First Blog

Ok....Here I sit. In this chair my mom got me for Christmas a few years ago. Pretty comfy. What do I write? What do I say? It's my blog, right?

I was looking at some pictures on myspace today of my cousin Susan (Step-Cousin which is no longer valid due to my step-mother's death 12 years ago). One of her pictures she is sitting on a hammock with her family and in the background I see the familiar sight of the Tennessee forest. Brought back some memories and I wondered: what if they never leave?

Could have gone to UT. Could have traveled the world. Could have continued to get to know the landscape, the smells, the sights and sounds of my Alma mater. Could have taken for granted the grassy slopes, the towering mountains, and the Dogwood trees. Could have ran moonshine again. Could have picked blackberries every season and made fresh cobbler. Could have still been eating pinto beans and cornbread with every meal. Could have shown my children where papaw was raised. Could have let them experience the outhouse, the pump house, and the barn. Could have taken them to the hayloft where my brothers and I would buck hay on the weekends. Could have taught them how to milk cows and gather eggs like we did. Could have shown them where I used to sit and wait for the doves to come back so I could shoot them again. Could have stayed in church...the little Baptist Church down by the creek where papaw would wear his GOOD overalls...he was a deacon, after all. Could have shown my kids how to throw big 'ole rocks into a fresh cow patty. Could have shown them where me and my brothers used to fish for bream, just below the barn in the backwater. Could have been there wishing I was somewhere else. Could have taken for granted the life I had.

Instead I....avoided going to jail by joining the Marines. Went to Parris Island and learned how to be disciplined for the sake of others around you. Learned how to kill. Traveled the world on a ship. Saw the world from the open window of a helicopter. Learned how to be scared and not let anyone know. Learned how to keep others distant so I could let them go more easily. Practiced promiscuity. Moved to AZ. Made a family. Embarked on an educational journey.

Who knows where life takes us. We can only tag along.

Mike