My parents taught me to be honest no matter how much it hurts, dishonesty hurts a hell of a lot more in the end. They taught me to work hard and take pride in what I do, what I produce through my work, the changes I make and also in myself. I've learned that life can be beautiful and fun, but it's up to me to make it that way, and, oh yeah...sometimes, once in awhile - I need to be serious. I don't have to grow up, but I need to be mature (I'm working on that - I swear I am..) I love thunder and lightening and I love the summer rain. I love the way the rain hits the earth on a hot, humid day and causes a mist to rise and fill the air. I love the scent of the rain cooling the earth and the feeling of a summer rain on my skin, running down my face, over my lips and walking barefoot through the puddles. I love hot, humid nights and the way the heat makes it seem as if the trees are sweating and the night air fills with the aroma of the forest or the woods, the scent of pine.. I love to go highway riding on nights like these, especially if I am sad, with the windows wide open and the night air rushing in and music playing that I can get lost in. I love the ocean, the waves crashing into the shore, or gently rolling in or out with the tide. I love the vastness of the ocean, how, when standing at the edge of the ocean, I can feel that there are many things in life so much larger than I will ever be and I respect how I feel humbled by the enormity of it. I love the sun on my face, the stars that fill the night sky, big puffy white clouds rolling across a sky so blue it almost hurts to look at it, and sunrises and sunsets, filled with the colors of the rainbow. Truth, fairness, honesty, loyalty, hard work, a sense of humor, the ability to forgive, respect for others and a smile will get you places, even if everything else makes you think you can't.

I played out in the front yard one evening when I was younger as my older sister sat on the steps and watched me. With arms spread wide, I twirled around, looked at the stars and I said to her 'I wish I could fly' and she told me I could do anything I wanted to if I put my mind to it. That night, as the light slowly faded from the sky, and the brightest stars began to appear, she taught me to wish upon a star. I wished I could fly. Since then, over the years, thanks to my family and friends, I have flown more than I have not...and my feet never even had to leave the ground...

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