Monday, June 29, 2015

Birthday blogger

I’m almost 67—very, very close.

On the verge.

Happy birthday to me (as if I needed to be reminded.)

Feeling the years.

Not as much energy as I once had.

A golfing partner told me recently that life is but a slow death.

Morbid but true.

So much stuff in my mail these days about long-term nursing care, pre-paid funerals and burial plots.

What is there left of my life?

Maybe a few more healthy, vibrant, happy years—if I’m lucky.

Need to really bear down during this homestretch of medicine-taking, frequently going to the VA Hospital (to something called, of all things, the “anticoagulation clinic"). Cynthia and Becky take care of me there, and I have a good, caring, supportive nurse, Barbara—who works on the same floor but on the opposite wing .

Must find God and religion. For I’ve always been a believing Christian but not a very faithful church goer.

Must finish writing this second novel, which Michael (my co-author) and I have titled “Justice For Toby.”

Must take good care of my dogs and my family.

Need to do a better job of expressing my true feelings. (I’ve always had a tough time with that).

Lots of places I yet want to visit. And I have a BUCKET LIST (rhymes, as President Obama recently noted) with F….LIST).

Books and other literature I want to read. Classics. Shakespearean plays. Poems. The New York Times. (Have always thought if I read that newspaper very day, I’d be smart as heck).

Babies to hold and spoil. Children to take good care of before I punch out.

Golf balls to hit. (I’ve never solved the mystery of playing golf but keep trying).

Fish to catch.

Music to listen to.

Walks to take. (I’ve been walking somewhat consistently—almost every day for about two miles—the past two years).

Songs to sing—or at least hum.

Freelance articles to write.

Old friends to reconnect with—especially in Virginia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Iowa, Georgia (Mark Staley, I hope you’re still reading my blog) and Tennessee.

Let the final home stretch begin.

Happy birthday, Larry C. Timbs Jr.!





Saturday, June 27, 2015

Amazing Grace

Some folks took issue with President Barack Obama singing "Amazing Grace" yesterday at the funeral of the recently slain senator from Charleston.

But I thought our president deserved an "A+"

I have said this before: No one can hold a crowd like President Obama. No one can connect so skillfully, so closely.

And that's what he did yesterday afternoon in Charleston.

The conclusion of his eulogy for Senator Clementa Pinckney was truly amazing.

And beautiful.

And solemn.

And stirring.

And spiritual.

Yesterday at that service he was more preacher and gospel singer than president. Many of those who heard his words were hurting, grieving, devastated--their families ripped apart by a cold-blooded killer. These same families had offered healing grace to the one who so heinously killed their loved ones, and President Obama's singing was in that spirit.

I loved his rendition of "Amazing Grace."

In case you missed it, here's the clip:


Monday, June 8, 2015

TV commercial highlights our novel

Y'all might know by now that Michael Manuel and I have written (and gotten published in mid-2014) a novel titled "Fish Springs: Beneath the Surface."



Michael, working with an audiologist in Johnson City, recently created a catchy TV commercial that has been airing in East Tennessee. Have a look: