Dad's Words

2008-01-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

I'm hoping this blog will be a way for our family to cope with the the passing of our very much loved family patriarch...Dad.

Dad passed away on September 15, 2007 after a very courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. With Mom's loving care, he was able to remain at home up until the last 10 days and we were all there when he left us to carry on his journey aboard another train.

He worked for the railway most of his business life (as did his father) and thus all the references to trains. (His great-grandson is carrying on the tradition with his love of all things "train".)

Before he passed away, he was most fortunate to have the opportunity to record some of his thoughts and reflections about his life on a video that we could all share. It can be both emotional and comforting to see and hear him speak about his life and we are all very lucky to have this memorial.

He provides us with some tidbits of wisdom during the course of this video but none can be greater than the recital of a poem he came across years ago and he tried his best to live by, especially in his last few months of life "on this planet earth". It goes like this:

The Train of Life

Some folks ride the train of life

Looking out the rear

Watching miles of life go rolling by

And marking every year

They sit in sad remembrance

Of wasted days gone by

And curse their life for what it was

And hang their heads and cry

Let's not concern ourselves with that

But take a different vent

Look forward to what life may hold

And not what has been spent

So strap me to the engine

As securely as can be

I want to be out front

And see what I can see

I want to feel the winds of change

Blowing in my face

I want to see what life unfolds

As I move from place to place

I want to see what's coming up

Not looking at the past

Life's too darn short for yesterdays

It moves along too fast

So if the ride gets bumpy

While you were looking back

Go way up front and you may find

Life has jumped the track

It's alright to remember

It's all a part of history

But up front is where it's happening

There is just so much mystery

The great enjoyment of living

Is not dwelling on what we've been

It's always looking forward

And forever being keen

It's searching all the byways

Never should we refrain

For if we want to live a life

We've got to drive the train

There may be times when this advise will be hard to follow but, hopefully, we can all use it at times.

We miss you, Dad

Dave's Train Of Life

Dad's Words