Morning Friend,Recently at the lush and catered "Gala" of my brother-in-law's 50th birthday, I overheard an elderly woman confide to another, how in her lifetime she'd not until lately seen so much preoccupation and "pomp" devoted to one's reaching of 50 years of age.....the "BIG FIVE-O" - to use the vernacular."In my day," the old girl said, "if you reached 90 or 100...THAT was something to make a big deal out of....most EVERYBODY makes it to FIFTY?"I'm certain she was in no way mitigating the gaiety of the event, nor was she tempering her affection for my brother-in-law, - a FINER man of his VAST accomplishments, steely moral fiber and profound faith you will NOT find easily - but was instead commenting generally on our modern society's preoccupation with MILESTONES, particularly the "BIG-O" variety.Now she raised a good point - unless of course she was simply a septuagenarian approaching the "BIG Eight-O" lobbying for a similar fete??? - she nevertheless got me thinking.We DO make mountains out of these milestones as if each DECADE of life is a gargantuan struggle to be trumpeted triumphantly, vanquishing time is a commendable conquest, and birthdays not ending in zero are just "pit-stops" between the "BIG" ones.Well, as usual my Monday Mind woke up with a contradictory spin on it today and I'd like to suggest that there are FAR more significantly commendable birthdays in life than the big "O" 's?Anyone who's witnessed the perilous and precarious day to day life of a toddler has seen a truly adventurous, daunting and awe-inspiring "life on the edge"....crashes, gashes, falls, bumps and tumbles....mystifying discovery and horrifying fear..... near maimings, poisonings and head trauma.To see first hand, a child emerge relatively UNSCATHED after a head over heels plunge down a flight of stairs is to fully understand the adage, "God looks after drunks and small children".To witness the explosion of growth, the flowering of knowledge and the unfathomable wonder of a growing child in a world so fraught with danger, is like watching exquisite pottery being shaped on a mystical wheel by loving, Heavenly hands... in a hurricane !To share, to guide and to protect a life so precious is to breathe for a time the air of omnipotence, to hear for a time the Siren song of boundless youth and to be for a time a surrogate Angel of God.THESE, my friend, are the bold and brave conquerors of time and survivors of space whose birthdays should be HERALDED with all the pomp and circumstance, froth , finery, joy and salutations apropos on the "BIG 1" or the "BIG 2", "3", etc.These truly "BIG" occasions are the call for "irreverent reverence" - balloons and streamers and cake and pop and games and music and "controlled" mayhem shared with cherished celebrities, special guests ( and even a clown or two?).No offense to the "Big-0" crowd with their..."Two-0...teen no more","Three-0...fun's over","Four-0...gettin' old","Five-0...crisis time","Six-0...pension time", or"Seven-0...REALLY old"....As far as I'm concerned, once you've run out of fingers to display your age then it's time to leave the REAL birthday partying to those who DESERVE and so enthusiastically appreciate it.Many "Big-0" parties I've attended were more "excuses for drunkenness" than "tributes to longevity", ( EVERYONE was a "clown"! ) and having seen more than one impaired reveler take a tumble down some stairs and emerge "relatively" uninjured, I again witnessed the Good Lord's affinity for inebriates and infants.I don't mean to take the "bloom off the rose" of anyone whose lives ARE marked by 10-year blocks of personal growth and development and are WORTHY of special recognition. ( My brother-in-law Marv is a Father, a Surgeon, a Marathoner and an accomplished musician for example!)I just don't believe that simply "surviving" or "existing" for a number of years constitutes the need for a "celebration"?I believe that a person is "as young as their dreams...and as old as their fears".For me, June 20, 2005 is my "real" birthday because that is the day I said goodbye to fear forever and began to dream every night like a kid at my own BIG party, with balloons and streamers and EVERYTHING!!!!And with the Good Lord's continued assistance, the love and support of my family, and the DAILY vigilance and required application of this new way of living, MY next "Big-0" might simply be conspicuous as the SUM of many fruitful, beautiful, and delightfully cherished days.In the meantime....I'm 1302 today.But I don't look a day over 40! HA!"Happy Birthday to Me....."Love tImMy:/
My Love For You by Timothy Gerald Franklin Lawrence
is bigger
than a shoe
The End
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Look after yourself...without health
you are of no use to anyone.
If I owned this company,
would I hire someone like me?
THREE Angels!
Angela, Ash & Janelle
Ab's ( REALLY GOOD) Joke of the WEEK!
A great example of Flawless Male logic —
This is a conversation between a husband and his wife. Please note that she asks five or six questions which he answered quite simply; but, then she is speechless after answering only one question.
Woman: Do you drink beer?
Man: Yes.
Woman: How many beers a day?
Man: Usually about three.
Woman: How much do you pay per beer?
Man: $5.00 which includes a tip (this is where it gets scary!).
Woman: And how long have you been drinking?
Man: About 20 years, I suppose.
Woman: So a beer costs $5 and you have three beers a day which puts your spending each month at $450. In one year, that would be approximately $5400, correct?
Man: Sounds Correct.
Woman: If in 1 year you spend $5400, not accounting for inflation, over the past 20 years puts your spending at about $108,000, correct?
Man: Again, sounds about right.
Woman: Do you know that if you didn’t drink so much beer, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 20 years, you could have now bought an airplane?
Man: Could be true. Do you drink beer?
Woman: No.
Man: Where is your airplane?
for Kenneth Mayo
Hope AND SWIM !
When I fall into an ocean, I know with certainty
That I am wet and startled will at once be plain to me
But will I sink or will I swim...to the depths or to the shore?
Perhaps a log will come drifting by, or a boat out on a tour?
I could hope as I was sinking, but I’d still drop to the floor
And hoping would I be, for logs and tour boats evermore
So I think I’ll set my sights on land and give my legs a kick
And stroke though I am weary, my decision will I stick
While Hope sustains the helpless whose outlook is often dim
Hope also fuels the Faithful, giving Strength to those who swim
So even if I falter against this fearsome tide of health
The shores of my fulfillment rise beneath me in my stealth
I’m hopeful for the strength and the courage not to give in
I thank the Lord for Faith and my resolve to hope AND swim!
My prayers and God’s Blessings be with you my friend!
Timothy Lawrence
Abraham Stainer Esq.
a.k.a. "Ab"
Tinker-Timmy & Friends
Jan'l. Angeela, Ash and Ab
Monday, January 12, 2009
Milestones - 22
Life Stories
The end of life…is not!
It is the end of a Chapter in a Grand, Spiritual, Novel !
These chapters called “life”, are enriching, engrossing
narratives of one’s earthly adventures.
In them, are an abundance of supporting characters and
supplementary plot elements, often curiously overlapping
and mysteriously intertwining.
Their length and depth varies from person to person;
from protagonist to protagonist.
Some people who have “died” in chapters ended many years
ago, are still quite “alive” today!
Their SPIRIT; their influence, their charisma, their wisdom,
their character, their enthusiasm, their joy, their ESSENCE....
continues to fill the “life pages” of all they’ve touched.
Their frail and finite physical chapter is ended, but the richness
of their story flourishes, and enhances God’s Novel!
Like timeless passages, indelibly marked in our hearts and
memories, to be re-read and forever treasured….
their lives never truly “end”!
When through God’s Mercy, the earthly narrative of someone
we love, ends….their life does not!
And for that, we are truly blessed!
* Dedicated with gratitude and love to the enduring Spirit of all who transcend fear and inspire faith by truly living God’s gift of life to the fullest!! T.L.