There is a new book published by Jim Nance, a sports announcer with CBS, called "Always by My Side". He was close to his Dad. As Jim climbed the announcing ladder, events got more prestigious. He would invite his Dad to join him. The NCAA Final Four basketball extravaganza. The annual Master's Golf Tournament. You get the idea. Father and Son enjoying the finest that sports had to offer. Apparently Jim's dad died in his late 60's totally unexpectedly. Jim's Dad always supported his announcing effort. So at the pinnacle of Jim's career, the special moments he sought were gone. Jim's message is that his Dad is not gone at all. He is always with Jim, "Always by His Side" if you will.
I've always kidded about everybody's predisposition at birth to be a certain way. We all have a computer chip implanted into our brain and it has a genetic code that serves as the basis for everything that we do. What else would describe the big difference between siblings? Different chips. As we grow and mature (some of us mature), our computer chip logs all experiences. Once something gets into the chip, you can not move it to the "trash disposal" bucket. It stays in the chip. What else would explain the female propensity to remember every annoying little detail of your behavior? It is in her chip.
My goal here is to draw some analogy to Jim Nance's feeling that his Dad is somehow along side him as he enjoys sporting events. I think that the computer chip that each of us has keeps us close to loved ones that have "passed into the light". My Grandpa Chalk can send me e-mails through the chip in my mind. My Dad can talk to me anytime he wants. Myrna who served as my equivalent of Yoda with her advice, can boot up to my computer anytime. My Mother can send me "down home philosophy" when I need it. It works the other way too! You can reach anyone you've known by imagining thoughts through your "mind computer chip". So like cell phone technology, Web availability and cable access, your mind chip makes every person you've known available instantaneously. Imagine that!
The lesson Grasshoppers is that like Jim Nance, we all get the feeling that someone we once knew seems present or close. I think they are. The mind (a mini-computer) is doing it's job. You are not crazy. Listen! Enjoy the moment.
Have a nice Memorial Day.
Love,
Dad