(Captain Blowdri in the B-757 cockpit)
It has been 41 years since my high school graduation, which makes me the class of 1969! That can only mean that I am staring at my 60th birthday in February. My two sons are now grown men, Jason is 36 and Jeremy is 32 years old. Additionally, Jeremy now has two children of his own, a son named Cole and daughter named Hannah. Yep that makes me a very proud grandfather!
How can all this be so, I have asked my self many times? It wasn’t long ago that I was on the field of the McLane High School football stadium watching and listening as The McLane Highlander’s “Pipe and Drum Corp” marched into the stadium playing “Scotland The Brave“ for the senior graduation ceremony! It was the last time that I would have the privilege to hear those bagpipes as a student of McLane High School!
My how fast the time whizzes by! I remember anxiously awaiting each Fall Friday night. Oh how we used to live for “Tonight”! Well now I am almost 60 years old and all those “tonight’s” have come and gone in a rapid blur! I know that I echo the thought for almost all of my contemporaries in saying, “Man I wished that I could have just one of those “tonight’s” back! I would give anything to relive that senior year, those Friday night dances, the fun of it all, the camaraderie, the excitement of the football, basketball, and baseball games, spinning donuts with my red 1965 VW with a loud stinger exhaust in the fog, on the grassy area by the swimming pool and gym, oooppps, I never got caught for that!!! I surely hope that the statute of limitations has passed!! Those were “the good old days”!
Well looking back, there are more “tonight’s” behind me than there are “tonight’s” in front of me. Nevertheless, I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about my legacy.
What is my legacy?
I am not sure that I have the answer. Do people remember you for your honesty, your humor, your loyalty, your hard work? Just what is it that we want people to remember us for?
Is there an answer for that question? I believe that the answer for the question, “what is my legacy?”, is for others to figure out.
Nevertheless, I do know one thing for sure.
It is not what you take with you when you leave this earth, but it is what you leave behind when you’re gone!
Please take some time to watch this video below. Pay close attention to the coach’s talk to his players, it rings oh so true to life! Listen to the lyrics of Kenny Chesney’s song, I promise you it will stir emotions in your soul that may have laid dormant for years! If this song and video doesn’t do for you, then I guess that I am just an old sentimental softie!!
Remember, life is a journey, not a guided tour! The decisions that you make today, follow all the days of your life!
Dream big and give it your all!
Long live the “Boys of Fall”!