Author: lyftingmeup

My grandson Mattias is now a Senior in high school. I know it would be easy to discount my praise as the ramblings of a typical grandparent. When he could barely walk it became apparent that he had God-given musical gifts. At age two when he would hear a microwave bell he might say “C#”. I told my wonderful organist/consummate musician at South Broadway Christian Church, that he had “perfect pitch”. He politely discounted my bragging, until the day he was practicing the magnificent pipe organ and Mattias (age 4) was rapt with what he was hearing. He invited him…

In 1955 my folks built our family home on the edge of “Belmont”, which was the Pueblo version of the suburbs. Our house was at the top of a long and large hill. Our backyard faced east and for six years our fence was the only barrier as far as you could see, towards Kansas. My play ground was the high desert which as best I knew, belonged to everyone.It was truly the stuff that dreams are made of. We were a post WWII neighborhood filled with kids. “The Prairie” as we called it was ours for the taking. We…

I found out last week that I have a new monicker. My nephew Jed, lives 30 miles from me. He has the rare privilege of being my nearest relative. I have the gift of being close to my beloved sister Rita’s boy. My grandkids (who would be Jed’s 2nd cousin) actually call him “Uncle Jed”. He was sort of raised in our family as our fifth kid. Jed can do anything—install a ceiling fan, fix our toilet, move anything (he is 6’5” and 260) and is a joy to be with. This summer his trips to Arvada to help us…

Yesterday marked my living six dozen years. I have always enjoyed that my birthday falls at the beginning of the July 4th holiday. In truth, July 2nd could actually be the “real” Independence Day, as the Declaration was signed on the 2nd but made public on the 4th. My first memorable birthday was when I turned four. Our backyard was full of kids, inflatable swimming pools and a firecracker cake.There are years where my birthday left no impression. Certainly turning 16– drivers license, 21– register to vote and then the long 44 year marathon to 65 and Medicare. I did…

A little over a year ago I started swimming at our HOA pool. It really is a great setting and is truly a benefit for living here. Last year at this time there were very strict Covid protocols in place. Only 25 people could be there for a one hour scheduled session. They also opened up lap swimming for five people for two early morning sessions. I had been doing water aerobics for a couple of years, so I rebooted my swimming memory. I soon figured out that I could become a lap swimmer — remember in a previous blog,…

Today I went to my favorite park in Denver (one of 250 to be exact) and that would be Washington (aka Wash Park). I hooked up with a friend for an iced tea and a catch-up visit. On my way back to my home I decided to drive my nostalgic way, which is up Lincoln St. to Speer Blvd. then to I-25. When I pulled on Lincoln St. I realized I was in the middle of a mass of cars with orange and yellow flags with a single star. At first I thought it was a country celebrating a soccer…

For whatever reason, I am able to distinctly remember certain dates over the past almost 72 years. This last Monday I marked a 40 year milestone in my life. It was a Sunday that I jumped in my Toyota Tercel and pulled out of Enid, Oklahoma on that day in 1981. I had resigned my position as the Chaplain of Enid State School, resigned from my adjunct professor role in the seminary, and waited my last table at the Pepper Mill Steak House. I was broken and defeated. My marriage had ended, my brother had been killed, and I decided…

For as long ago as I can remember, one of my favorite experiences is to sit by a body of water and let my mind and heart listen. This past week I was given the chance to do it twice. First on my road trip to California, to celebrate granddaughter Sofia’s second birthday, I sat by the Pacific Ocean. Today, just 16 miles from my home, I went to Eldorado Canon and spent 30 minutes next to a rushing-with-spring-runoff creek.Our companion on the road trip to California was our grandson Makaio, who said he had a great time with two…

“The Darwin Awards are a tongue-in-cheek honor originating in Usenetnewsgroup discussions around 1985. They recognize individuals who havesupposedly contributed to human evolution by selecting themselves out ofthe gene pool by dying or becoming sterilized via their own actions”.If you have not followed these yearly awards you might Google them upand have a look into the depths of human actions at the intersection wheretragedy and humor meet. I am known in my family as a potential candidatefor such actions as: slipping on my own banana peel while stepping off acurb, and landing in front of an oncoming bus.Here’s the story—We had…

“On the road again,Just can’t wait to get on the road againThe life I love is making music with my friendsAnd I can’t wait to get on the road again On the road againGoin’ places that I’ve never beenSeein’ things that I may never see again And I cant wait to get on the road again…Thirteen months after house arrest in Covid world, I ventured out on a two week road trip to Texas. MK and I had our grandson Matias in the back seat, and we took a 789 mile drive to return him home after a Spring Break…