Messages from Big Jim

The Adversities of Life are only a Perspective.

I sat down to write the newsletter and asked Daddy, "What do you want me to write?"

Nothing happened - nothing.

Then I heard him laughing and a faint... "just kidding..." and he began to speak:

"The adversities of life are only a point of perspective. Ya'll spirits in human form have your opinions of what's good and what's bad. Problem is the opinions are based on what you've been taught and what you've been taught, for the most part - at least from this vantage point - isn't correct.

Take your young Fred for instance, he experienced an incident that to most would be considered bad - he considered it bad to begin with - but has since seen the humor."

(Fred was driving on a frontage road in Colorado earlier in the week and drove through what he thought was a large mud puddle - it was actually watered down manure. As he passed through the POND of manure, he realized immediately what it was and proceeded to become annoyed.)

(For those of you who read the December 24, 2007 newsletter you'll remember that the smell of cow manure brings fond memories to me of the love found at Grandma's house.)

"Even though he washed the truck there is still a lingering fragrance of cows... this has brought laughter to both of you every time you've gotten into the truck - and made you smile every time the garage door is opened.

Laughter and smiling are miracles. Driving through a small manure pond was truly a miraculous event and your grandpa considers him to be fully initiated into the family now.

Each of you reading this, see the perfection in the miracles that are around you - even though at first, they may not appear to be miracles. Laugh. Experience Joy. Smile. Shake off the oppression of the grind of daily life and LAUGH! Life will be easier if you'll just laugh."

~Big Jim

When the "event" happened in Fred's truck I asked him if he had been the main source of entertainment for all the dead relatives - sounds like he was... But Big Jim is right. Some would be too horrified for words if this happened to them. Fred and I have, indeed, laughed a LOT about the incident and EVERY time I get into the truck I do feel the loving comfort and joy of Grandma's house. Did the relatives on the other side orchestrate such an event? Hmmm....

~~~~~^O^ ~~~~~

This is Big Jim's Road King Harley Davidson.  I took this picture and several others the day of the funeral.  At first I thought something was on the lens of the camera - there is a white haze at the rear of the bike.  Then I noticed that they were only in the pictures I took of the bike and... the haze moved in each picture.  Daddy joined us in taking family photos of the bike.  The only retouching done to this image are at the front where I took out family members - and of course I cropped it so it would fit here.