The sun rose up today, hidden really behind a grey backdrop…

I wasn’t fussed.

I didn’t rejoice perhaps like I should have at the sheer marvel of it all, agape in wonder!

I just turned my head back to the screen.

My 9 year old daughter informed me last night that she gifted me a mug with the word ‘FRIEND’ on it for Father’s Day a few years back and that I had not really acknowledged the fact that she considered me her friend as well as her father…

This my Dear Friend is correct and I offer you my deepest apology. The first full sentence you ever said to me was, “You and I are like best friends. ”

You said that when you were 2 and I strive to be your friend and thank you for being my greatest teacher. ❤

Will you look back upon this period of your life and exclaim that this was the difficult times?

I suspect this will be the case however I don’t forsee any sadness in my quarter for I did the best I could under trying circumstances and you piled on as much shite as you could muster searching for a breaking point you never found and never will, not in me… No, I will not give you that kind of power; for that burden would be too great for you to carry.

After this, you and I will take different paths and I will not speak of you as like so many distasteful things, this is part of the past.

When I was younger I would compare myself with others all the time.

I don’t know when this practice began and I don’t know exactly when it ended… However I was still doing this long after high-school.

I remember not wanting to attend a high-school reunion because I felt shame for not believing that I had achieved enough.

Growing up is a difficult process and I am happy to report that for me this goal has been achieved.

This comparison rarely accomplished anything positive. If I came out on top which did happen occasionally, I felt bad for those who didn’t. If I didn’t then I was left with that.

Somewhere along the way I just figured out that I didn’t have to be at the top or the bottom… That Somewhere in the middle with the masses was just fine.

Informed and wise people kept saying, “It’s complicated.”

The only complication I could see was they lacked the humility to admit that they believed someone who had lied to them… as if lying is so unusual or more to the point, that it is so difficult for intelligence to be fooled.

All it takes are tears and words of victimhood and the opportunity to be a hero, complicates the shit out of well meaning intellectuals.

When I was younger and hugely unsuccessful, my goal was to be normal. When you don’t have a ‘pot to piss in or a window to throw it out ‘ that can seem unattainable.

I cannot remember the last time I went hungry or didn’t have money to pay the bills or couldn’t provide, however it has been decades and I feel like I have attained my original goal of normalcy.

Is it too much to ask to strive for more? Will fear of such lofty dreams hold me back from even trying?

No.

I will just not forget where I was.

It’s quiet in the city, tis calm and peace, tranquil.

Then someone loses their mind and screams, and they are screaming still.

The medication is abundant, the willingness not so much.

We’ve learned it all and stand so tall, and still we fail to stay in touch.

It’s a problem and its solved. It is cool and often cold.

It’s not vague or loosely written, it is aged and yes it’s old.

It is silence and it is courage, sometimes hanged and its been hung.

It’s chances of survival rise when it learns to hold its tongue.

I’ve come to tell my tale and I’ll tell you how it goes.

The offended will be frightened that their anger will expose.

Dennis Mantin

Preparedness is something to do when Dealing with the emotions of others… Patience is not the same as at the ready.

I lack patience along with other virtues However I do remember the motto…….. BE PREPARED.

Slippery Words..

Forget Me Nots.

A Quiet Tongue.

Holds Vicious Thoughts.