he was gone
before the ink could dry
on the page
nothing slowed him down
for long
like Rocky, he got up
he wasn’t anywhere near perfect
but he was real
and if he loved you or hated you
you felt it
he could talk to anybody anywhere
at anytime
he had tremendous empathy
for the down and out
the hopeless and hurting
he could relate to the pain
and loss
he’d give a stranger his last dollar
and if you had no family to stay with
he’d be your family
no matter what he’d been through
or how hard it was
he remained hopeful
and grateful
humble and kind
he might of been a newspaper man
to some
but to me and to many
he was a teacher
who could teach you a thing or two
about life
he sure didn’t waste it
like that Blake Shelton song
“man, he lived it …”
TL