I love music I stumbeled across this song the other day and it was one that I keep thinking about the lyrics have been stuck in my head since...
Now and then I confess you cross my mind
Now and then I guess I have a little too much time
I've changed my way of thinking
I've tried hard to separate what came too soon
From what came too late
I don't think about me in terms of you
I don't think about you in terms of us
I don't think about us in terms of love
I don't think about then in terms of now
I found a way to start again somehow
I don't think about what we thought it was
Oh, in terms of love
Oh, in terms of love
I'm countin' on heaven to understand
I didn't mean to go and mess up all the plans
Sometimes you know where you should go
Before you know the way
I'll bother with tomorrow
Once I made it through today
I don't think about me in terms of you
I don't think about you in terms of us
I don't think about us in terms of love
I don't think about then in terms of now
I found a way to start again somehow
I don't think about what we thought it was
Oh, in terms of love
Mmmm, hummm, yeah
I don't think about black in terms of grey
Or revelations in the light of day
I don't think about cold in terms of ice
Or second chances happenin' twice
I don't think about me in terms of you
I don't think about you in terms of us
I don't think about us in terms of love
I don't think about then in terms of now
I found a way to start again somehow
I don't think about what we thought it was
Oh, in terms of love
(I don't think about me in terms of you)
(I don't think about you in terms of us)
In terms of love
(I don't think about then in terms of now)
(I found a way to start again somehow)
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
I don't think about us in terms of love
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Sometimes life is exactly this way we walk the path we know we trust the way everyone is going we're all starting out our journey together and slowly we all start taking a different path, another direction, and we leave the road we once knew. Sometimes you start the new road with friends, or family and the road is much easier, your still surrounded by people you love, and ones who love you. Sometimes though the road is one you have to take a leap of faith you have to be one of the few people to try this path it's a road all your own. It's daunting and frightening, dark and new. You feel all alone and a little lost, but as you keep on going step by step even if it's only one small step at a time. Your able to learn to trust in the grander plan of things, you learn to live, and to rely on your Savior. You learn a love for others, and for yourself, the whole point in the journey is the learning you gain along the path.
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Sometimes life is exactly this way we walk the path we know we trust the way everyone is going we're all starting out our journey together and slowly we all start taking a different path, another direction, and we leave the road we once knew. Sometimes you start the new road with friends, or family and the road is much easier, your still surrounded by people you love, and ones who love you. Sometimes though the road is one you have to take a leap of faith you have to be one of the few people to try this path it's a road all your own. It's daunting and frightening, dark and new. You feel all alone and a little lost, but as you keep on going step by step even if it's only one small step at a time. Your able to learn to trust in the grander plan of things, you learn to live, and to rely on your Savior. You learn a love for others, and for yourself, the whole point in the journey is the learning you gain along the path.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
13 Hands
Each year I am hired to go to Washington , DC , with the eighth grade
Class from Clinton , WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly
Enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special
Memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.
On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This
memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of
the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers
raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima ,
Japan , during WW II.
Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed
towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the
statue, and as I got closer he asked, 'Where are you guys from?'
I told him that we were from Wisconsin . 'Hey, I'm a cheese head, too!
Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story.'
(James Bradley just happened to be in Washington , DC , to speak at the
memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to
his dad, who had passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the
buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission
to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the
incredible monuments filled with history in Washington , DC , but it is quite
another to get the kind of insight we received that night.)
When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are
His words that night.)
'My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin . My dad is on
that statue, and I just wrote a book called 'Flags of Our Fathers' which
is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the
six boys you see behind me.
'Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground
Is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in
The Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were
off to play another type of game. A game called 'War.' But it didn't
turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his
hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are
people who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You
guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19
years old - and it was so hard that the ones who did make it home never even
would talk to their families about it.
(He pointed to the statue) 'You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon
From New Hampshire . If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo
Was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a
photograph... a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for
protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. It was just boys who won the
battle of Iwo Jima . Boys. Not old men.
'The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike
Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called
him the 'old man' because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would
motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some
Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to little boys..
Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your
mothers.'
'The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian
From Arizona . Ira Hayes was one who walked off Iwo Jima . He went into the
White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero' He
Told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the
Island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?'
So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together
having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the
beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes He had
images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes carried the pain home with him and
eventually died dead drunk, face down at the age of 32 (ten years after
this picture was taken).
'The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from
Hilltop, Kentucky . A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70,
Told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop
General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows
couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.' Yes,
he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19.
When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to
The Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his
mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the
morning. Those neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.
'The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John
Bradley, from Antigo, Wisconsin , where I was raised. My dad lived until
1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers or
the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say
'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no
phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back.' My dad
never fished or even went to Canada . Usually, he was sitting there right at
the table eating his Campbell 's soup. But we had to tell the press that he
was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press.
'You see, like Ira Hayes, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone
thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and on a
monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a
caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And
when boys died in Iwo Jima , they writhed and screamed, without any medication or
help with the pain.
'When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was
A hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said,
'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys
Who did not come back. Did NOT come back.'
'So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima ,
and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo
Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is
Giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time.'
Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag
sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the
heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a
hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless.
We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us
to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice
Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the current War on
Terrorism and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our
freedom..
Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours and also pray
For those still in murderous unrest around the world.
STOP and thank God for being alive and being free at someone else's
sacrifice.
God Bless You and God Bless America .
REMINDER: Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great
day.
One thing I learned while on tour with my 8th grade students in DC that
Is not mentioned here is . . that if you look at the statue very closely
And count the number of 'hands' raising the flag, there are 13. When the man
who made the statue was asked why there were 13, he simply said the 13th
hand was the hand of God.
Class from Clinton , WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly
Enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special
Memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.
On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This
memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of
the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers
raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima ,
Japan , during WW II.
Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed
towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the
statue, and as I got closer he asked, 'Where are you guys from?'
I told him that we were from Wisconsin . 'Hey, I'm a cheese head, too!
Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story.'
(James Bradley just happened to be in Washington , DC , to speak at the
memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to
his dad, who had passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the
buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission
to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the
incredible monuments filled with history in Washington , DC , but it is quite
another to get the kind of insight we received that night.)
When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are
His words that night.)
'My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin . My dad is on
that statue, and I just wrote a book called 'Flags of Our Fathers' which
is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the
six boys you see behind me.
'Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground
Is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in
The Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were
off to play another type of game. A game called 'War.' But it didn't
turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his
hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are
people who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You
guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19
years old - and it was so hard that the ones who did make it home never even
would talk to their families about it.
(He pointed to the statue) 'You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon
From New Hampshire . If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo
Was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a
photograph... a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for
protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. It was just boys who won the
battle of Iwo Jima . Boys. Not old men.
'The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike
Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called
him the 'old man' because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would
motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some
Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to little boys..
Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your
mothers.'
'The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian
From Arizona . Ira Hayes was one who walked off Iwo Jima . He went into the
White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero' He
Told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the
Island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?'
So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together
having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the
beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes He had
images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes carried the pain home with him and
eventually died dead drunk, face down at the age of 32 (ten years after
this picture was taken).
'The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from
Hilltop, Kentucky . A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70,
Told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop
General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows
couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.' Yes,
he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19.
When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to
The Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his
mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the
morning. Those neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.
'The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John
Bradley, from Antigo, Wisconsin , where I was raised. My dad lived until
1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers or
the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say
'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no
phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back.' My dad
never fished or even went to Canada . Usually, he was sitting there right at
the table eating his Campbell 's soup. But we had to tell the press that he
was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press.
'You see, like Ira Hayes, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone
thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and on a
monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a
caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And
when boys died in Iwo Jima , they writhed and screamed, without any medication or
help with the pain.
'When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was
A hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said,
'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys
Who did not come back. Did NOT come back.'
'So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima ,
and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo
Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is
Giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time.'
Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag
sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the
heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a
hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless.
We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us
to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice
Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the current War on
Terrorism and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our
freedom..
Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours and also pray
For those still in murderous unrest around the world.
STOP and thank God for being alive and being free at someone else's
sacrifice.
God Bless You and God Bless America .
REMINDER: Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great
day.
One thing I learned while on tour with my 8th grade students in DC that
Is not mentioned here is . . that if you look at the statue very closely
And count the number of 'hands' raising the flag, there are 13. When the man
who made the statue was asked why there were 13, he simply said the 13th
hand was the hand of God.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
“The key is to get to know people and trust them to be who they are. Instead, we trust people to be who we want them to be- when they're not, we cry"
Trust is funny, I love how everyone makes it all seem so easy to trust and be open with someone. "Talk to me," "You can trust me," "it won't be like that." but it always is like that especially when you put your heart on the line. Every time you open up yourself to someone your giving that person a part of you. You making and effort and taking a risk, the question you need to ask next time is this person really worth the risk? I have met few people I have learned to trust. I have met many who have asked for my trust, recieved it, only to throw it all in my face later...next time I wanna be "bullet proof" I have made mistakes yes, and I understand my choices but a little honesty after lectures of honesty is only fair...
Friday, May 14, 2010
The Positive Side of Life
- Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.
- How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on.
- Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer you live.
- Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open.
- Ever notice that the people who are late are often much jollier than the people who have to wait for them?
- Most of us go to our grave with our music still inside of us.
- If Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day, how come nothing is free yet?
- You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
- Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
- Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.
- We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box.
- A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
A Goal Worth Fighting For!
I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with the children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.
Marjorie Pay Hinckley
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with the children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.
Marjorie Pay Hinckley
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
I Break Things
I've heard this song a few times...it's kinda how I feel right now ugh I know it's the right thing but it doesn't make it the easy thing...
I broke most of Mama’s dishes
She banned me from the kitchen when I was a kid
I tore Daddy’s truck to pieces
Left it in a heap that no mechanic could fix
You don’t believe me I can see you laughin’
But trust me I’m an accident waiting here to happen
Cause I break things
Anything I touch I just get around and then I’m bound to tear ‘em up
Yeah, I make things
Snap and fall apart
So if you wanna hold me boy, you’d better watch your heart
Cause I break things
You say I’m nothing you can’t handle
You’re tougher than an anvil
Well baby we’ll see
I’m like a wrecking ball coming
You’re better off running far away from me
Don’t get me wrong now baby I adore ya
It’s only right that I give you fair warning
Cause I break things
Anything I touch I just get around and then I’m bound to tear ‘em up
Yeah, I make things
Snap and fall apart
So if you wanna hold me boy, you’d better watch your heart
Cause I break things
Rain is wet
The desert is dry
That’s the way it’ll always be
Fire is hot
It’s dark at night
The sun comes up in the east
And I break things
Anything I touch
I just get around and then I’m bound to tear ‘em up
Yeah, I make things
Snap and fall apart
So if you wanna hold me boy, you’d better watch your heart
Cause I break things
I break things
I broke most of Mama’s dishes
She banned me from the kitchen when I was a kid
I tore Daddy’s truck to pieces
Left it in a heap that no mechanic could fix
You don’t believe me I can see you laughin’
But trust me I’m an accident waiting here to happen
Cause I break things
Anything I touch I just get around and then I’m bound to tear ‘em up
Yeah, I make things
Snap and fall apart
So if you wanna hold me boy, you’d better watch your heart
Cause I break things
You say I’m nothing you can’t handle
You’re tougher than an anvil
Well baby we’ll see
I’m like a wrecking ball coming
You’re better off running far away from me
Don’t get me wrong now baby I adore ya
It’s only right that I give you fair warning
Cause I break things
Anything I touch I just get around and then I’m bound to tear ‘em up
Yeah, I make things
Snap and fall apart
So if you wanna hold me boy, you’d better watch your heart
Cause I break things
Rain is wet
The desert is dry
That’s the way it’ll always be
Fire is hot
It’s dark at night
The sun comes up in the east
And I break things
Anything I touch
I just get around and then I’m bound to tear ‘em up
Yeah, I make things
Snap and fall apart
So if you wanna hold me boy, you’d better watch your heart
Cause I break things
I break things
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