Garage Talk

"Welcome home Son," his dad laughed as he offered no help with his son's bags. "You are only here for the weekend right?"

"And I thought I cut down on what I wanted to bring," Brian chuckled, pointing down at his large suitcase. "It's laundry week so I figured I could do it here tonight."

"I see that. I was wondering how long it would take before you started this. Hurry up and put it in your room before Jenny sees how much you have."

"Yeah we know how your wife can be," Brian joked.

"Ha Ha. Very funny. One day you might have one too so be mindful. Well, I'm going down to the shop so when you get settled, come on down. You may wanna change your shoes though."

"Alright, lemme call Anna. She wanted me to let her know when I got here."

My old room...hasn't changed one bit. Guess it's only been...hmmm...two months...didn't expect to see cob webs though. As he changed his clothes and he decided to clean off the cob webs from the around his dresser. Forgetting to call his girlfriend of two month, Anna, he headed down to the shop to meet his dad.

"I had cob webs in the room, Dad," he casually mentioned while looking at an oil can.

"We had to give you something to do when you came home," his dad laughed. "Look over there on the second shelf next to the transmission fluid and bring me that tool box."

"Is it heavy?"

"You might want to use two hands," his dad suggested. "So, what is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You come home on a Friday afternoon, now it's Friday night and you're still here...what is it?"

"I think I'm going to ask her."

"Oh yeah?" his dad asked. "Pass me the extension and the 9/16."

"Here you go."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do? Once you do, you can't go back. That's the mentality you need to have. It's easier and cheaper to walk away now."

"Yeah, I know," he laughed. "I've been thinking about this for couple of weeks now. She's been great these past few months. I believe I'm ready."

"Aye, get down here and see if you can take this bolt off."

"I don't know...I mean if you can't," Brian hesitated. "I'm not sure I'll be able to. But I'll give it a try." As Brian began to loosen the bolt on the oil pan, his dad began talking about a motorcycle he saw for sale. Then, as soon as Brian was about to ask him how much the motorcycle was, his dad changed the conversation back to Brian and his girlfriend.

"Well son, if you think you're ready...just be sure she is too. That's a big step. There aren't too many more after that."

"I know...I'm shocked that I've gotten to this point so quickly. But, I really like her."

"Well, Son, not every road you travel has bumps in it."

"Argh!"

"What'd ya get?"

"My knuckles," his son sighed.

"All of them? You bleeding?"

"Yeah," he exhaled as he analyzed the wound. "It got me pretty good."

"Guess that means it's time to quit," his father laughed.

"It usually happens like that doesn't it," his son laughed and winced.

"Well, this is a life lesson for ya. If you don't know when to quit, God will stop you one way or another. That's what happens when you try to do too much. Same thing happened to me when I was working on the riding lawnmower. I ended up pushing the rest of the yard that day."

As he washed off his wound, Brian replied, "You've given me something to think about...but I think I'm still going through with it."

Just then, his phone rang. His father could hear the voice from the receiver exclaiming, "Hi Brian! Is everything okay?"

"Hey, what's going on Anna?"

"Tell her she was on your mind so much you hurt your hand. Now we have to stop working," his dad offered jokingly.

"What happened Brian? Are you okay?" the voice on the phone asked.

"Yeah, well I was helping my dad in the garage. Listen, don't worry about that. I was wondering what you were doing on Sunday."

"Well, probably just church and maybe an early lunch. My dad says he'll have to take me back to school earlier than expected."

"Oh okay, well if you can, I'd like to invite you to church with my family and me. I could take you back to school and save your dad the trip or just take you back home on my way to see my mom since she stays near you. I'm having lunch with her Sunday afternoon."

Brian's dad pointed towards the garage door to indicate he was walking back to the house. Brain walked a little behind his dad, as he continued his conversation with Anna. When the conversation was over, Brian's dad smiled and asked if he wanted to watch the game after dinner and suggested that tomorrow they catch a matinee after stopping by the hardware store.

Brian smiled and replied, "That sounds like a plan. Looks like this will be an eventful weekend!"

Somewhere Close

Feeling You,

As if You were close

And I fear You're nowhere near

How I wish to be somewhere close;

I'm healing through memories

So many situations derived

From shots no one could call

Disbelief becomes a punishment

Consequences served on the table

Maybe or maybe not

Lessons are learned from these fables

No more tangents I'm focused on You

Not letting this feeling end

And the only way to ensure

Is for You and I to begin

Again...

I'm not letting this feeling end

Watched too many sunsets

Turn into sunrises

I need peace and rest

That comes from You right beside me

Remembering your words

Because I've never felt Your touch

I don't know what I would do if You did

I hope I'm strong enough to enjoy it

Forward movement made a stop

Well,

It slowed down,

So I got on

Opportunity was unfamiliar

Yet I recognized it all the while

Heading to a familiar place I've never been

With one thought in mind

That Our love is reciprocal

Pauses or intervals

Are now more than I can take

I'd much rather be somewhere close

Than to remain like this

I'd much rather be somewhere close

Where I can hear You whisper my name.

Lonely Places

Stay away from lonely places,

Some spaces deep in your mind;

Skeletal closets are locked for a reason,

So take shelter elsewhere,

In the midst of stormy seasons;

From the lonely places--

The "owe me" spaces,

That make you pay with higher interest because

The longer you stay,

The more your vision gets hazy;

Times where you know you're more worthy

Than the decisions you've made,

And the foolish pride you've displayed

Can't save your ego this time,

Because the last time,

Should have been the only

Lonely place you visited,

Living in confusion,

Equating weakness with being homesick;

They see this, you feel it,

Conceal it? Not really;

No action can deceive;

Believe it or not,

Hearts that stop still bleed.

If I were speaking instead of you reading,

My face would illuminate,

Creating a shadow from the mic and cord,

Reporting to the world,

That y poor scores of life's tests

Conclude without any assuming,

That lonely places are the spaces,

Where the brightest light is consumed;

Experience posts office hours,

You can visit late at night,

Sessions give sight to the blind such as:

Have Faith, Look Forward;

Live, Love, Laugh harder--

Smarter work moves you further;

Respect others as yourself;

Wealth comes by seeking happiness within yourself.

Here are three jewels,

With time more will come:

If you don't like the beat of the drummer,

Learn to play your own;

If you can't get sing the melody,

Feel free to hum;

Follow your dreams,

Venture into outer spaces;

There's nothing to be won,

Within Lonely Places.

Spoken Word 321

Sometimes I wanna get away

At times I wanna scream

Some say this is the plight of man

No way things can stay the same

Just heard a kid's song of life pacing

Fast versus slow, slow usually wins races

Let's just face it

We're living in a world of change

But when there's too much at one time

Minds easily go insane

No plausible explanations

Or logically deduced conclusions

Of why you'd continue putting on pads

After being diagnosed with multiple concussions

It's not up for discussion

No need for debates

This is passion over everything

Don't believe me? Sit and wait

It's not up for discussion

No need for debates

This is passion over everything...