Whoever coined the phrase "Life is not fair," was...................


                               "ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!"

"How do you know which one to choose", my granddaughter Emily asked , as we pulled into the parking lot of the shelter. "It will be the first one that gets up to meet us" I said, with a bit of anxiety.
After registering at the desk, we began the walk down the aisle, looking at the occupants of those cages that lined both sides. All of a sudden, about 10 feet in front of us, a grey and black striped leg with a white foot, came protruding out from the front of a cage. The paw began "flexing", as if signaling, "Hey! Over here!"
As I held her, and Emily stroked her forehead, she emanated a very strong, exuberant, vibrating, purr; contented, unafraid, her head tucked into the crook of my arm. We had found my Guardian Angel!

I whispered to her as softly as I knew how:

"We are going home-
I will always keep you safe,
I will never harm you
You will always have shelter, food, and water-
I will keep you warm in the winter........
and cool in the summer.......
You will not 'want', for love."


As I whispered those words, her purr grew stronger, her paw flexing against my arm. For you see, I am convinced that God told her we were coming, and to give us a sign to let us know where she was. It was He, who chose her for us. Some of you may not agree with that, and that's okay. It's important that me and Emily believe it. Regardless of which room I'm in(except the bath), she is there, as she is now, asleep on the foot of the bed as I write. My home isn't empty.... anymore.

copyright: richard riddle-11-11-2015

When my wife, Karen, passed away, the "angel" we had, Scheppes, stayed with me until she was twenty. Brie does not take her place, for she has her own place, and is doing quite well as a "Guardian Angel", in training!

(Composed by Billy Liebert; Recorded by John Wayne -1973)

Face the Flag of stars and bars,
Of red and white and blue,
A flag that guarantees the rights
For men like me and you.
Face the Flag, son! Read what's written there--
The history, the progress and the heritage we share.
Our flag relects the past, son, but stands for so much more,
And in this Age of Aquarius, it still flies in the fore.
It leads the forward movement, shared by all mankind,
To learn...to love...to live with peace of mind;
To learn the mysteries of space, as well as those of earth;
To love each man for what he is, regardless of his birth;
To live without the fear of reprisal for belief;
To ease the tensions of a world that cries out for relief.
Face the Flag of stars and bars,
Of red and white and blue,
A flag that guarantees the rights
For men like me and you.
Face the Flag, son! Take a good long look.
What you're seeing now can't be found in a history book.
It's the present and the future, son. It's being written now,
And you're the one to write it, but the flag can show you how.
Do you know what it stands for? What its makers meant?
To think...to speak...the privilege of dissent;
To think our leaders might be wrong...to stand and tell them so.
These are the things that other men under other flags will never know.
But responsibility...that's the cross that free men must bear,
And if you don't accept that, the freedom isn't there.
Face the Flag of stars and bars,
Of red and white and blue,
A flag that guarantees the rights
For men like me and you.
Face the Flag, son, and face reality.
Our strengths and our freedoms are based in unity.
The flag is but a symbol, son, of the world's greatest nation,
And as long as it keeps flying, there's cause for celebration.
So do what you've got to do, but always keep in mind,
A lot of people believe in peace...but there are the other kind.
If we want to keep these freedoms, we may have to fight again.
God forbid, but if we do, let's always fight to win,
For the fate of a loser is futile and it's bare:
No love, no peace...just misery and despair.

America, Why I Love Her
Written by John Mitchum
Poet/Actor

You ask me why I love her? Well, give me time, and I'll explain...
Have you seen a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain?
Have you drifted on a bayou down Louisiana way?
Have you watched the cold fog drifting over San Francisco Bay?


Have you heard a Bobwhite calling in the Carolina pines?
Or heard the bellow of a diesel in the Appalachia mines?
Does the call of Niagara thrill you when you hear her waters roar?
Do you look with awe and wonder at a Massachusetts shore...
Where men who braved a hard new world, first stepped on Plymouth Rock?
And do you think of them when you stroll along a New York City dock ?


Have you seen a snowflake drifting in the Rockies...way up high?
Have you seen the sun come blazing down from a bright Nevada sky?
Do you hail to the Columbia as she rushes to the sea...
Or bow your head at Gettysburg...in our struggle to be free?


Have you seen the mighty Tetons? ...Have you watched an eagle soar?
Have you seen the Mississippi roll along Missouri's shore?
Have you felt a chill at Michigan, when on a winters day,
Her waters rage along the shore in a thunderous display?
Does the word "Aloha"... make you warm?
Do you stare in disbelief When you see the surf come roaring in at Waimea reef?


From Alaska's gold to the Everglades...from the Rio Grande to Maine...
My heart cries out... my pulse runs fast at the might of her domain.
You ask me why I love her?... I've a million reasons why.
My beautiful America... beneath Gods' wide, wide sky.





[topp]

How old were you when you began to realize that not "everything" your parents told you, while growing up, was true.


r. riddle: 07-17-2016

It stands...alone
that monolith.....
That monument.....to things past-
Memories resurface..........
each time I cross its wake -
"Once upon a time"..........it says to me
Reminding me-
of the "good things," good times
It keeps messages
                  Pictures....

The "DOOR".................................

of my refrigerator"


copyright" r. riddle 07-11-2016

"Blinding!"
is the road named "HATE!"

First in one eye...
then the other......

Its length.....
'infinite'

Choose the road named "LOVE"
and see.....
that it to, is........*ENDLESS