Warrior Of The Heart

req·ui·em  n.

1. Requiem 

a. A mass for a deceased person.

b. A musical composition for such a mass.

2. A hymn, composition, or service for the dead.

 Warrior Of The Heart

This is a requiem for a man who lived passionately.  He worked hard.  He loved with every fiber of his being and he wasn’t afraid to let it be known.  He made mistakes, but he admitted to them because he knows that “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” are powerful words.

He would always give up his jacket when his lady was cold, no matter how cold he may have been.  If there were only room under the umbrella for one then he would stand in the rain. 

He was a warrior of the heart.  He knew how to stand up for what was right, for what he loved and for his beliefs. 

He would go on walks with his lady, holding her hand and walking street side.

He’d hold doors for her.

He’d wait until her food was in front of her before he dared take a bite of his.

Not a day would pass that he didn’t tell her he loved her or how beautiful she is.

This is a requiem for a man that believed in: ladies first, please, thank you, you’re welcome and giving is better than receiving.

He was honest; he earned his keep and didn’t take what wasn’t his.

He gave to the less fortunate and when he had nothing to give, he gave his time, he gave a hand, and he gave an ear.

His service came without strings, he didn’t believe in ‘you owe me one’, because doing what is right is enough of a reward.

This is a requiem for a man that realized that you couldn’t be a lover without being a fighter; love is something that is fought for everyday.

He lived a good life.

He had no regrets.

He loved with every fiber of his being and he was loved in return.

You can’t ask for anything better.

This is a requiem for the Gentlemen.

A Hero Emerges

Word of the Day:

in·teg·ri·ty    [in-teg-ri-tee] 

noun

1.

adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness ofmoral character; honesty.

2.

the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preservethe integrity of the empire.

3.

a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of aship's hull.

Dictionary.com

A HERO IMMERGES

They call it the Rats Nest.  It is the part of town where everybody you don't want to know lives.  Druggies and criminals, the undesirables of society existing in their own circle of life, passing on their addictions and weaknesses from one generation to another.  

Life outside the Rats Nest carried on happily without much more than a disgusted glance or a snide comment in its direction.  The two worlds didn't mix and neither of the worlds cared to, the 'rats' were fine with being left alone, the less attention the better…until it started to burn.  It was only a matter of time before it did, too many people doing drugs, too many flammable materials, it was bound to happen and it came as no surprise.

The only surprise was the speed at which the firefighters arrived.  Captain James Richards made sure that his crew knew that every life is valuable; it doesn’t matter where you are raised.  “Without my integrity I wouldn’t fit my uniform, I’d be much too small a man.”, was one of the Captains favorite lines.

The firemen were fast; the fire was faster.  It had already consumed one home and was hungrily eating through the second, if there was anybody inside there wasn’t much hope for them.

“My son!  My son is in there!” said a woman with sunken eyes who’d been sobered up enough by the fire to get out, but not sober enough to take her son with her. 

“Cap, it’s too late, we can’t get in there.” Said one of the firemen, “it’s too late.” more somber than before at his realization at what he’d just said.

“As far as I’m concerned that’s my son in there, I’m going in.” resolved the Captain…every life is valuable…

Richards ran in, seemingly without fear, but if you had seen his eyes you could have seen he was terrified.    

Heat.

Smoke.

Can barely see.

An eternity in an instant.

Outside everyone waited impatiently, hope ticking away.

A crash.

A man immerges.  No.  A HERO emerges…carrying a child.

Clear of the danger, Richards sets the boy down.

“What is your name son?”

coughing…

“Brian.  Brian Crawford.”

“You’re tough kid, Brian.  I’m Captain James Richards, you’re going to be just fine.”

Everyone outside his crew thought he was a fool for going into that house.  The world wouldn’t have missed that boy, not even his own mother would stay sober enough to miss him.

…every life is valuable

25 years later…

Another fire.  Not the Rats Nest this time.

A house engulfed in flames…no hope.

One man enters the house against all odds then emerges with a child, then goes back in… three times he faces the flames.  He emerges the third time with a young boy.

“What is your name son?”

“Peter.  Peter Williams.”

“You’re a tough kid, Peter.  I’m Captain Brian Crawford, you’re going to be just fine.”

…every life is valuable.

Living Between The Lights

Todays word is:  vicarious [vɪˈkɛərɪəs vaɪ-]

adj

1. obtained or undergone at second hand through sympathetic participation in another's experiences

2. suffered, undergone, or done as the substitute for another vicarious punishment

3. delegated vicarious authority

4. taking the place of another

5. (Medicine / Pathology) Pathol (of menstrual bleeding) occurring at an abnormal site See endometriosis

[from Latin vicārius substituted, from vicis interchange; see vice³, vicissitude]

vicariously  adv

vicariousness  n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

Living Between The Lights

I am a drifter of sorts.  But rather than drift from one town to another, I drift between minds.  I don’t know how I came to be, I only know that I am.  My only memories are those of the minds that I drift to, from, in and out of.  I have no shape, no mass, I exist as an invisible and intangible sponge that absorbs all knowledge it comes in contact with but never grows full.  The minds that I inhabit have no knowledge of my existence; they cannot communicate with me just as I cannot communicate with them.  I do not take from or add to their thoughts; for the time that I am with a mind I simply make a copy of its entire history and paste it into myself.  Myself.  I don’t know if that word is accurate, all that I am belongs to somebody else, I am a library of minds or maybe I am the librarian.  Am I an invisible ghost librarian that lives vicariously through thoughts and experiences of others?  That doesn’t seem right either.  I’m not a ghost; ghosts can be seen and heard.  I see and hear, but I am not seen and heard.  I feel and hurt, but only if the body belonging to the mind I inhabit feels and hurts, even then, I can choose to withdraw to save myself the misery that is emotions. 

I have drifted to and through a hundred thousand minds over thousands of years; sometimes staying for a long period if I find a mind to be exceptional, and sometimes only staying for an instant if I find myself inside a monster, or what the other minds I have inhabited would consider a monster. 

There are not others like me.  When I exit a mind I am alone, I exist in the ‘in-between’, in darkness and silence, save the points of light which represent my possible destinations, then I choose.  There is no method, all the points of light look the same, I simply choose and there I am, absorbing new memories and experiencing a new life, adding to ‘us’. 

I am alone again, drifting.  Today I am going to travel ‘in-between’.  I am going to drift to a distant mind, one of the bright points in the distance.  It takes a while, or maybe no time at all, the ‘in-between’ doesn’t follow rules such as time.

An anomaly.

A flickering light.  No, not flickering, pulsing, beating like a heart made of light.

 I drift closer… then I drift in.

A new mind, not unlike other minds I’ve drifted too, but with one anomaly, this mind is occupied.

“Hello.” says a voice

My first instinct is to ask ‘Who are you?’, but I stop myself then I say “Who am I?”

The voice responds after a pause, “You are…not alone.”

Thinking Outside The Brain

Today's Word is Numinous

Definition:  Supernatural, mysterious, awe-inspiring

Thinking Outside The Brain

Usually my thoughts stay inside my head.  I think them, safely and privately, in that gray matter between my ears.  They aren’t dangerous, most of the time they are nonsense about how hungry I am or what that odor is that I currently smell.  Well, today, at exactly 10:23 am, my thoughts escaped.

What once was just a casual and completely intangible pondering has become real world mayhem.  Imagine if everything you thought, EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT, all of a sudden came into real world existence.  Do you have that picture inside your head?  Now, multiply that by a billion and that is how screwed up things get.

At exactly 10:23 am I was walking down the street.  Just like any other Saturday, there was a fair bit of foot traffic on a sidewalk wide enough for 5 people shoulder to shoulder.  I saw a dog relieving itself on a fire hydrant, very cliché I know, but there it was.  I thought to myself “that poor hydrant can’t even defend itself”.  As if on cue, the hydrant sprouted arms, unscrewed its cap and handily gave the dog a taste of it’s own medicine, sending it rolling across the sidewalk in an outpouring of water on par with Old Faithful.  Utterly freaked out by what I just saw, I thought that couldn’t have just happened; just like that, it hadn’t happened, everything was back to the way it was.  The dog was walking down the street with its owner in tow completely oblivious to what had just occurred. 

I thought to myself “Man, you are going crazy!”  Poof!   I’m in a straitjacket! 

And now everything starts happening as fast as thought…

I rip through the straitjacket with my brand new, huge, muscles.

Huge muscles turn into flabby arms, then back into even larger muscles

I’m in the gym holding massive amounts of weights above my head.

I’m surrounded by a crowd of cheering people in an arena; I’ve just broken a world record.

Now I’m naked.  Laughing and pointing commences.

I turn red hot in embarrassment…literally.

I’m in a pool producing a cloud of steam.

Flying a plane through the clouds.

Crash into the ocean.

Deserted Island.

Wilson!

Back on the street where I began. 

I look at my watch; it is 10:24am.  It’s been one minute.  WHAT IN THE WORLD JUST HAPPENED?!   I must look shell shocked or like some sort of loony right now.  I need to find a seat to process the numinous events that have just occurred.

Somewhere unseen…

“Bahahahahahahaha!!!!  That was awesome, God!”  exclaims St. Peter

“I told you!  Isn’t this fun?!” says God, “Now watch what happens when I do it to that lady in the grocery store.”