Outside Dexter, Minnesota

Dexter, MN is one of the many communities in Minnesota to have
windmills nearby. It is amazing to think that there are hundreds of
these. The size of one individual windmill is impressive. I can't
help from feeling a little like these are something out of War of
the Worlds; especially in a photo like this where you can see them
far into the distance against an ominous sky.

Baraboo Dells Airshow

I am posting this to test blogger's post from email using my iPad. If
it works, it will be a slick way to post content to this blog.

Poem - Care Givers

(dedicated to the staff of four center)

When she yelled out in pain
I know you comforted her.
At times her pain
became your pain;
you were desperate
to help her and
disappointed when
you could not.

At 2:00 am when she wanted ice
I know you brought it to her
with a spoon.
Often you also had to help
feed her the ice chips.
My heart is warmed by the
cool relief you brought her.

When she needed a sympathetic ear
I know you listened.
You made no judgments of her.
Often you comforted her and
gave her a reason to let
some of her anxiety go.

When I cried out with her last breath
you were there to comfort me.

And many of you joined me
in sadness.

And many of you joined me
in my relief that
her pain was gone.

My Love, My Wife

It has been a long time since I posted here. My wife's battle with numerous medical issues ended on May 18.

I miss her more than words can say and I always will.

Now, I am left to plan out a new future. Part of that future will be to pursue my Master of Fine Arts in creative writing.

I will be reworking this site to be a place for me to put my writing; I need to get back to the discipline of writing.

What I learned from Colleen

Think about others first, as often as possible.
Colleen was the most generous person I have ever known. Most of you
know this better than I do. In both big ways and little ways she
thought of others first. I know that in some cases she was taken
advantage of by those who should have appreciated her the most.
However, she more often made a new life-long friend.

It is one thing to tell the people you love that you love them, it is
far more meaningful to tell everyone you meet how much you love that
person and how proud of him you are.
Whenever I would meet a friend of Colleen's for the first time, I
would hear about how Colleen was so proud of me. This was true of all
of the staff at the hospital as well.

Hug a cat once a day.
Colleen loved her animals and they gave her comfort. Some days they
gave her a reason to keep fighting as long as she did.

If you are both klutzy you never get mad at the other for what they
drop or break.
When we were first dating I accidentally cleared off the top of the
refrigerator. This meant several glass and ceramic casserole dishes
went flying to the ground. In that destruction she was only worried
about whether or not I was hurt. She understood.

Expect the best out of people and forgive them of their worst; forgive
but never forget.
Colleen's ability to forgive always amazed me.

Never stop learning.
Even while bed ridden Colleen found ways to improve her mind. She
read, played games to keep her mind going, and even took a
correspondence class.

Leave your loved ones with important memories not important things.
All of the gifts Colleen ever gave me pale in comparison to the
memories of the places we went, the laughs we shared, and the love we
had.