Friday, June 6, 2014

An Inaway Day

 
We drove 1,000 miles to Inaway Ranch.
Far south of most Illinois places.
Tucked in the woods between the Mississippi and Ohio.
Rolling wooded hills and creviced spaces.

We arrived at Inaway Ranch.
Seeing fields of hay and a lush green pasture.
Horses roaming; chomping on grasses aplenty.
And, good friends awaiting our belated entry.

We greeted Fred and Nancy at Inaway Ranch.
With warmth and calm that comes from love.
While visions of childhood forays were dancing to and fro.
Bringing happiness into each and every soul.

We awoke at Inaway Ranch.
Sipping coffee, while sharing stories of our youth.
Recalling our many youthful dreams.
And, laughing at many innocent misdeeds it seems.

We left Inaway Ranch with smiles and high emotion.
Thanks to myriad animal hosts.
Yes, we’ll be returning there another day … to
Inaway Ranch; done Fred and Nancy’s way.

On Being Irish

I dance on my toes.
I'm Irish; see my nose.

I reel on my heels.
I'm Irish; it joyfully feels.

I smile with my eyes.
I'm Irish; eat'in Mulligan pies.

I laugh with my ale.
Yes, I'm Irish; and I tell tall tales.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

I Gave Him The Shirt Off Of My Back


It was orange.
It was a shirt of some note.
It was an “Under Armour.”
People were impressed by its’ look.

I liked it so much that I gave it to a friend.
It was a gift of love.
Wear it with pride and a “wick” or two.

I gave him the shirt off my back!
His eyes were bright with thanks.
And, as orange as the shirt on his back.

Nolte was a Loved Member of the “A La Straw Gang” Died in California in the summer of 2007 … I miss him dearly.

My first memory of Gary was of him sitting in our 8th grade classroom smiling at me as I was introduced to the class in the fall of 1952. I had just transferred to Holy Family School from St Joseph School across town. We knew each other from little league baseball in past summers, but I was unaware that Gary was a student at Holy Family School. It was good to know someone in the new school. We connected immediately. After school, we walked home together and, forever after, we were buddies. He was Nolte and I was Whale, right Nolte??!!

My most vivid memory…. having Nolte in the grasp of my most awesome wrestling hold…the “whale grip.” We wrestled a lot after school…on the carpeted floor of our rec-room. I guess we watched a lot of wrestling on TV in those days! We tried out all of the Vern Gagne and Gorgeous George “moves” on each other, right Nolte??!! Hey, I was bigger, so, I could pin him quite easily. He resisted, but I always won, right Nolte?!?! It was a “guy thing,” I guess….we practiced being tough…but, we were more often bigger talkers than big toughies, right Nolte!?!?

I can still see little ole Nolte scrunched between Peacho, The Whale and the 6’6” Spider in the back seat of OB’s red ‘50 Ford coupe…he was always quart in hand, and, he was always educating us about all of the important things in life… like “my Eagle Grove girl is cuter than your Northwood girl!” (and, who might that be, Nolte?!?!) or “we Germans are far tougher then you pansy Irish” or “Budweiser is a far better beer than Hamms or Schlitz” or “CinCin works better than Old Spice to fake out the stupid chaperones at the Hi-Dive” And, then, a big argument ensued, right Nolte?!?! Remember when you were being beat-up by one of us in the back seat of OB’s ole ‘50 Ford…. you’d get out of it by yelling “Hey OB, let’s go to the dance before we get too loaded to see the chicks, OK?” That got our attention, right Nolte?!?! Wooof, we were quickly off to the Hi Dive, right Nolte??!! And, remember buddy, this was the really important stuff for 16-17 year olds, right Nolte??!!

I remember Nolte on his last day in Mason City before he moved to Polk Boulevard in Des Moines with his Dad, Mom and family. Wow, the ole ’50 Ford was rock’ in and roll’ in that night, right Nolte??!! We drove most of the country roads of North Central Iowa that night … quarts in hand, telling tall stories and giggling about our small town girl chasing escapades in Algona, Garner, Waseca, Northwood, Fertile, and Clear Lake….. chasing girls was an art form for the “A la Straw Gang” (we were named the “lazy ones” by Peacho’s dad!), right Nolte??!! We were the best gang of friends ever created by man, right Nolte!!??

Hey, Nolte! Do you remember drinking my dad’s booze from his liquor cabinet and, then, replacing it with carbonated water to cover up the crime??!! Hey, we were good kids, right Nolte?!?! Remember, during these sessions, we learned our sex ed by reading Dr. Hale’s “3rd Grade Reader” (his OB-GYN Books!), right Nolte??!! We were “Pre-verts” weren’t we Nolte??!! I think we coined that term in the mid-50s, right Nolte?!?!

I remember your wedding in Des Moines….you were so handsome and she was so beautiful…. We were all so innocent back in those days, weren’t we Nolte?!?! I know for sure that you were loved far more on that day than any day except, maybe, on the day of your birth. A mother’s and Father’s love is only matched by a bride’s love for her man on their wedding day. You felt it, right, Nolte?!?!

Finally, I recall New Years Eve day in 1992, in Dillon, Colorado, when Ruthy introduced you to me as “a friend from California.” I was very polite to you… Ruthy’s “friend from California” … and we carried on a nice conversation for 10-15 minutes, didn’t we Nolte??!! RaeLynne and I didn’t know that you were Nolte…swear to God!!!! We learned during this conversation that you had met Ruthy on one of her many consulting trips to Southern California. We also learned that you were returning the favor by flying to Denver to take her out on New Years Eve with two of her friends… us!! You looked a little familiar but, hey, I’ve met 1000s of men in my 40+ years of Worldwide travel… I’ve met men in airports, in business meetings and in leisure settings like ski resorts such as Copper Mountain. I had no clue!!!! Then, you said something about wrestling… a thing you used to do as a kid…. bing! All of a sudden, it hit me…could this be Nolte??!!! I said “are you from Mason City?” Ruthy screeched, you laughed loudly, and Rae and I laughed embarrassingly, of course!!!!! After the shock wore off, we went on to have a wonderful reunion at dinner and on into the evening….we never stopped talking and remembering our demented adolescence, right Nolte??!! I have never forgotten that evening… our friendship and love for one another was rekindled forever!!!

And, I know for sure that your friends Peacho, Hoodie, Smackie, Spider, OB, and Whale are forever your friends… we love you Gary. You were an “A La Straw!”


The “A La Straw Gang”
OB = Mike O’ Brien (a Viet Nam era vet and great buddy to us all; deceased in 1990)
Smackie = Tom Skram (a basketball player and coach extraordinaire; deceased in 2001)
Hoodie = Tom Hood (he owns a pharmacy chain in Southern California and scars from his braces are still on my knuckles!)
Spider = Mike Allison (a District Court Judge in North Iowa and a tall drink of Hamms!)
Peacho = Carlos Melendez, Jr. (a 2-tour Viet Nam vet, an officer and gentleman, and my personal hero)
Whale = Jim Hale (me, Doc Hale’s kid!!)

Rae Lynne = she has been my wife, friend and true love for 44 years!!
And, Ruthy = Ruthann (Swed) Pidick (a beautiful cheerleader, classmate, mother and a stellar nurse and consultant in Denver…. born on 3/19/39 like me… but, she’s older!!)

Gorgeous Natural Displays




Today, I saw nature displayed on outcroppings above the lake.
There were mosses, ferns, lichens and mushrooms galore.

The mosses were varied green mats ... tempting me to recline as natives once did.
Some mosses arrayed spore cases ... preparing new generations to come.

The ferns had fiddleheads and fronds aplenty ... precious enough to be porch decor.
These ferns arrayed spore cases ... also, preparing new generations to come.

The lichens were nearly colorless splotches ... rounded symbionts adorning the rocks.
Some lichens were pale green and others were gray ... drying and flaking away new generations to come. 

The mushrooms were shaped like tams, coolie hats and buttons ... often white, but some brightly colored.
These mushrooms showed spore-laden gills ... preparing new generations to come.

Aren’t nature’s displays gorgeous?