The Laughing Heart

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light butit beats the darkness.
be on the watch.the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight in you.
Charles Bukowski
Words to live and love by in this lifetime...

Noblesse Oblige

In the Marines, once an officer earns a commission, he is bound by this conduct. Few people know this, let alone live by it better than Terry Barnich. He is the picture of impeccable behavior and commitment that goes far beyond the levels of the norm. Terry is the man that sets the standards, the man to watch and then follow. He was not an officer of the services contractually, but in heart and spirit he soars above the rest. You will be honored today with words that will try to reach your level of humanity...they just won't. It will hurt to see your loved ones mourn, I wish there was a way to take away their pain.
It is hard without you Terry, really hard to look for the next thing, whatever that might be. Today, as will every Monday, every March 6th, every holiday and certainly every single living Memorial Day, your memory and example with be vibrant. Your life granted us such privilege and we are all wanting to give back in some small way...Guide us, give us direction to do as you would have done yourself. There is no better way to honor you.

Today is your funeral mass, it is supposed to be for the people the knew and loved you, marking and rejoicing in your life and memory. It is brutal, the thought of sitting in a cold building with strangers, all of us trying our best to be brave, to remember you in a way that is standard for all...You are much more than that Terry and I would have rather been in Iraq with your friends, people that moved you to leave you life here in the US...I know they honored you properly.

Your leaving hurts and it should...I want to feel the pain of missing you, the unbearable pain. I will cry for us all, then I get up tomorrow and live by your example. I will miss you everyday and remember what it is that you gave us all...love, purpose, and significance.

Pave the way for us Terry ~ allow us to live in your light.

Yours' in arms.

I Will Miss You My Friend

The most significant moments in our lives
Seem to pass us by so quickly,
And yet the results of these moments
Linger and change us forever.
Like the day I met you my friend,
When our paths shared each other’s footsteps,
The time came and went
And we became more than just friends,
In an instant,
And because of the circumstance of our meeting
I AM DIFFERENT.
I am changed for the better.
You’ve left your mark on my very existence.

I am so grateful to have known you,
For these times we’ve shared together.
I have to hope that our friendship
Can last forever,
That what we ARE will never end.
But till our paths cross once more,
I’m gonna miss you my friend.
I rejoice of our meeting
As I mourn at your passing.
It’s so hard to let go.
I think of you always
A part of you with me
I really could never let you go.
I’ll always remember you,
For all that you’ve done and shared.
Life gets so hard sometimes.
I am strengthened by how much
that you cared.
Because of you I see a clearer me.
You remind me of who I really am.
I just wanted to be like you.
Now I laugh because of all
The ways that I am.

I’m so grateful to have known you,
For the times that we’ve shared together.
I have to hope that our friendship
Can last forever,
That what we ARE will never end.
But till our paths cross once more,
I’m gonna miss you my friend.