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Tributes

Tributes. Mostly paying tribute to specific people.

Lights

The Northern Lights forecast that I check periodically.

Late on the evening of March 29, 2017, somewhere around 11:00 pm, I was compelled to check a website that I check off and on, throughout the year. I am not sure why I was prompted to check this site on that night but I did.

Arthur Tsetsilas

When I walk into those rooms, I know that there is someone, or maybe many someones, who are dealing with perhaps the toughest times of their entire life in those moments. This is where I pray a little more, I ask for the right words, along with extra love and compassion.

Funeral

But I was wrong, it wasn’t the good that had left the room, but rather the feeling of evil had entered and hung like a thick black smoke over everyone and every thing. I can’t say that I have ever felt that way before, but it was a place to which not a soul I’d ever again wish to bring.

We Miss You Mrs. Tefft

Wendy Tefft (1977-2106).

Wendy Tefft, 38, of Dunbarton, died September 1 2016.

Wendy taught Kindergarten at Glen Lake School in Goffstown NH, where she was employed for two years.

 

Tomorrow, another school year begins in Goffstown, NH. Yet, tonight, for the third time in four days, I was stopped in my tracks when I saw the obituary for Mrs. Wendy Tefft online. We all should be seeing her tomorrow, standing out front, smiling, and greeting all. Imagine how long the list of accolades and kind words would be if Mrs. Tefft hadn’t been taken so soon. We were some of the fortunate ones that got to feel her impact. We all will miss her here in this community.

Father’s Day Gleam

June 18, 2016 – Father’s Day Gleam.

Tomorrow is Father’s Day and I wanted to get this off of my mind before the actual day. Over the last couple of weeks this thought has been creeping into my psyche a little more often every day. Until these last few days, when it has downright bugged me, bothered me, and otherwise haunted me. I asked my wife yesterday, “What am I supposed to do on Father’s Day, with no father, for the first time in my life?”

I suppose I still don’t know the answer. But I know that I miss my Dad an awful lot.

 

Father's Day Gleam
Father’s Day 2014

Missing Dad

I’m here in the yard, at the house I grew up in. I mowed the lawn as I usually do. But I’m missing my Dad. He’d be sitting right here, outside in the warm air.… 

A Dad and This Boy

Dad, can we gather round the table one more time and just let loose?
Oh, we’d laugh til tears, you, my siblings, Mom, this boy you called moose.

I look at the hoop and wonder if I’ll ever see that arch ever again.
Dad, you were one the best lefty shooters there has ever been.

You weren’t well, but I never thought this day would come so soon.
Dimly, I thought that maybe when the day came, I’d be somehow immune.

The Man is Gone

Dad’s presence was felt, his impact impossible to miss. I don’t think he was looking down from heaven at us, because I am hoping he had better things to do, like lose himself in his mother’s waiting arms, or to look his Dad in the eye and hear the words, “Well done son”. Maybe he was off creating comedy from nothing with his twin sister June. Perhaps he was walking the streets of gold and getting to know his brother Roger, who passed away as a baby, before any of the other siblings.

Dad

See, me, and my generation, we hope to be measured one day in the same breath as the great people of the generation before us. In that generation the simplicity of life lived was the stunning portrayal choreographed by the depth found in the intricacies of magnificent minds with the perceived time to approach extraordinary. I am just a man, my Dad was a great man, a great man of God. His new place in heaven ensures what should always be, that I’ll look up to him. I do, and I will.

Honoring her December birthday

This morning though, I remember my Aunt Janette. Below, I have shared a poem that I wrote in honor of my aunt. She was a beautiful person, inside and out. I was fortunate enough to have a relationship with her right from the time I was born. Last night when I looked at my calendar, and I let the date register with me, I stopped and I thought about my wonderful aunt. She is still very much missed and I cannot wait to see her again, one day, in heaven. This morning, I remember her, and I share this poem I wrote a few years ago.

Sadder-Day

I did tell one friend and former colleague, that I wished I could just call an impromptu meeting in my office and have all of us there one more time, together, bringing all that each of us represents into that room, to see each other as we are, and enjoy some funny story, or laugh at ourselves as we often did. Oh, to look across that space and see the faces, the people, the efforts given for a common goal, and to know that we would see them all again. All of them again

#NeverForget

Lord, I pray we wait not, for those days to think on these things, but to actively pursue them with all that we are, and all we can be. We know not what the future holds for any of us. Let us not be caught up in that uncertainty, but have faith in You, and the tremendous power we possess to be present now. May we serve you Lord each day, knowing that the time we invest in one another is truly what makes the world go round.

It’s Memorial Day – Remember Them All

So today, remember those who serve, those who have served, and learn all you can. Be there for those who are still here but lost someone so we could be free. As we get to Tuesday and complain how fast our extra 24 hours off passed by, think about the hours our fallen heroes spent defending our freedoms. Think about how long a single hour may have felt to them and the thousands of questions and thoughts that must have raced through their minds. Think about the fact that so many never were able to experience the next hour, let alone 24 extra hours. Respect them and those they left behind. Remember. In this day where so many feel they’re entitled to something, to anything; it’s our fallen heroes that are entitled. They’re entitled to be remembered, to be respected, to be thanked, and to be honored. That fun weekend you are experiencing now would likely not be possible if the brave hadn’t defended our home. Remember and have a memorable Memorial Day Weekend.

My Aunt Janette Remembered

I find myself staring into the beautiful spaces that God created and letting my mind wander over the hills, through the valleys, and along the streams. In my mind all of it is wild, all of it is untouched, and all of it is revered by mankind. From the path my mind wanders along, I see the people who now walk the streets of gold, the ones we loved here on earth. I long to sit and visit with them again. I long to hear the familiar laughter that each of them often contributed to our family gatherings. I ache to look into the eyes of those heroes who have gone before me. In those eyes, there are windows to all-time, the windows dressed in love are unmistakable. The eyes invite you in to sit and stay for awhile, they exude love, and portray a confidence that all will be just fine, for where we are gathered, He is there also. Try looking into the eyes of a loved one, maybe an older one, but one who has assured their eternal salvation by giving their life to Christ, and tell me you don’t see all I have described here, and more.

I wrote this piece two years ago, and this morning, I honor my aunt’s life by posting the original words I wrote.