In a land they
call Oregon
Near a Mountain
called Hood,
There was a young
boy,
Who would walk by
the brook.
He learned to
skip rocks,
Six, seven, eight
skips!
And that's just one reason
My pops is the
best.
He could run like a cheetah,
With lightning fast speed,
One blink and you'd
miss him,
That's Pops in the
lead!
He could run an 800
with the best of the best
He could run over
mountains,
And could pass any
test!
This boy was an actor, he would read
Out his lines,
With passion and
fervor,
A man for all times!
I like him for that,
Later I will say why,
But for now you should just know
That he's quite a
swell guy.
One day on a run,
He looked out at the
leaves
He saw beauty there,
In the ridges and
trees
Somewhere up on Zigzag,
Near a cloud or lake's mirror,
He said "there's gotta be
Something more here."
So he went to a church
Built like a cabin in
woods,
He knelt before God
and
Became a leader of
youth,
And one fateful day,
On the way to a
concert,
He met a swell gal,
Who would become my
mother.
But there's more to this guy
Than his sensitive
side
He could walk through
the desert
Through walls ten feet
high!
The concrete would've fried
Some poor office chump.
But my Pops he strode on
With moxie and gump.
And in those ditch-canyons
He met with great battles
And overcame deadly odds
Fighting snakes with
great rattles!
But the fight that he wanted was
Something else
entirely
He would seek a great mission
So His light could be shining!
Some battles, however, are sometimes lost.
And a fell disease, knocked his plans off their hoss.
But love of God is not far
From loving our
neighbor,
And that girl from the
concert
Was closer than
ever...
But don't think for one minute that
My dad's the sort.
To be irresponsible,
Wishy-washy or bored,
When he looked into her eyes
He made the decision,
If it's marriage we're
after,
I'll do the provision.
So he joined the armada,
Our great US Fleet,
He learned to speak
Russian,
Which is no minor
feat,
With just a few
stripes
And his bride hand in
hand,
My Pops took his show
On the road to Japan!
But wait now, one second,
We're getting ahead,
One great masterpiece
My Dad made in bed.
With the help of my
mom
(She carried most of the load)
My dad had a son,
They were three on
this road.
And before you knew it,
Another masterpiece was made,
My l'il bro Justin,
He finally came!!!
A bumpy ride on a chopper
Along the air they
raced
Until the blonde guy popped out
At Yokota air base.
And I have to say, just as aside
That brother was one
awesome gift for a guy.
But Pops wasn't idle,
Nor just was he
working
At night he took courses
And got his degree.
Why do such a thing?
Well the family was growing,
And so my ol' Pops
Became a Marine.
Oh no, I forgot,
One small disappointment.
You see that brother
and I,
We had made an appointment.
Our new sister to be,
We reckoned at least
Should come as a
hippo,
Or something interesting.
And while she might be his favorite,
We don't hold that against
him
This third masterpiece
Was something quite
special.
With wisps of blonde
hair
Curling round her
head,
She was a rare beauty,
Named Elizabeth.
Now Pops told us stories,
And one of the best,
Was the time the he told us of
The Donuts-that-get.
Giant Chocolates with
Sprinkles
Terrorizing the
city!!!!
Poor Liz she had
nightmares I think,
But for me,
That was one of the
funniest stories
In history!
Onward and onward,
Time trudged on and on
Pops trudged on
through boot camp,
But nothing could
daunt.
With pugil-stick
raised high,
And a flinch of his
arm
He could beat any foe,
Who tried do Him harm.
Though that school was later,
When try try they did.
They called it SERE school,
I was just a kid.
They did things like
simulate
Helicopter crashes,
They waterboarded the guy,
And put him out in the
wilderness.
But Pops didn't
flinch,
Not even a wink
And before you knew it,
He was Captain, then
Major.
Now maybe you think
Superman is alright,
And Batman has wings,
And Spiderman's tight.
But my Pops is no fairy tale,
And you know what,
this guy,
My Pops, my own flesh
Can fly! He can fly!!!!
First T-34s and
Then TH-57s
Then Hueys, those choppers,
Pops soared through the heavens!
But he didn't just fly,
He could drive like a
beast,
He clocked over 130
One night in Corpus
Christi.
But of course this was not
Just some joyride or
fling
Not some reckless race
Or some minor thing.
The fourth masterpiece,
She was well on her way,
She was coming already,
She was coming TODAY.
And while Mumsy was heaving
In the passenger seat
Pops was there speeding
And behind him,
Police!
But Mom yelled "Pull over!
This thing's gonna
blow."
So they came to a bank and they
Made a withdrawal.
The policewoman walked up
"Do you know how
fast you were going?"
My Pops he looked up,
With the baby in hand,
"Get a towel for
us woman,
Can't you see what
just happened!"
There was small Laura Kate,
The fourth
masterpiece,
She caught a calm
spirit,
After her high-speed
chase
And so the small
fire-team
Was completed at four;
After that car-bourne
delivery
My mom said "NO
MORE."
And so the years started turning,
We moved; moved again,
Glendale, Quantico, Pensacola again,
Then we moved way out west,
Adventures just beginning!
My pops flew helicopters
And he also would
sing:
We had a few favorites,
My brother and I
Stewball the racehorse,
Should've been a
Cowboy,
I myself preferred Garth Brooks' Lonesome Dove,
And the helicoptered beginning of Goodnight Saigon
Where he would beat a CH-46
On his chest.
Maybe your Pops could do it,
But not like the best.
And he couldn't just sing, remember I said,
That he was an actor, and he was well-read.
And many a night, with
us four gathered round
He's take us to places
no spy drone has found
Crusoe's Island, Jean D'Arc's France, to the top of Swiss mountains
There and back Again!
Each one had a voice, each Gollum and Grinch,
Each Fflewdur and Reepicheep, each pilot and prince.
Such adventures! Such times!
Such hopes! And such lives!
At the edge of our seats
We awaited each line.
Til at last Safely Home
Our heroes arrived.
Then my pops did something
That broke my heart at
least twice
He went off to the
world
And left us behind...
Oh the places you went!
Where didn't you go?
All the places you went!
Some we'll never know.
Perth and Hong Kong,
Kuala Lumpur,
Bangkok and Arabia, Somalia, Jordan.
And those are just the ones
I remember and probably,
I remember because of
the
Postcards you'd write
me.
We awaited those letters,
I don't think you know
how.
Our lives were on hold,
Like the power was
out.
But when you came back,
More adventures to
share!
Hiking up through the snow,
Twirling round in the air.
Magic Mountain,
Knott's Berry,
Yellowstone, Yosemite,
There was the time we
had Easter
In the mountains near
Big Bear
And the time we had Christmas
On a train 'cross the
Sierra.
We drove across country,
At least five or six
times, but the most important one
Was just you and I.
You had tried oh-so-hard
To make up for lost
time
I didn't understand
What it was you were
trying.
I judged you and hurt you
And said awful things,
I was young and
frustrated,
I couldn't understand.
But you persevered,
And you kept loving me.
As hard as I know sometimes that could be.
And so that great trip, that great trip began:
In Arizona we spoke in Indian accents
We zipped up the grapevine and through Sacramento
You showed me the most
memorable runs of my life:
Lemon Mountain, Hood River, and up the I-5.
Drove all night through a blizzard, across Montana and more
All the way to
Oklahoma,
Where God had plans in store.
I had seen all your failings,
I had seen you as dad,
I had seen you as
saint,
But now I had a new
friend.
And this was just the beginning,
And you'd done so much more,
Did a Master's in business,
Became a teacher who
soared,
Not just to teach
teachers about uncontrolled flight
You rewrote the book
So they'd get things right.
And while you weren't quite a brain surgeon
With the things that
came next...
What couldn't you do?
Nothing, I expect.
You took your show on the road,
With a salesman gig
But when that wasn't
so great,
You stepped out in
faith.
And LCC's better
For its Business
Professor
And student life dude,
Who of course, was you!
You volunteered with kids,
Found us a new sister!
And when the going got tough
You began to dig
deeper.
And while I don't know just when
I will see you or how.
And I don't know what's in store
For the next or the
now.
I know God will do still greater things
With a great guy like
you,
With your brains and your wings,
Nothing can stop you!
So be strong and courageous!
Have faith, be a man,
With courage to change
and
Your bride hand in
hand,
This story we know has
only begun,
And has many adventures
Past year fifty-one.
Though termites tried to eat us
Though arguments came
Though I remember the
words
Of shame and of blame.
Though I know he's not
perfect,
I still say I'm glad
To have the honor of
having
A wonderful dad.
So I'll take all
comers,
Bushes, Obamas,
Princes or Barrimores,
Gateses and Jobses,
I think ya'll know it's clear
Who's the cream of the
crops!
In this here blue world
My Pops is tops.
