by Unknown
It had to be destiny from the start. Karen was a divorcee of 17 years. She was a Christian. Her son and daughter were raised and out on their own. Her daughter’s name was LeAnn. I had a daughter named LeeAnn. Karen had a cat named Kristy. Kristy was my daughter’s nickname. Karen lived in an apartment, and she thought it would be awesome to live on a lake. Bingo. Perfect match.
After dating for two months, we both knew our meeting was a dream come true. So I asked her if she wanted to move in and share expenses. She couldn’t pack fast enough.
Karen and I figured living together would be the best way to find out if we really were compatible. I didn’t want to keep repeating the same mistakes of the past. So we decided to give it two years and go from there.
*****
…So I’d like to know where you got the notion to rock the boat, don’t tip the boat over, don’t…rock the boat.
My brother and I planned a fishing trip together, just the two of us. The fishing wasn’t all that great, so we decided to head back home. On the way back we had a brain fart. Let’s do something that most people are afraid of. Let’s go white water rafting. Why not? How hard can it be?
As the Arkansas River narrows to only 25 feet wide, the river rapids wind their way through 1,100-foot cliffs. This section of the river in Colorado is called the Royal Gorge, famous for its steep drops and huge waves breaking over large rocks. The whitewater rafting there is rated from Class III to V, depending on the water level, which in turn depends on the winter snowfall in the mountains—Class V being the most extreme and hazardous ride. The fainthearted need not apply.
Let’s pick a year with a record snowfall, and when the rapids were the highest and fastest ever recorded. Let’s pick a year when two people had already died rafting the Gorge. If only we knew.
I forget whose idea it was to go that day, but it turned out to be a trip I’d never forget. It had to be Mike’s because I had no idea what the Royal Gorge was. That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it. I had been on canoe trips down small rivers in southern Missouri but never had done whitewater. Mike has always had the ability to spring surprises on me, but I think he got a little surprised himself on this trip.
I can’t remember much about the trip itself. We were put in a raft with four others (three to a side) and a guide in the back; life jackets and helmets provided. The first mile was smooth as the guide instructed us in raft maneuvers and to function as a team. Just as we seemed to be getting the hang of it, all hell broke loose. Without warning, we had entered the Gorge.
The water thundering through the Gorge drowned out my thoughts. I could barely hear the guide shouting.
“Dig in.”
I plunged my paddle in the water and the current nearly ripped it out of my hand. The water pounded the raft, soaking me in its icy grip.
The raft crashed into a massive boulder and bounced off like a pinball. By this time, I’d given up paddling and was hanging on for dear life. Then I couldn’t hear the guide. I looked behind me. OMG.
“Mike, the guide’s gone.” My words were washed away in the tumult. “What do we do?”
“Hang on and pray.”
Then we went over the first drop. Jeez Louise. The raft was airborne and then crashed back to the water. I could feel the rope I was clinging to dig into my hand. A wave of icy water washed over us. The raft pitched forward as it went into the next drop. I thought I was at a rodeo. The raft bucked and reared like an angry bull. Then the raft spun like a top.
We were soaked to the bone, and the raft was filling with water.
Holy shit. I figured I was sure to meet my Waterloo. But there was no time to be scared.
Then, all of a sudden, it got real quiet and smooth. I looked around, and everyone but the guide was still in the boat.
“What just happened, brother?”
“You tell me,” he answered, as both of us were shivering in our blue skins.
“What the hell? That was awesome.”
“Pretty amazing. I can’t believe we made it.”
Talk about an adrenaline rush! My heart had to be pounding over 100 clicks a minute! I had never experienced anything quite like that or would I ever again.
We paddled to shore, and there stood our guide. He had fallen out for the first time in many trips, he claimed. He had ridden the rapids on his back and luckily had avoided the rocks. He was proud we were able to make it thru on our own. Yeah, right…as if we’d had a choice.
As we stored our gear, I noticed a video playing on a TV monitor. A raft with six people was maneuvering through horrendous whitewater rapids. Now, I had seen pictures and videos of people rafting, but this one was extraordinary. If I’d seen that video before, no way would I have gone rafting that day. The rafters and raft on the video would completely disappear from view at times. I watched as they went flying over a 15-foot drop landing at the bottom, disappearing within the water spray. Just as they appeared from the spray, the raft went over another fall of about the same height. Then all of a sudden the raft shot out of the spray spinning around like a top and bumping off large rocks. You could see the people inside hanging on for dear life. The raft finally straightened out as it sped down the river bucking worse than a wild bronco and traveling faster than a speeding bullet.
“Good gosh, where was that video taken?” I asked the guide.
“Oh,” he said, “that’s you guys’ video. It’s available for five bucks.”
Mike and I just looked at each other, wide-eyed and speechless. O…M…G. We’re still alive?
We heard the Gorge was closed later that day until the waters receded.
“Hey, big brother, let’s go skydiving.”
…Since I met you I began to feel so strange. I wonder what it is I feel for you…Could it be I’m falling in love?
Guess I should thank Anne for Karen. Talk about two different people. They were polar opposites. I know Anne certainly gave me a chill. Karen was my moon and stars. She was my rising sun and its setting glory. She accepted who I was and let me be me. I didn’t have to pretend, disguise, or change my behavior to appease her.
I was able to show her I loved her without fear of rejection. I could spend time with her relaxing and not worrying that I might say or do the wrong thing. I could crack a joke without fear of offending her. For the first time, I realized I had found unconditional love, which, in turn, caused me to sleep like a baby.
Here is an example of what I’m talking about.
Karen spilled a bowl of chili on the living room carpet. Without thinking, I spat out my famous saying: “Stupid is as stupid does.”
Now Anne would have been highly upset with those biting words. But Karen just smiled and said, “I know that’s right.”
Also, unlike Anne, Karen embraced the idea of being on a budget and living within our means. Anne and I had married before finding all this out. We trusted our faith would carry us through. Well, as it was now evident, it didn’t.
Karen and I had agreed to give it two years. Any skeletons should have shaken their rattled bones by then and the excess baggage could take the next flight out of town. During the two years, we fell into a sensible love.
On May 22, 1999, we became Husband and Wife. We were married in our home by my uncle E.M., Jr. He had fulfilled his mother’s wish and became a pastor. Mike was my best man. It was the first marriage I had a best man. Maybe that’s the key to a successful marriage?
After the wedding ceremony, the wedding party traveled by pontoon boat to the reception at our community building. Can you believe it! It took me 53 years to figure this relationship thing out and get it right. Of course, it helped to meet the right one and take the time to know. Could this finally be my ‘happy ever after’?
I know. You’re probably thinking, don’t bet on it.
Well, my friends, I just might fool you this time.
*****
…I knew it right from the start. The moment I looked at you. You found a place in my heart. You are the�
��love of my life.
The next ten years whizzed by way to fast. Each year seemed to go faster than the previous. Why is it when the older you get, the faster time travels?
Karen and I were really enjoying our life together on the lake. I couldn’t have been happier with my life. I wished I could have met this jewel back in the beginning. It would have saved me a lot of heartbreaks and comebacks. But broken hearts can give strength, understanding, and the compassion to move on. A heart never broken is pristine, sterile, and will never know the feeling of being imperfect.
This enables the heart to finally recognize and embrace the unconditional love we all seek. I finally found that one person to spend the rest of my life with.
This was probably why I did something that I wouldn’t have in the past. I was returning home one day when a man and woman came running at my car when I stopped at a stop light.
“Help. Please help us, mister,” the woman shouted.
Normally, I would have avoided them, because people running up to you at stoplights usually intend to highjack the car. However, on this particular day, something told me to listen to them.
They explained that they had spent their last dime, traveling by bus to this church in my neighborhood that would help them. Unfortunately, there was no one at the church, and they hadn’t a clue what to do.
I ended up taking them to a motel and paying for them to stay for a few days. I also gave them money for food, until they could get help from the church.
As you can see, I am now living a simple life and enjoying the peace that comes with it. What could possibly go wrong?
*****
…The Eastern world. It is exploding, violence flarin’, bullets loadin’. But ya tell me over and over again, my friend, Ah, you don’t believe, we’re on the eve of destruction.
On September 11, 2001, I went to work like millions of other Americans. No way could anyone have known that that day would change the way Americans would live forever. At first, it was thought an airplane had accidentally hit one of the twin towers in New York City. But when a second plane hit the other tower and another the Pentagon, we were to learn that America was under a series of coordinated suicide attacks, orchestrated by Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda terrorists. The towers collapsed that day, killing around 3,000 people.
America responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror, invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban who had harbored Al-Qaeda terrorists. So began the war on terrorists that goes on to this day. It would take almost ten years before American Navy Seal’s elite forces would find and kill Bin Laden, capping the world’s most intense manhunt. Ironic that an American President named Barrack Hussein Obama would receive credit for killing Osama Bin Laden.
*****
Funny thing but you can sing it with a cry in your voice and before you know, start to feeling good, you simply got no choice…song sung blue.
All of a sudden the whole world was singing. Karaoke had burst onto the scene. Well if I didn’t get into the Karaoke big time. My shower solos were now taken to the people. Sure, I was told not to give up my day job (there went the dream of a big recording contract), but I don’t think I broke too many eardrums.
My favorite recording artists to sing are Elvis, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and the Eagles.
Some of my favorite songs to sing are “Only the Lonely,” “Old Time Rock & Roll,” “Poor Little Fool,” “Candle in the Wind.”
My showers are much shorter these days.
*****
Yeah, I love my (Tigers)…heart and soul, love like ours won’t never grow old. My (Tigers) are my pride and joy.
I am a Missourian and from the good ole’ days when folks were proud where they came from. Living close to the Kansas border provides some intense excitement in the college sports world. The rivalry with the Kansas Jayhawk dates back to the Civil War.
Heaven forbid you live in Missouri and root for the hated Jayhawks. Once we’d have strung those traitors to the highest tree. Thankfully, today we just poke fun at each other, although I have witnessed a few fist fights.
When the two teams played in the Big Eight Conference, a basketball tournament was held in Kansas City to decide the league champion. A Jayhawk friend and I would sport our team colors and travel together to cheer our teams on.
My Tigers played first that day, and his Jayhawks would play in the second game. If both should win, they would face off the next day. It would be our dream match.
As we sat down to watch the Tiger game, my friend says, “Hey Tom. I’ll root for the Tigers if you root for the Jayhawks in the next game.”
“Sounds like a deal,” I replied, knowing that never in my life had I ever rooted for the Jayhawks.
By golly, he kept his word and was cheering the Tigers on the whole game. Some other Jayhawk fans got a little pissed at my friend. Cheering for the Tigers was a no-no.
The Tigers won the first game and so now it was my time to cheer on his Jayhawks. The team they were playing got the tip and scored a layup. I jumped out of my seat, pumped my fist, and let out a loud, “Yeah!”
“Hey, you son-of-a-bitch,” my friend yells at me. “What about our deal?”
“Shit, I’m sorry, Denny, but it’s just not in me to root for the Jayhawks.”
I honestly had intentions to live up to our deal, but my instincts got the best of me. I couldn’t blame him for being upset.
*****
…Felt this way, yesterday and today. I keep hurtin’, yeah…I’m hurtin’.
In January of 2003, I finally gave in to the pain in my left knee and had a total knee replacement. Well, Holey Moly, if the pain from the operation wasn’t far worse. I thought I knew what pain was, but this? This was off the Richter scale. At times, I wanted to die. I almost went crazy with it.
After four months I couldn’t take it anymore, and I know I was driving Karen nuts. When I look back, it’s amazing how she put up with me. The doctor ordered a nerve tap in my back that finally made the pain tolerable. So what happened?
Well, I’m a stubborn old goat and right after the operation they had me on morphine. You know the drill. Push the button when you’re in pain. But being me, I didn’t like the idea of being on morphine, so I tried toughing it out. Big mistake. Once the pain gets to a certain level, no matter how much medicine you take, it will stay at that level.
I’ll never be stubborn again, that’s for sure. Well, at least, when it comes to pain I won’t. As to the rest…nah. I’ll probably still be as stubborn as a Billy goat.
*****
While I was healing from the knee replacement, America went into another war. This one was displayed on TV news as it occurred, bringing smart bombs into every living room in the world.
The Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom) began on March 20, 2003, with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by the U.S. America was now fighting two wars.
*****
…You just call out my name and you know wherever I am, I’ll come running, to see you again. Winter, spring, summer, or fall. All you got to do is call...
My brother and his wife divorced. He moved to Costa Rica and decided that was where he wanted to spend the rest of his life. Of course, he wanted me to come hang out with him. So I go see him a couple of times a year. We hadn’t been able to hang out much lately. We had established a close bond, even though we weren’t raised together. He had become my best friend. Someone I could share all my thoughts with and not be judged.
In Costa Rica, we’ve gone deep sea fishing, ridden a canopy through the jungle, visited a volcano, and played golf together. Mike only plays golf when I visit him. I’ve taught him a few pointers of the game, but since he doesn’t play that often, to put it mildly, he pretty much stinks. When we play, he can’t stand someone watching him. No telling where the ball might go. When I really want to needle him, all I have to do is tell him someone is watching, and he will enviably shank the ball. Hey, that’s his problem, not mine.
Ever seen an exploding golf ball? It’s a difficult trick to pull on an experienced golfer. So my brother was the perfect person to play that trick on. He fell hook, line, and sinker. When he hit the ball, it exploded in a big white cloud of dust.
“Holy Cow, brother, you really cremated that sucker,” I laughed with joy.
“Where did it go?” he asked, bewildered and still not aware that I had pulled one over on him.
I was even able to get a picture of it. It’s a good thing he is good-natured. Anyone other than Mike would have really been hacked-off, probably chased me back to the clubhouse, and never played with me again.
*****
…If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call? If there’s something weird and it don’t look good, who you gonna call?…
In the middle of one night, my wife heard a loud thump. She awoke to see a ghostly figure of a man standing next to the staircase. He was wearing a biker’s outfit with a yellow bandanna wrapped around his head.
“Tom,” she shouted, waking me up.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“There is a man standing next to the stairs,” she gasped.
I jumped out of bed and grabbed the baseball bat I always keep next to the bed.
We live in a small Midwest town named Lake Waukomis. The town was established in 1947. It started out as a hunting, fishing, and poker-playing place for men to come and relax. It’s even said Harry Truman would visit to partake in the activities. Many stories have filtered down through the years that can’t be confirmed. But, the story that comes from the house next to ours has witnesses to confirm that there may be a ghost wandering in our neighborhood.