth earpiece flying which left blood trickling down my cheek and into my mouth, but the good news was that mob member wouldn’t be rejoining his gang anytime soon. In fact, he would be visiting the morgue as soon as his body was discovered.

When we returned to the room Fi instantly assumed Carlos and I had duked it out with me trying to reclaim her as my girlfriend. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. By now I was used to this ‘on again off again’ relationship, as recently deceased Agent Jason Bly would have called it, with its ‘thorny relationship issues’. These thorny relationship issues now were more like barb-wire rather than a spiky rose branch.

Fi and I had been down this road once before. Last time she hooked up with Campbell, but that didn’t last long before he had to point out to her that I was her boyfriend. I knew it was just a matter of waiting it out until she realized she still had strong feelings towards me or this Carlos would figure it out for her. Then back into my arms she would come. In the meantime I would need to maintain a poker face while seeing them together. I could manage that as long as I stayed focused on the task at hand.

I stood starring at the board where I had been laying out various ideas wishing Sam was there instead of Carlos. Sam had rejoined Elsa after being released from Federal holding. Their relationship still remained strong, but tension existed between them due to Elsa’s concern that they had not yet seen the last of the C.I.A. interfering in their lives.

I had decided to leave Sam out of any future missions with the government. I was determined to go it alone this time and not involve my friends or family members. If the C.I.A. wanted me back that was all they were going to get was me, and not my team. My team had been through enough. If I was going to regain their trust once again I was going to have to let my friends lead a normal life once again, if they even knew what that was like.

I also secretly wished I was back at my loft restoring the interior after we had set it ablaze to get away from the clutches of the C.I.A. It was all I had left. My mom wanted me to move back home, but it had been decades and the memories from my past still lingered each time I saw my old bedroom. No I was an adult used to living on my own, and that would remain the case, at least until Fi decided to rejoin me.

The seventy-eight degree day with a slight breeze and bright blue skies dotted with large white clouds was the perfect weather to be working on the interior of the loft. Soon the hot humid days of summer would return making restoration more difficult. Maybe this time I will add air-conditioning to the joint just to satisfy Fi when she returned. I owed her that much.

The image of Carlos with his circular beard wouldn’t leave my thoughts. I often thought of those days overseas where I let my beard grow to blend into the area. But now was different, I was with the agency and needed to maintain a certain image to be taken seriously. Some men look regal with their beard, not me, I looked scruffy and laid-back, not the professional look I wanted to portray.

Returning to the question at hand I was reminded how much this Carlos annoyed me. He sat in the only remaining chair constantly talking. It was hard to concentrate. You’d think since I refused to look or answer him he would get the hint and just shut up. But no, if he wasn’t barking orders then he was telling us how to do our job. He was an amateur capturing Russian mob members, where Fi and I were the professionals. But I grit my teeth while trying to maintain a smile. I had been down this same road many times before.

“Michael, I think we have something here.” Fi pointed out.

Carlos jumped out of his chair almost knocking me over as we both approached the computer monitor to take a look.

After examining the activity on the screen we decided to make our move and exited the room to join Jesse on the other side of town.