Skip to main content

KEVIN

This past November my brother achieved a great accomplishment -- retirement from the Navy after 20 years of excellent service to our country.    In lieu of a gift, I wrote him a poem.  With his permission, I share it here with you.


KEVIN

As you sit there with those smiling eyes
So very blue with sparkling pride
I cannot help but join right in
Strong emotions swelling inside

You’re retiring from the Navy today
Twenty years you have done
From starting out as a seaman
Into a Chief you’ve become

My mind can’t help but wander.
Back to a tow-headed lad
Growing up on Lawton Avenue in Lawton , Oklahoma
With two siblings and a dad

Your spirit of life and its adventures
Beginning way back then
Skateboard ollies and bicycle ramps
Carefree youth, seeming to never end

The determination and love of a father
To encourage you all the way
Starting a seed of "You’re the boss"
To cling to every day

But alas, to Dallas off you go
A new life there to spend
Not expecting that you’d find
A Navy career to begin

You may think I don’t know or understand
About the Navy and your career
However, I recall some important events
And I’d like to share them briefly here

Great Lakes or Great Mistakes
The choice is yours to bear
I remember traveling from Michigan
To watch you graduate there

Then, a Destroyer christened USS O’Brien
Took you away to Japan
Carrying you across the equator
From Pollywog to Shellback you became

Orders to shore in California
The medical field you began
Sparking a brand new leadership fire
Higher education in the plan

Soon, sea legs getting antsy
LPD USS Green Bay steps in
You accomplish becoming a Navy Chief
Plus, the surface warfare pin

Your deployment drawing near You've invited me to an amazing treat
There’s going to be a Tiger Cruise
And a picnic on a steel beach.

As I swing my thoughts back from the past
Back to the here and now
I’m staring at your smiling face
I must salute you now!!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THAT LITTLE CHAIR

I'm telling ya, I'm pretty disappointed.  But what do ya do?   My granny and I go to the Salvation Army looking around on Saturday.  Actually, we go almost every Saturday.   It's her favorite thing to do on her "Day".  Right there when you first walk in, there's this little chair sitting there.  A little one, all taped up with what looks like packing tape on the seat and other places.  But overall, it's a pretty sturdy little thing and so, so cute.  So original.  It's marked $9.99.  As if they're fooling me with that.  It's 10 bucks.  Yup.  Can't fool me. "How much will you take for that chair?"   "$2.00." "Really!  I'll take it."   "Okay." I leave it there and continue shopping.  BIG MISTAKE!!   Who knew!   I'm shopping.  I'm on the phone telling my brother about this chair and all the wonderful things I'm going to do with it.  I even named...
2 comments
Read more

"I DON'T KNOW"

That's the words that were ringing tonight at what I was expecting to be a reprieve from all the madness I keep experiencing.  You see, I'm a square dancer.  I'm a court reporter.  I'm a caretaker.  I'm a musician. I'm a really big dreamer.  Lately, I feel like a loser.   So no matter how well-meaning everyone was, going to our club dinner and having everyone ask, "Where do you work at now?", well, it just sucked. Tomorrow is my 48th birthday and I'm still here with my grandmother helping her out.  Or is she helping me out.  I tell you, when I first arrived here from El Paso, I was not me.  It was such a horrible time in my life. My whole world had crumbled and here I was in a situation I'd never dream of, of having to take care of my 91-year-old grandmother who, as it turned out, was not the grandmother I had always thought she was.  I guess that can go both ways.  Maybe I ended up changing to her and she could say the same thing...
Post a Comment
Read more

THINKING by Walter Wintle

https://www.yowbaby.com/ IF YOU THINK YOU ARE BEATEN, YOU ARE; IF YOU THINK YOU DARE NOT, YOU DON'T. IF YOU'D LIKE TO WIN, BUT THINK YOU CAN'T, IT'S ALMOST A CINCH YOU WON'T. IF YOU THINK YOU'LL LOSE, YOU'RE LOST; FOR OUT OF THE WORLD WE FIND SUCCESS BEGINS WITH A FELLOW'S WILL; IT'S ALL IN THE STATE OF MIND. IF YOU THINK YOU'RE OUTCLASSED, YOU ARE; YOU'VE GOT TO THINK HIGH TO RISE. YOU'VE GOT TO BE SURE OF YOURSELF BEFORE YOU CAN EVER WIN THE PRIZE. LIFE'S BATTLES DON'T ALWAYS GO TO THE STRONGER OR FASTER MAN; BUT SOON OR LATE THE MAN WHO WINS, IS THE MAN WHO THINKS HE CAN!
Post a Comment
Read more