Hi, Folks,
I had a good laugh at Broken Promises' question back on The Uniter - Part 1 (http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/216396/1/The-Uniter-Part-1-It-was-sent-with-my-Declaration-of-War) where he asked where I live so that he'll know who it is when some crazy old man goes nuts and instigates a mass killing. T'ain't gonna happen.
Nonetheless, I guess I can understand where he's coming from. I've been posting some pretty heavy stuff, and then again my name LoneWolf ain't exactly a warm, fuzzy type of name, and loners have earned a rough reputation in this day and age. Soooo - I thought I'd speak to that a little.
"LoneWolf" was my CB handle when I was in long-haul trucking. I have over 1,000,000 miles driving those big rigs, and almost all of it was solo. Solitude is rather "strong medicine", and not too many people can handle it for long. However, between being ostracized during my school years due to my faith, living way out in the country with the wilderness as my playground, as well as a few other factors, I got intimately acquainted with solitude. Basically, I was a loner whether I wanted to be or not and became comfortable with it.
However, this does NOT mean that I don't appreciate having friends, and especially those type of friends where a fella can speak about the type of things that are dear to his heart. I am not antisocial in any way. I wrote a poem years ago, and one stanza pretty well sums it up:
"People I like - a few at a time
But not when they're ten feet deep
They tend to ferment when all in a pile
So far from the city I keep."
Sadly, though, much to my regret, I've been forced to cultivate a public persona as being prickly and unpredictable. This was primarily for the purpose of "brushing back" the elders and other knotheads who have no sense of propriety and thereby holding them at bay. I'm afraid that my family would never have survived if I hadn't, and I resent the necessity of it.
But for here and now, I would like to sprinkle some of the things that warm my heart and make life worth living, in with the heavier stuff. They give me peace of mind no matter what trials come my way, and hopefully they might make things easier for others.
They vary from the "commonplace" things like the antics of children, to adventures and/or privileges that no man could hope to be blessed with, to things of nature that are unheard of - and all of them are true. I know, because I was there. I'll mention one small one now. It brings a smile to my face every time I think of it.
One of our grandkids is a little 3 year-old girl by the name of Ruby. She is a tiny little bundle of energy that just doesn't seem to stop, with twinkling eyes and so sharp that nothing seems to get past her. She'll come running in the door with the other grandkids and all of them will throw their arms around my neck, delighted to see me, and that makes my whole day.
Now Ruby is still quite fond of her thumb, which I don't care about one way or another. However, I like to tease her. "Ruby, does that taste good?" Her eyes just sparkle and a great big grin spreads across her face on each side of her thumb, and she gives me an enthusiastic nod.
I continue, "Can I have some too?" Instantly she jerks the thumb out of her mouth and offers it to me, while grinning even bigger. That just cracks me up.
But she upped the ante the other day. Her Daddy and I were having a serious talk when she came pitty-patting out where we were. He picked her up and she snuggled into his neck while sucking on that thumb and looking at me. I couldn't resist.
"Ruby, what does that thumb taste like?" With no hesitation at all, she jerked her thumb out, beamed at me and shot back:
"Chicken!"
I'm still laughing!
So, Folks, I may have a rough reputation in some quarters, and I may walk in areas and deal with subjects that most other people wouldn't, but dang it! I'm still a human being just like everyone else.