"A Lost Life"

"A Lost Life"

Before I opened the door to the hosptial room number 205, I took a deep breath, realizing everything is about to change. I had gotten a phone call from my older brother, Dave, informing me that my mother, who had been suffering from lung cancer, was on her last leg. I was twelve hours away from Dallas, Texas, where my mother was checked in at Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, but i caught the first flight back, hopefully in time to say my goodbyes to the woman who meant most to me in my life.

My mother looked so fragile in her cold, metal hospital bed and the pastel picture hanging on the wall looked as if it were painted only with dark colors of black and grey. My two sisters, Jan and Sarah, had almost used up the whole box of Kleenex tissues that sat beside the bed. Trying to distract myself, I reached to grab the empty box and throw it in the trash can on the floor. As I was doing so, she gently grabbed my arm to get my attention. Faintly, I could hear her trying to whisper something while she was gasping for air. This all together broke my heart and it was all I could do to take a deep breath and lean in to see what she wanted to tell me. My mother and I were always really close because I had suffered from anxiety and she was always there to comfort me when I had an attack. When I leaned in to listen to her faint, shaking voice, she whispered the words "I love you" and shortly after that, almost before I could tell her that I loved her too, she took her last breath.

As my sisters and my brother cried, suprisingly my tears stopped because in that moment, I found comfort from the words my mother had said and that I had the chance to tell her how I felt before she passed. I also found comfort knowing that she would be in heaven now with my dad, the love of her life, who had died exactly two years ago from that day.

"New Life"

"New Life"

The usually cold, scary feeling of a hospital room was not so as I walked into the room to comfort my young, beautiful wife, who was head over heels in love with. I arrived at the hospital just before 8:00 p.m to be there to celebrate the arrival of our new, handsome baby boy, who was only 7lbs, who was still slightly purple, and who was quietly sleeping in my wifes arms, Aiden. The sleek, shiny metal of the hospital bed railing didn't seem so scary anymore as I looked to see my wife holding our baby. I didn't even notice how hard and uncomfortable the hospital room chairs were or even stop to watch the ending of my favorite movie which was playing on the television set above my fragile wifes hospital bed. The pastel colored painting of grassy fields and many cows hanging on the hospital wall had nothing on the view outside the window. The skies were beautiful pastel pinks and baby blue colors, the hazy white clouds covering it partially, and the mountains, blue in the distance, never looked so vividly colorful and clear. On that day early in the month of July, I could not explain the joy and happiness that overcame me when I looked to see my wife, who had made it through the painful delivery before I could arrive, holding our new baby boy. As I glanced at his face, still a little blue from delivery, I could imagine myself one day teaching him how to hunt deer or go fishing like me and my dad did when I was a little one. My wife cried with tears of joy, wiping her eyes with the Kleenex tissues that sat on the stand beside her bed. She was trying so hard to ring the empty plastic trash can with the dirty tissue which made me laugh as I was tryng to hold back my own tears.

A Life Lost

As I walked in to the frigid, ugly hospital room, it took all I had to keep back the tears of hurt when I saw the love of my life lying in a cold, uncomfortable, metal-framed hospital bed. While my husband was peacefully sleeping, I tried to keep my mind off of what I knew was about to happen. I started cleaning up his room and noticed that he didn't eat the bowl of fruit on the night stand beside his bed, and he had only taken a few sips from his glass of water. I knew he was not going to be around for very much longer, so I sat in the hardback chair in the room and held his hand close to my heart. The small clock radio on the night stand was on and it started to play "I'll Never Love This Way Again" by Dionne Warwick, the song that my husband and I had our first dance to. As I sat there with him, listening to our song, I burst into tears because it hit me that the man who stood by my side all my life and who loved me undconditionally, who was the father of my children and who made me smile when I was down, was going to be gone forever. I grabbed the box of Kleenex and noticed the painting on the wall of cows standing in a grassy field behind the melancholy blue sky. I walked over to open the window, and as I opened it a cool breeze came through and I saw the sun setting behing the blue mountains. I looked out and saw a young couple, that looked very much in love and it reminded me of my husband and I 30 years ago. I heard my husband rolling around, so I went to make sure he was ok. As he looked me in the eyes, all I could do was cry. He held my hand and told me he loved me as he then took his last breath.

Nothing but Silence

As I walked into my beloved husband's hospital room my eyes filled with solitary tears. They fell to the floor as I walked up to his metal-framed hospital bed to touch him for the last time. The room was just as blank and gloomy as my thoughts. It held depressed atmosphere that tumbled around my dying husband's body. I looked into his crippled eyes and my heart melted just like it did the day we got married. My tears started to soar down my face and I grabbed a few Kleenexes to wipe them away. My legs were trembling and my heart was breaking, so I sat down in the cushioned hardback chair to recap my sorrowful thoughts. I caught a glimpse of Wheel-A-Fortune on the television, that was supported in the air over the bed. As I was sitting, I thought about the exquisite pastel painting of cows and the happy surroundings that touched the picture. It did nothing but bring tears to my blood shot eyes. I was proud of my seventy-six year old husband though. He was a firefighter for fourty-five years and saved many people. We had three beautiful children that completed our life. Now my husband of fifty years was dying of old age and I will soon be left alone. The feeling of losing a loved one is painful. I gathered up the tissues and throught them away in the empty garbage can. I took a drink of water from the water glass and ate an apple from the untouched bowl of fruit sitting on the night stand. My heart was heavy and my appearance was doleful. I walked over to my husband and looked him in the eyes. My heart swelled up with tears when he told me that he loved me, and then he was gone.

Things That Matter :)

As i walked into the glowing room of happiness, my eyes were captured by the scene of my beloved wife swaddling our new bundle of joy. The clock read seven -thirty as I walked over to the bronze metal-framed hospital bed to catch a glimpse of our new baby girl. It was almost like the sea had parted when we made eye contact. Her eyes glowing into mine made my heart swell up with love. I sat on the stained oak rocking chair as my wife and I chatted about the bright future we were about to face. By the bedside I noticed a bright colored filled bowl of fruit that left my taste buds watering, an empty baby bottle, a water glass and a plastic pitcher. My eyes were focused on the tv, but I could not concentrate for all the excitment. I gathered up the tissues and placed them into the empty trash can. Soon after, I took duty of our new addition as my wife slept. I looked around the sun glazed room and noticed the pastel painting of cows standing in a grassy field, with the sun and mountains in the background. This painting gave me an enduring feeling and reminded me of home; hopefully, someday I could give this to my wife and our new daughter. The room my new little family was in, was one of a kind. It was where a new memory was made, a beautiful baby girl was born, and a happy family was starting their life together.

A Precious Moment

Closing my hand around the door handle, I excitedly open the door. As my eyes search the room, I see the love of my life, my beautiful wife, laying on her metal-framed hospital bed. With a glowing smile on her face and her eyes shining, I walk over to her, trying my hardest to control myself, trying my hardest to keep calm, trying my hardest not to run towards her like a maniac. I take my seat in the hard back chair that was provided for me, and fully understood what they meant when they said it was "a hard-back chair". But it was okay, because I was with the woman who bore my first child, the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, the woman who was my love at first sight. I looked into her soft eyes that were now misted with tears of joy, and I reached over on the nightstand that consisted of a glass of water, a water pitcher, some fruit that she had eaten for dinner earlier at about 7, and a small alarm clock that now read 7:30 p.m., to grab her some Kleenex to wipe away her tears. Once she was through, I tossed the tissues away in a small trashcan that was nearby her bed. We embraced, ignoring the television conversation going on in the background, ignoring everything else that was going on around us, ignoring the doctor that had just walked in to check on my wife. I never fully realized how much she really meant to me until I was completely away from her for a long period of time. Like they say, you never know what you've got til it's gone. She looked away from me for a moment to look out of the large window that was off to the left of the hospital bed. The sun was slowly beginning to set, with streaks of red, orange, pink, and purple making a collage of colors in the sky. The trees swayed in harmony to the rhythm of the breeze that was blowing outside, causing perfect weather. The blue mountains, in all of their majestic beauty, were quite a sight to see if you were a tourist or even if you've seen this before. After she is through gazing out of the window, she looks over towards the pastel painting of cows, standing around in a grassy field, with the sun and mountains in the background. I think she enjoyed looking at the pastel because it reminded her of our home, where we have lived for a little while now. But whatever the reason she enjoyed looking at the pastel, it could never compare to how much joy was created in me when I got to see her and our child for the first time, it could never compare to the happiness that we would have forever on end, and it could never compare to the precious moments that we would make and remember with our child for the rest of our lives.

Babies are a link between angels and man.

I couldn't wait to see my wife's beautiful face as I neared the hospital room. My heart pounded as I grabbed the cold silver door knob to open the door. I was overwhelmed to see and hold my tiny new born baby boy. My wife was lying in the metal-framed hospital bed when I first took step a through the door. Her smile brightened the room, while she held, Tucker, our baby boy. I was so nervous to get close to him that I knocked over the small trash can sitting on the floor. Hospital rooms were usually so gloomy, but on this day the room was filled with beautiful colors and held a sense of warmth. I slowly took Tucker from my wife's arms and sat in the hardback chair. Usually, the chair would have been uncomfortable, but the feeling of being a proud new Father made everything just right. I was shocked to see the televison over the bed turned off. At home the tv stayed on every second. My legs were a little uneasy as I stood to grab my wife a glass of water on the night stand with the baby in my arms. Tucker let out a little cry as I leaned over. My heart dropped. I was not sure if I had done something wrong. My wife just smiled and told me I was doing just fine with him. She took a sip of the water and dozzed off for a little nap. It was just Tucker and me now. We stood in front of the picture on the white hospital wall. The cows in the grassy field and the gorgeous site of the sun and mountains in the distance. What a beautiful world this baby just arrived into. I wished that Tucker knew how lucky I feel to be his Father. He grabbed my finger with his tiny hand, like he knew what I was thinking. A tear ran down my cheek, and I took a kleenex from the box on the hard, cold counter. I was so nervous, but at the same time so happy to start my new family. This breezy July evening will be one I will never forget.

New Life

Walking into the warm, but cool and comfortable hospital room, I couldn't keep a smile off my face. It felt like a dream; my beautiful wife asleep in a metal-framed hospital bed, and our gorgeous, sweet new baby girl, Miley, peacefully sleeping in a bassinette by her. The box of Kleenex that was once full was almost gone, from all the crying when our baby girl was born. As I sat in the hardback chair in the room, I looked out the window with the sun setting behind the blue mountains in the distance, and I noticed the painting of pastel of cows standing in the grassy field. The t.v. on an apparatus was on from my wife watching tv, but it was silent because I turned down the volume so that Miley wouldn't be woke up. The night stand beside the hospital bed with a half full glass of water on it, a half eaten bowl of fruit, and a clock radio was full of flowers and gifts from all our family and friends. As I sat thinking about everything that had just happened,even though I was happy and excited I was pretty scared about it too. All I could think about was what if I'm a bad dad and my daughter won't love me? Every thought possible was running through my head and I couldn't help but think about these things, but looking at my beautiful wife and baby girl, brought me back to reality and peace.

Small Town USA

Eufaula, Alabama is a very small town. Everybody knows everybody, and nobody has secrets here. When I came here, I was pretty young and I loved living here; but as I started getting older, I realized that this town is not any fun for teenagers. When you're in high school, of course you're going to want to go out and do stuff on the weekends because after a long week of school you're ready to go do something besides sitting and learning. All the little kids talk about how much fun their weekends are, but for us there is nothing to do, so we don't really talk about our fun weekends.

The first house I lived in when I moved here was in CCA (Country Club of Alabama). I will never forget that house; from the awesome swimming pool in the back, to the bathroom that connected my room to my sister Chelsea's room and the two of us staying up all night gossiping. Our backyard was a golf course and we used to love running through the sprinklers with the wind in our hair, and our grassy feet touching the big sand pile beside our house. When my friends came over, we would all ride on the golf cart all night; we got into some trouble, but we had fun doing it. We all used to go to the bowling alley or skating rink on Friday nights, and sometimes we wouldn't even bowl or skate, just flirt with the guys. I loved every minute in that house and in that neighborhood.

This town is very beautiful and historic and I absolutely love when the Pilgrimage or Indian Summer is going on. I love walking downtown and seeing all the beautiful, old houses and statues of all these heroes that are famous in this town and in history that have been there for years and years. During Indian Summer, people sing and dance, there are a lot of things you can buy like paintings, purses, or jewelry. The smell of hotdogs and hamburgers cooking makes my mouth water, and all the yummy deserts they have are amazing.

Yes, this town is beautiful and historic and when I was younger I used to love looking at everything, but now I'm in high school and I want to have fun. Every teenager in this town knows that there is nothing to do on the weekends and no where to go. So, we pretty much either ride dirt roads, have a house party (which is rare), or go hang out on a dirt road for fun. When you do the same thing every weekend, it gets pretty old and boring. That's why I think Eufaula is a great town for older people to live, and for parents to raise their kids, but for teenagers, well we are just out of luck!

Passing Times, Changing People

Time can really change a person, and it can also change a small town. Growing up in a little place called Cuthbert, Georgia, where humidity has dominion and there's not a lot to, i have personally seen my hometown change throughout the years.

When i was a kid, you would have seen a place called Big B's, which was a drugstore. My mama used to take me there in her 1988 black Firebird to get me medicine if i ever got sick. If you kept on driving through town and went around the "square" (which is actually a circle), you would see Maddox's, a clothing store, and a theater you could go to on Friday and Saturday nights. Riding through downtown Cuthbert, you could see a big sign with a fox on it, which marked the spot for Fox's Pizza place, and they were known for their extremely greasy pizza (which kind of makes me sick to my stomach, now that i think about it...). Something else you would see is Movie Gallery, and that place was always bustling with people everyday. But sadly, none of these places can be seen anymore... they exist only in my memories.

Cuthbert has many new places now, but there are also places that hasn't changed. Some of the places that are new now is Girly Girl's and the French Market, which are boutique places and are very appealing to the eye when you walk inside. You see lots of little trinkets, and lots of different styles of purses that you can get monogrammed if you choose to do so. If you wanted to get something to eat now, you could go the Dawg House. It's the best place to get hotdogs and milkshakes, and you can get some of their sweet tea. It's extremely sweet, and to some people, it just keeps you coming back for more. My dad sends me there all the time to get our whole family some sweet tea, we like it so much. But not only is the food and drinks good, but the inside has quite a bit of charm on its own. The central idea of the whole restaurant is the football team, the Georgia Bulldogs. As soon as you walk inside, your eyes automatically see all of the photographs of UGA, the bulldog, and many others of Sanford Stadium.

One of the restaurants I probably remember most is Carter's Chicken. I'm not very fond of it at all because I'm not a huge fan of friend chicken. But to me, it stands out in my memories because I remember back a few years ago, Carter's was pretty much just a counter attached to a building, and you ordered your food from outside of the counter. If you ordered Carter's during the summertime, your wait could get rather hot... but now, it's in a bigger and better building with air conditioner, and has a big orange sign. If you miss it, then maybe you need to invest in some glasses, because it's pretty hard to NOT see it.

So my hometown of Cuthbert has changed a lot, and as for me, I don't really mind at all. Change is good. This place is my roots; it's where i learned to ride a bike, drive a car, and it's also where I played in my first band, which eventually broke up. But no matter how much it changes, it's still the little place I know and embrace as my home. And nothing will ever change that. Time passes, people move, like a river's flow, it never ends...

small but fun

I come from the small town of Eufaula, Al. You have to look hard to see the little speck on the map. It's in the middle of a major highway that stretches from Southeast Alabama to Midwest Georgia. The major plus to our town is the lake it surrounds. Our lake, some say, put Eufaula on the map. It's known as the ''Big Bass Capital of the World''.



Life here is all about what you make it. You don't have the thrills of movie theaters or malls or a lot of good restaurants. We have our share of fast food and hometown joints.Many people don't care for a small town atmosphere, because everyone knows everyone else and well, here there is a good chance they are related to the person you are talking about. But above all we have each other as family and friends. By this statement, i am talking about those people who are always there for you. Here your family is more than family or friends are more than friends, we are both to each other. We are family and friends to each other.



Knowing everyone highs and its lows. News gets around fast and everyone is watching to see if you make a mistake. But hey, what else do they have to do? The positive is knowing your neighbors helps with getting one out of trouble, just as easy as it gets one into it.



Our town usually has the smell of a dirty diaper from the paper mill up the road or dead fish from the lake down the street. Many places i our town are still racialy segregated to a point. There are just certain places where differt races hang out or streets that only certain ones go on. Most boys in our town share the love of women, parties, the outdoors, and muddy dirt roads.

In a small town, we have to make our own fun. Being a guy, I guess, for some reason that most memories were of breaking things(the law) and getting in trouble or hurt. I have memories of shooting at peoples cars with with pellet guns or wrecking stuff. Many people though don't remember the good fun like fishing, skiing, tubing, or boarding on the lake. Or going to eat with friends at restaurants.

Life in a hometown is what you make it. How will you live your life?

Lumpkin

Lumpkin is a very small town with a population of about 1,300 people. Lumpkin is not
the best place to grow up because there is not much to do there for teenagers. The two public schools, Stewart County Elementary and Stewart County High School, are not that good. The best thing to do in Lumpkin is to go eat at Michelle's and hang 0ut with friends there. Michelle's is a fast food restaurant and it also is a motel. Michelle's has good country buffet style cooking. The best day to go to Michelle's is on friday when they have a seafood buffet.


The biggest tourist attraction in Lumpkin is Westville. Westville is an outdoor history museum which depicts an 1850 west Georgia village. Westville has over thirty authentically furnished, genuine antebellum buildings and "townspeople" in period dress demonstrate woodworking, baking, pottery turning, blacksmithing, and other skills from the mid-1800s. I remember going to Westville with my brother and cousins just so they could get lemonade and gingerbread there.

The other tourist attractions are Providence Canyon, Florence Marina, and the Bedingfield Inn. Providence Canyon is a 1,003 acre state park in Stewart County. Providence Canyon is sometimes called Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon". It is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. The view over the rim of Providence Canyon is incredible and breath taking. The colorful wildflowers, as well as the pink, orange, red and purple hues of the soft canyon soil, make a beautiful natural painting at this unique park. Florence Marina State Park is a quiet park that offers the perfect setting for those that love water sports. The park also attratcts many birdwatchers hoping to see herons, egrets, and possibly bald eagles. The Bedingfield Inn was built in 1836 as a family residence as well as a stopping place for stagecoaches and other travelers. This became the first small-town community preservation project in Georgia. It has been carefully restored and furnished with period antiques.


Lumpkin does not have many stores or other places for entertainment. Lumpkin has only one drugstore, Lumpkin Drugs. Not many people would choose to move to Lumpkin because of its location and lack of resources. You have to drive thirty miles just to go to a grocery store.
Lumpkin is a good town to grow up in if you can han handle driving a few miles to go to work, school or shopping. Though most teenagers wouldn't agree, Lumpkin would be a great place to grow up because of its small town southern feel.

Home is Where the Heart Is <3

From the beautiful monuments in the middle of the town, to the crazy beach traffic on 431, Eufaula is where I call home. In a small town, everyone knows your name since you were able to talk. You can name every place to eat and shop in under a minute, without pausing to take a breath. When I sit down and think about all my years in Eufaula, I can't imagine growing up anywhere else.

Over the past seventeen years of my life in Eufaula, there are just some things that never seem to get old. Walking into Willy T's atleast 3 times a week to get grilled chicken. Every Sunday morning, my family arrives at 8:30 at the "big white church", First Baptist, to listen to Dr. Bush's short, but sweet sermons. On Christmas Eve nights we gather back at the brightly lit sanctuary to sing Christmas carols. When summer rolls around on a humid 4th of July night, everyone goes to Lakepoint to see the beautiful display of fireworks. Some things only get better after repeating them again and again.

There are places and things here in Eufaula that I cherish the memories of everyday. The old gymnastic building, where I either shed tears because I had fallen or smiled when I learned a new trick; the many boyfriends that have brought me home and sat in my driveway for almost a hour talking; my great-grandmother, Maw Maw, who made a blanket for my sister and she gave it to me- to this day I still can't let go of it; the fountain in downtown Eufaula that I love seeing soap in; sitting in front of the historical homes, waving at all the "pilgrims" during the Pilgrimage each April. I was so over joyed in 8th grade when I convinced my mom to let me go to Lakeside. The close friends I have made, the ball games we've cheered at, and the unbelievable crazy and fun things we have done together. Each memory in this small school, in this small town I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.Through it all, I will never be able to look back and say I have no wonderful memories in this town.

This town holds so many precious and unforgettable memories. I remember seeing my dad's warm, beautiful smile and hearing the words "I love you" for the last time as he dropped me off on a hot August day of 5th grade at Bluff City Elementary. The next week everyone in Eufaula came to morn his loss with us. All the time me and him shared is unforgettable. My dad was an inspirtation and a true role model for a lot of people. I know that he watches over me everyday and the whole town of Eufaula. I can't wait for the day that I will see him again.

Time has flown by. From my first day at preschool at First Baptist church in 1996, to Lakeside graduation soon to come on May 28, 2010, what wonderful memories this small town has allowed me to make. I regret nothing in my past for it has made me the person I am today, including this town. When I pack my bags next summer to move to Troy, Alabama I will be extremely happy, but at the same time sad to leave all I have ever known behind. I don't plan to live in Eufaula, but who knows what the future brings. As this town changes and I change in years to come, my memories here will always stay the same. I will be able to look back and smile at the beautiful little town in Southeast Alabama, with a population on 14,500, and say that is where I call home.