Just a Farmer (So You Say) The Story of a Man Named Ray

He was just a farmer (so you'd say)

Many of you knew a man named big Ray.

He was larger than life in more than one way.

His wisdom and life experience superceded men of all sizes.

When it came to luck there wasn't much to be had for prizes.

I met Ray as a small child.

My first memory was he saved a bunny from being killed by a haybine on my grandpa's farm in the wild.

To me he was a giant.

Politically speaking Ray wasn't afraid to be defiant.

But he was just a farmer (so you say)

He told me impressive stories of his youth.

One that stands out was he able to bat baseballs onto the high school roof.

Ray could have been a pro football player.

Honestly he could have been anything from an inventor to mayor.

But he was just a farmer (so you say)

As an adult I got the honor of working with Ray.

This allowed us to talk deeper about life in an adult way.

He was truly there for me when nobody in family was not.

His door was always open if I was having a troubling thought.

But he was just a farmer so you would say.

You who are related to him will hopefully have your own cherished stories about Ray.

Conversations were never short.

They could vary of subjects of any sort.

Long before Google there was a man named Ray.

If you asked him a question 

He always had something insightful to say..

But he was just a farmer (so you say)

Life was never truly easy for a man named Ray.

Anybody that thinks farming is a lazy man's work or easy

should ask his nephews about stories that probably would make your stomach queazy.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do

When I have questions about life

Or just having a bad day.

He definitely had a way about him that made life better.Words will never describe how deeply he will be missed.

But he was just a farmer (so you say)

At the end of the day

Much more than "just a farmer"

Was a man named Ray Baker"

May his memories live with us forever.

My friend I never got to meet

My Friend I never got to meet.

David, you are my friend that I never got to meet.

I'm sure our paths have crossed several times.

Had they intersected I'm sure we would have had a great time.

Perhaps we could have took our dogs out to the woods or water.

Perhaps we would have sat down and had a chat. 

I'm sure we would have had some answers to the world's problems.

In the recent days I got to know you in a way that I wish it didn't have to be so.

I got to see all these pictures of a handsome man

A young man stolen from this Earth far too soon.

You lived a life that I'm quite envious of.

You did a lot of travelling

You seen majestic places

You touched people's lives around you.

Especially your brother Mathew and your mother.

All of your siblings had a special place in your heart.

You created  3 beautiful lives of your own

I'd have been glad to call you "my brother"

Thankfully to both you  Matthew and your mother I have THE greatest soul in a dog I've ever known.

I have a strange feeling you could have helped me with my dream of doing some travelling in my old school bus that I plan to turn into an RV.

I wish that I could have given you some older brother advice from somebody who's been through some very dark places in my life.

I wish I could have given you the hope that you needed.

There are many struggles through life.

What one person may deem petty

The next may take to heart.

The truth is nobody knows exactly what the person right next to them may be going through.

One thing I can say is you were loved very much so and you are missed.

For now you are my friend that I have not met yet.

A Mother's Love

There exists no love quite like a mother's love for her child.

In Nature we see it

From a Dog to her pup

To that young first time mom.

A mother has a different love for each of her children.

Different but the same.

The main common denominator is protection.

A mother wants nothing more than to protect her child.

Protect them from harm

Shield them from evil

Sometimes even protect them from themselves.

A mother's love is eternal.

It starts before their child is born

Continues unwavering through their life

And I believe stays with you universally.

A mother's love is forgiveness

Us young and old are bound to make mistakes big and small.

A mother's love will find a way to forgive it and make it better.

In the game of life your mother is your number one fan.

A mother's love is  strength and encouragement.

Just when you think you can't do it

Here comes mother's voice to say 

"Yes you can"

A mother's love can also be silent

There's the unspoken love we feel.

In summation there exists No other love quite like a mother's love for her own,

Whether this be by blood or not.

Fields of Stone

Fields of stone lie all around us
These stone markers tell one story
Whom lies beneath tells another
Sometimes the story is long and eloquent
Other times it is but a rough draft
The strange irony though is that all of these stories are published in the same book on the same page.

The Circle of Life

Today I found a point on this Circle of Life.
A point no matter how prepared for
No matter how rationalized
No matter how questioned
Was reached and changed the journey of my own life.

These past years I have had some time to reflect on my past and ponder my future.
There have been trials and losses yet hopes and dreams.
More importantly I realize life is a circle and everything is connected.
There is a beginning and an end
Or is there?
Whilst on Dec. 14th 2016 I lost a great woman
I have to believe that somewhere in the universe someone gained a great woman.

We are born naked and helpless and with my own eyes I see that what we would call the end is quite very similar to the beginning.

However the circle is large and the time in between Birth and Death was clearly illustrated to me through the life of my grandma.

There is growth
There is struggle
There is maturity
There is more struggle
There are experiences new
There are memories old and faded
There is regression
There is yet more struggle
Finally there is weakness
and we leave this existence.

There was a time when I was cared for loved and comforted  as a child as are mostly all of us I would hope.
During the last few months I was able to pay back this universal debt while learning many lessons on life.
I was the one able to care for, love and comfort my grandmother.

Now that may sound deep and rather dismal but in what I observed there are two most important things
I forgot to mention.
I think a LOT of us have forgot to remember
that there is LOVE and Happiness in this LIFE

I am a sentimental soul and tend to relive the past many many times.
As we think back to those we have lost let us remember what made them Happy and feel LOVE for and from them.

All of us will have had our own memories of our loved ones who have gone on ahead of us.

What does this mean in the circle of life?

I really don't have a rational explanation for that. I believe the circle is relevant.
Sometimes our circles intersect sometimes they part but I do believe that we are all connected and if we visualize we are all in different positions on this circle of life and love, yet it is a circle so no mater where we are we are all connected.

So in summation I will ask all who read this to take a look at how YOU are living your circle of life and to realize where you were, where you are and where you will be and fill that circle of life full of LOVE and happiness.

Lastly may a sense of peace be felt by all who read this for now my grandma's circle is complete as she joined my mom's circle, her son's circle, her husband's circle and the circles of all whom have gone on before her.

10 years gone

Earlier today I started writing a witty memorial to my mother in the ten years anniversary of her death.
I called it "Ten years gone" after a famous Zeppelin song.

Well I arrive here to finish it and it's gone.
Oh the irony.
Well the flow won't feel the same...but I'll try my best.
I know that I am "Here without you"
Yet part of you is "Here with me"
I'm trying to be your "simple man"
Yet I feel so helpless.
I wish I could say "I aint missing you"
But the sad truth is "Love hurts"
It's been so long since I have seen you and I figure one day I hope to "See you on the other side"
Mom "Mama" and "Mother" come to me. Basically many songs remind me
That "There is always something there to remind me" of the love you showed me and "IF" somehow you can hear me or see me I want you to know I'm not a perfect person and truly there is a "Reason" for my to "Carry on wayward son". "Only time" which was one of your favorite songs will help me to heal. I sit here with your body below...yet it isn't nuturing as it was "in eutro"
I guess "Everybody hurts" and though it's "Ten years gone" I realize that "After the Goldrush" of life we slowly become "Comfortably numb"
I've had many women say "So long this is goodbye" and you never meant to leave me so fast. Perhaps one day there will be a granddaughter you never got to meet that will bear your name. " I believe" she is "Somehwere out there".
So for now I shall keep "Wonder 'n as the days go buy" as your "Joey".
Mom to you I truly feel every word of your song
"The Ballad of Jayne"
I miss you more with each year that passes and "I love you"
Rest in peace mother and please be with me as often as you can.
Give Jersey a pet for me as I hope you are able to ride "Wild Horses".

When I turn to Stone Part II

Dedicated in the memory of
Jayne Ellyn Mascotti( Moilanen)
April 2nd 1957- September 5th 2006

When I Turn To Stone Part II

Originally I wrote this as a
cold, harsh reminder to tell
those still among the living to
embrace those near and dear
while you still can..

As I recall it was:
You can no longer say good-bye
for I am gone.
So do not cry over me
for I am not here.
My ears can no longer hear,
my eyes no longer see,
All that remains of me is a
stone. A permanence of my name.
A marker over my body.

While I was here on Earth
I was so much more than a
stone or a name and this is
how I need you to remember me.
Think of how I touched your life and
the memories that we had together.
Remember my LIFE not my death!
And remind those still alive
how much they mean to you!!!~JWM