Category: Family

After my brother passed away my nephew honored him with a tattoo depicting portions of the life we had lost. My nephew did a beautiful thing, but I’m warped enough to have a bit of selfish concern.

A Tattoo to Honor Me

It was an honorable gesture
Nephew to an uncle just died

He depicted a life lost
In color and design

A tattoo on his arm
Cleverly, a whole lifeline

My only worry is
Given my place in the line

Nephew, where ya gonna put
A tattoo to honor me

My momma’s got your back
Grandpa’s goin on your knee

Your chest is your momma’s
Another arm your Daddy’s

With five more uncles waitin
What ya gonna do with me

Nephew, where ya gonna put
A tattoo to honor me

It makes me feel real proud
Knowing I’ll be with you

And you can rest assured
I’m always there for you

It don’t sound right but
I wanna be on your bod too

Nephew, where ya gonna put
A tattoo to honor me

Reserve me your ankle
Or maybe your wrist

Joining my brother
Will let me rest

But nephew, favorite nephew,
don’t set me on your…

Nephew, where ya gonna put
A tattoo to honor me

I’m thankful I have a wonderful and thoughtful daughter.

To live well in money, is to live well in life.
To live well in heart, is to live well in heaven.
— Ava Menchu

Of course she probably won’t appreciate me posting this, but that is what proud dads do.

One of my favorite meals each fall is chili served in an acorn squash bowl. Not much better than this.

My very busy other half has been taking an upholstery class through Community Education at Portland Community College to renew some of our furniture. Below are pictures of two recent accomplishments. The green chair was a garage sale find, you’ll see one before (well, actually in-work) shot. The caned-back chair came from her grandmother and in its previous incarnation was a red chair with padded back. It was only when being deconstructed that she discovered the true chair within. (Hopefully I’ll get a before shot available for you.)

She may have gone a little overboard with her endeavors. Another chair is in process, its twin is next along with a matching love seat and another nice couch. These last two will be accomplished outside of her class. Even with this backlog of projects we picked up another nice find this weekend. There may be an addiction issue here.

This poem was inspired by memories of my brother who passed away this weekend and by his song Out for a Walk.  (I did borrow one memory from another brother.)

Out for a Walk

My brother is out for a walk
He won’t be coming home

Miles and years separated us
But we’re never far apart

I never knew him as well as I should
Brothers can be that way

–

Today I listened to his music
He’s not writing any more

I’ll still listen and hear
More than I ever had

He hardly ever played for us to hear
Brothers can be that way

–

Answers he always had forthcoming
Now he knows so much more

I’d like to hear one more answer
And hear others rebut

Another answer I’m sure I’d shrug off
Brothers can be that way

–

I keep seeing him spinning me
Around and around by my ankles

Makes me happy and sad
Because he’ll always be

He’ll always be that kid I knew, that adult quietly distant
Brothers can be that way

–

We had a brush with death
A parent brought us together

Unknowingly our last chance to bond
Physically, those bonds he limited to handshakes

A hug was preferred, should have forced it
Brothers can be that way

–

My brother is out for a walk
He’s not coming home

A family is now just two, a wife and a son
But never alone

His family is my family, always has been, always will
Brothers can be that way

–

My brother is out for a walk
He’s not coming home

Brothers can be that way

At the celebration of his life, I read this poem and added this bit for the moment:

My brother is out for a walk
Inspiring this unfinished poem

Leading the way on this voyage
He has taught me much

Will I learn, will I heed these lessons, will we
Brothers can be that way

And to be completely fair
Sisters and parents
We all can be that way

Some “guitar noise” posted from my brother’s music so that all can remember.

Skateboard

Out West

Out for a Walk

Stub’d My Toe

The Trek

I like to combine my daughter’s spelling words into instant stories as I quiz her. It is made more fun, since the words must be used in the order listed in her book. Does this help with her spelling? I’m not sure but it makes listing words more fun. Here are the words for this week.

The League of Heroes is led by Sergeant Egglatch from the team’s HQ yacht. Egglatch has doubt that the fatigue and debt weighing the team down is due to the ongoing Blood Wars. He also has vague recollections of an anxious foreign agent’s bargain advice that may have led the League’s troubles.

He would like to condemn the recent intrigue on Soxoff, the villain spotted last week eating cantaloupe during a sewage flood at a Paris train depot. Soxoff may appear to be a cordial individual, especially while wearing a subtle disguise, but don’t be fooled. This villain, according to the Heroes News Bureau, is reminiscent of every bad adjective. He is known for his long-winded and hot-tempered monologue. He seems just the type to have set the environment for Egglatch’s angst.