A Rant Among Many

So banter and tirades are not always easy to literate and yet I will continue to try. The thoughts seem to sometimes bubble up and just as earthquakes relieve pressures in the tectonic plates so must I write this to relieve my own personal subterranean pressure.

I write about this often and get little feedback which tends to make me think many of my reader (no typo there) are guilty of this as well. Sometimes while I ride our many highways I am amazed about how fast everyone has to get somewhere these days. It seems there is little, if no, regard for other homosapiens on the roads. (or on the side of the roads) I am not a saint but I do try to have some sort of formula that keeps me within sensible parameters of the suggested speeds. I say suggested because that must be how most people these days view those signs. Speeders run across all demographics. They can be white, black, Indian, Hispanic, Oriental (ok the oriental speeder is rare but they are out there), male. female and even those in-between. They can be young, boomers and the most disturbing of all speeders OLD. While it is more prevalent as you get closer to the larger cities it is everywhere these days. Now speeding as bad as it is on its own is not all…..there are the woman applying make-up as they speed. There are the knee drivers, eating, smoking, drinking, talking on the phone, texting, reading e-mail, reading the paper, all the while wearing headphones so the sounds of shrieking bystanders or sirens don’t disturb their drive. Let’s throw in GPS’s as well as DVD players. It is getting more insane all the time. I am particularly incensed when one of those minivans comes flying by with all the little crumb crunchers in various states. There can be no larger offense than putting your children in harms way. We don’t need terrorists in this country…..we are doing fine attacking our own all by ourselves!

OK, that felt good. With all the demands put on our time, many self-imposed by the way, people of this generation have to become better time managers of sorts. Prioritizing our needs as well as wants becomes more of a challenge with each passing year. We have so much technology at our hands now that many are on a sort of technology overload. Where once people actually appreciated or at least noticed the outdoors it is quickly becoming just a way from getting from one computer to a cell phone to another computer. I am guilty myself as my wife would quickly point out. Some of what I do is through demands of employment but some (Angry Birds) is most definitely not. A side not, Angry Birds is an evil game. Let’s take a walk. Leave the cell phone at home. Separate technology from yourselves for a few hours. You might figure out you are missing life’s simplest yet most rewarding pleasures. It occurs to me I am writing this on a computer….oh well I am going to try and do this as well.

I could get into politics but that is such a train wreck right now I would not know where to begin. This country is running on borrowed money and continues to write more checks. I only wish I could live the same way.

So to summarize this rant, SLOW DOWN, SMELL THE ROSES, and LOSE THE TECHNOLOGY FOR A FEW HOURS and see if you smile just a little more and enjoy life just a little more.

My Dad....a letter

Perhaps a year or two before my Dad passed I left him a letter (secretly) before I left from one of my visits. As I re-read this letter it seems a fitting tribute to the man as Father's Day approaches to post this. This letter is how I felt when I wrote it ans still to this day feel...and will carry with me forever.



Dear Dad,

I need to write this letter if for no other reason to let you know I love you. There are, however other reasons I wanted to state.

We, as a family, have kind of been atrophied when it comes to matters of the heart. It’s always been that way and it is what it is. I have become much better at expressing those things, at least in writing, Perhaps I have a ways to go in speaking those matters. I know you love me and you know I love you and that should be good enough right? Well what I’ve learned is quite to the contrary.

We’ve been through a lot over these years. I wasn’t always the model kid. I did a few good things here and there but I know I probably never attained my potential in music. You and Daisy did the best you could but my head was not on entirely straight at Potsdam; Water under the bridge now. I couldn’t be happier with my lovely wife and my wonderful daughter. They have meant so much to me and each other that I can’t begin to put it all in words. I think between Karen and Linda and myself, we did a pretty good job with Marlee and I’m proud of that.

There is another deeper reason Marlee did so well. Simply stated it was how her Dad was raised. I have to tell you all the while as I was growing up making you proud of me was my biggest goal. I played the trumpet not because it fell in my lap but because my Dad was a wonderfully gifted trumpeter who I so wanted to emulate. The older you got and the older I got the more I wanted to be like you and that goes on still today. I could not have achieved all I have without your guidance, love, support and a couple times financial help. I look around and see a term loosely used too often but in this case you are quite honestly my true hero.

So as I write this we still don’t know God’s plan for us. We don’t know his plan for you anymore than for me. Not that many years ago I started putting more emphasis on my religion so as to hope to understand at least what his plan may be. I am in steadfast hope of living the right way, the Christian way and ultimately to all have a big Bourey reunion in heaven.

So if you haven’t completely lost your mind after all of this the message is simple Dad. It is thank you. Thank you for all the lessons taught (and some even learned). Thank you for staying by my side through thick and thin. For being there when I needed you even though you were pulled many different ways when you were raising all of us.

I have many great memories involving you Dad. I hope to create a few more while I’m visiting this time. The one thing I will never need to create. The one thing that is as steadfast a truth as there is now or ever was: I love you. You are my only Dad and my one and only hero.

Love, Pete

One of Life's Lessons.....

I am reminded lately how unfair life can be. I’m not speaking so much as to the enormous tragedies such as tornadoes or earthquakes but more on the simpler human level. Someone I’m very close to is faced with the realities of how friendships can evolve and sometimes fade. Any of us more aged citizens have come to understand this over time however for some it is a new and raw experience. I can remember coming to this realization and it is not an easy reality to deal with at times.

There is and can be some good that comes of this though. One of the lessons I’ve learned over time is that not all friendships that seemingly end are necessarily over. They may return in a different form at some point in our lives. The thing is when we are young and formulating our life plan we think our friends will be with us the entire way. It simply isn’t true but we hang on to it anyway. These days the world is such a much smaller place and lives don’t just change within our own communities but more often we move to different areas, states and even for some countries. That disconnect is difficult especially if they are long enduring friendships.

I don’t offer a solution here because there is none. It is no different that telling someone how to raise a child or how to have a happy marriage….we each must find our own way. The thing I can offer (the only thing really) is for you youngsters out there to lean on some of us older self proclaimed wiser persons to help you through that adjustment.

The thing to always keep in mind is that the old adage that when one door closes another one opens. It is perhaps most relevant right now to this special person that made me think of this. Where perhaps one opportunity has faded there are new and exciting opportunities that await. With that said you must seek them out. They don’t always present themselves. The one thing I know deep in my heart is this person has only scratched the surface of what happiness is ahead.

Is this thing on?????

So I’m not certain what drives me to continue to do this. I’m not all that certain who reads this mess but I will just keep it up if for only my own way to release.

It seems there is so much going on around us with regards to natural disasters that it certainly does lend credence to some of the doomsday predictions. Some would say this is the beginning of the rapture. I would say that you only need to go back as far asY2K to understand all the nuts out there predicting the end. There is no denying, however, the unprecedented disasters in such a short time, be they tsunamis, earthquakes (perhaps that was not the right order for those two), fires, tornados, floods, you name it. So are all of these disasters part of a grander plan or is it just a bunch of tightly wrapped coincidences? The debate churns on.

Now I don’t know about you but I think Osama Bin Laden has gotten enough press. This guy was nothing more than an overeducated animal. There are more to follow him within that culture of terrorism and this fight will never end. Good and evil and fought each other from the beginning of man and nothing we do will eliminate that completely. We can work to make the world a better place but let’s not have false perceptions that terrorism will be eradicated. This is all I will write about this as I’ve already given him too large a paragraph.

I know part of the answer to this next question about the few readers that actually look at this but do any of you go to church? Why do you go? What do you get from it? What do you give back to it? Do you have the expectation that you only get from church and should not have to give? I’m not speaking merely of a financial nature but of the three T’s and if you go at all I need not explain them. (If you don’t go look it up!) Twenty something years ago I finally realized that to me your religion was not only something you received something from but something that really commanded interaction. We live in such a shallow world these days that people can’t look past their I-Pads or cell phones to even begin to understand that this life is not all there is and I would suggest you work on yourself to make the positive transition to the next life. Does this mean going to church every Sunday? It does for me and this is the one thing I need to be selfish about. I’m not going to pretend to know what’s right for everyone but I do know what’s right for me. I’m not making judgments about how everyone lives out their lives just trying to make you think. If you have children you owe it to them to at least give them the right start.

So that’s it for now. I must head out the door and continue to make a living. I am so blessed and have so much to live for and hopefully have many more years to get the most I can out of this temporary life. But my point to my previous paragraph was I hope everyone comes to the realization that what you have here and who you are now is only a stepping stone and you might just be determining the next stone you are stepping on….

The Time Is Upon Me

So I knew in my mind I needed to write this if for no other reason than for self-therapy. The day is fast approaching when it’s been a year since my dear Dad passed and joined our Lord. I have thought of this man every day since he has passed and that is no exaggeration. So I thought I would write a few jumbled thoughts and memories of this man.

He was not perfect…..unless of course you asked his opinion. He was loyal to all that were loyal to him. He loved to use his hands to craft just about anything and he indeed could craft just about anything. He was a very prideful man which could often be seen in his craftsmanship. He grew up in a time and place where men just didn’t express emotions outwardly. That being said, when he shook your hand and meant it….you knew. He never uttered I love you freely or openly…..but if he loved you…..you knew. As time went on he mellowed a bit with his emotions but he still had a very strict set of public display rules. I saw my Dad cry twice in my life. Once when he lost his soul mate and once as I was departing on one of my last trips North when I think we were both scared it might be our last face to face encounter. Both times were difficult for me but the last time was much harder. I was privileged to be able to spend alone time with him after losing Daisy and I could share what I went through losing Karen and he really listened to what I had to say and I think we connected in a way I never had until that time. I will never forget that.

More memories of this man….I remember brook fishing with him…..I remember when I was 13 being hit by a car while living in Lyon Mountain. He was sitting on his recliner (which he loved to do after a hard day of work) and heard the siren of the volunteer fire department all the while thinking someone else will get this call. Little did he know at the time I was the reason for the siren! I remember our shopping trips to Malone to the Ames Store….big doings for me…and then eating at the A&W. I remember him teaching me to drive. (Or at least trying to teach me)

I remember when his Dad was aging and getting near death how difficult it was for my Dad. He had to go and do some of the most basic things for him. I don’t remember him actually crying about this time but I do remember how sad and frustrated he was. Ironic but I was probably feeling some of the same emotions before my Dad passed as he did years ago about his Dad.

I remember his smile…..I remember the mischief in his eyes almost always followed by and action to reinforce the look. I remember his patience (OK this was in his earlier years as his patience wore thin over time)…..I remember all of his Arthurisms i.e.…”oh my aching back…holy mackerel,” etc. I remember his firm handshake. I remember my one spanking…yep I deserved it. I remember his trumpet playing in the basement that so inspired me. I remember playing with the hair on his arm as a child and getting the firm stop it and it only took once. I remember the wafting cherry tobacco smoke of his pipe. I remember his annual Christmas Eve parties. I remember our cross country jaunts with travel trailer in tow and listening to him an Daisy argue about the best route…I remember keeping my mouth shut during those arguments! I remember our political jousts which we always thought in the end we each won.

I suspect I lost everyone reading this who doesn’t know either me or him in some capacity and that’s fine. I really didn’t write this for anyone but myself. That being said, I think it important for everyone to realize and consider how your actions throughout your life can both impact and inspire. I was fortunate to have a Dad that did those things for me and so much more.

I love you Dad…..I will always carry you with me….and I will always remember……..

Thank You Kelly

So recently I was invited to my brother-in-law’s retirement ceremony in Washington DC at the Arlington National Cemetery women’s Center. I thought I would share a few impressions about the whole event.

If you’ve never been to Arlington you owe it to yourself if you consider yourself a patriot or even a historian. This place is a very impactful representation of how so many have given up the ultimate sacrifice to allow us to be safe and allow us to have the freedoms we so often take for granted. Just the size of the place made me emotional and touched me to my core. The next time I hear someone whine in a line at the grocery store about how long it is taking I will think of this place. The fallen in this place fought for you to stand in that line without fear.

I was in the Air Force for one stint and although I really don’t place myself in this group it makes me proud to know I served. I still get overwhelmed thinking of the first look at Arlington. There are no words I can write to describe the feelings.

Now on to the occasion that I visited this place; my brother-in-law Kelly was being honored in a way most NCOs’ are not honored. He was retiring from the Air Force having achieved what only 3% of Air Force NCOs’ do achieve and that is making it to the grade of Senior Master Sergeant. There were many other reasons to honor this great man. He served with some of the top Generals in the Armed Forces and also distinguished himself everywhere he went including some pretty difficult theaters.

To meet Kelly is to know Kelly. He has no pretention about himself and you never need to wonder where he stands on any particular issue. You do have to have a pretty radical sense of humor if you plan on keeping up with him. He is honest to a fault….thoughtful….intelligent…..a great friend; husband, brother, uncle and Son. If he never served in the Air Force he would have distinguished himself wherever he went.

I know no better honor for any man than the last paragraph. So to close this I just want to say thank you Kelly. Thank you for spending all those lonely nights….those challenging days….and those 28 years as guardian of our great country. Most importantly, thank you for allowing me the privilege of knowing you.

Passion

For some strange reason that escapes me as most strange reasons do, I seem to be thinking about a word lately and just how it relates to life in general. The word gets tossed around frequently and can sometimes be misconstrued. Its killing you now right? Ok, enough toying with my reader…..the word is passion.

Now I’m not letting the discussion degrade into the sexual connotations of the word although I do believe the parallels are uncanny. Let’s do something I do frequently when bringing up words and look to the origins of the word. So here is what I found out about this word:


Date of Origin 12th c.
Latin patī meant ‘suffer’ (it is the source of English patient). From itspast participial stem pass- was coined in post-classical times the nounpassiō, denoting specifically the ‘suffering of Christ on the cross’. English acquired the word via Old French passion, but its familiarmodern senses, in which ‘strength of feeling’ has been transferred from ‘pain’ to ‘sexual attraction’ and ‘anger’, did not emerge until the 16thcentury. Also from the Latin stem pass- comes passive (14th c.), etymologically ‘capable of suffering’.


I had a feeling that the origin would be through Christ’s passion specifically about his suffering during his last human days. This topic now becomes even more relevant as we are into Lent now and that suffering for many Christians is about to be relived once more. That will always be the ultimate display of “passion”.

Another by-product of passion, at least in my eyes, is how successful people always have it in their lives. Most people I know do not luck their way into success. Think about anyone you deal with, work for or read about who is successful. If you ever listen to someone speak about what makes them successful almost all will say to have a dream, work for that dream and you will realize success. Having dreams is important but I think without the passion to work for that dream, the dream by itself is of no real value.

This passion does not always reveal itself in a most abundant or recognizable way. Take my Dad, for instance (God rest his soul), you might not always see his passion. He was often a soft spoken man but if you knew him and I mean really knew him, you knew where his passions resided. Here are a couple examples…Yankees, politics, family, working with hands. I threw the last piece in because those other aspects were pretty in your face and obvious but if you knew how he kept busy in his woodworking long after he retired you understand what I am talking about. It wouldn’t matter if it was a flower box on his house, or a picture frame or clock he would always use the same meticulous passion for detail that made anything he worked on extra special. That’s the kind of passion I’m referring to at the moment. I’ve had bosses who had it. If you take the average person and inject passion into them about something, it spills over and becomes very inspiring to others.

Passion is not something you are necessarily born with and that may be the best news of all. There’s still time! You may be confusing passion with self-respect and although most that have passion have the second trait there are many who don’t hold both characteristics. There are many hard working people that don’t necessarily exhibit passion about their work and that’s OK. The leaders that are successful generally take care of that.

I took on this subject not to bore you….ooops too late….but really to kind of make you step back and perhaps look at yourself. Do you have passion about something? Do you share that passion? If not you should. You may just impress someone who could change your life. Food for thought….or perhaps not.