“The Preface”

Not sure how I got myself into this spot.  All I wanted to do at this stage of my life was to enjoy my remaining days with my memories.  Of course there are some memories best forgotten.  But if honesty is to be a virtue in my life,  I must bare those evil deeds along with the good that I have experienced.

My intention at first was to find out if I had the ability to place more than one or more consecutive words on paper or a word processor that would be coherent to the reader. Thanks to my many followers I suppose I succeeded.  It’s either that or I have a Tribe on the internet with “Attention Deficit Disorder” reading my Blog.  For those reading this as my Blog Post, it’s your fault I find myself in this pickle.  However without your constant nagging “You oughta write a book“, I probably would have completed the race before me without ever feeling the Love and Care of so many friends.  For that I thank you.  For those who have the misfortune of actually paying Cash to read this stuff, you have my sincere Condolences.

Often the question is asked what does “My Dirt Nap is on Hold” and “My Garden of Good and Evil” mean!  Without going into a sermon on my belief in GOD I’ll just skirt around this subject with a few comments on just what is the final state of our lives.  Whether you believe as I do or not is not the point.  What does matter is we all are on the trip to the grave.  “Timing” as an old sage once said “is everything”.  I would be remiss if I left an impression that I have an inside track on how and when I will depart this life.  But depart I will and it’s timing is definitely above my pay grade.  Until then “My Dirt Nap is on Hold”.   For the “Garden of Good and Evil”.  My favorite book has a passage that says “for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”  The implications are that we all have a Garden that we are planting with the seeds from our life’s work.  I can categorically state that there are some big Honking Weeds in my Garden.  So I borrowed “Garden of Good and Evil”  from a production by Clint Eastwood adapting it to my Life’s work rather than the Cemetery depicted in Eastwood’s movie.

With so much of my life behind me I am discovering almost daily that I am not unique in many of my stories.  So many who have visited with me share much of the same experiences.  I guess my love of reading about others in Biographies has bolstered my belief that this is indeed a wonderful life.  I can only encourage you to explore your life and put it down on some media that will trail you long after you also get planted in your own Garden of Good and Evil.

And finally, a word about my memory.  Bill Cosby’s quote might apply here.  “When you become Senile, you won’t know it.“  Many of my vignettes are in an area where I had to call on my older Brother to verify.  His ability to recall past events is phenomenal.  Aside from this asset, he also is able to verbally recount these stories with great humor.  Our sister, who was also our best friend, would often remark that his stories were so funny and they seemed to get better every year.  If only he would give up a few days of Golf and Bowling and put his life on paper for his Children and Grand Children.  Probably not much chance of that.  I suspect his life’s goal is to break 100 before he becomes 100.  I can only hope that would be his Golf score and not Bowling.

There you have it.  Another spoke in the wheel of my story.  Now on to the hard stuff of Editing and rewriting.  If I get lucky I’ll get published, if not my family can find this manuscript in the attic with the other meaningless stuff from a life well lived.

I'm a 74 year old man who loves this new medium of Blogging. I am also an Senior Manager in Send Out Cards which gives me a superior method of relating to the world through Greeting Cards. I have met and enjoyed wonderful friends who support me and actually LIKE me which is very rewarding. My online presence is growing and if I can hang on to life I will reap the benefits of establishing a business that will comfort me when I get old. Mostly however I Blog about my life which for some strange reason is well received. Like most of us the future is scary and the remembrance of older days give a measure of comfort. So I continue to reveal the past with optimism that the future will some day be the comfort of somebody else.

Tags: Attention Deficit Disorder, Bill Cosby, Clint Eastwood, Garden of Good and Evil, My Dirt Nap is on Hold, Nelson Schroeder