BluOrchid2:
Eric, all of these poems of yours are wonderful, but I especially loved "The Adventurer." :07: Awesome!
Thanks Miss Orchid.
I started writing The Tales of an Adventurer a few months back. It's an autobiography of sorts chronically my adventures in life. I started out as a child afraid of his own shadow. As I grew up, I realized that being afraid of life is no fun. The major turning point in my life was a plane crash I was in back in June of 2000. I was a passenger in a small plane that went down shortly after takeoff. I awoke in a field of freshly round bailed hay, lying 30 feet from the crumpled airlplane. I was laying on my back, looking up into the most beautiful blue sky. I had no idea what had just happened. Then out of nowhere, this big black aircraft flew low over the field. I thought it was coming to take me away. Then as it passed, I snapped to and minutes later, fire rescue arrived. For that short moment while I lay in that field, I knew my life had changed - no more holding back, no making excuses for why it can't be done, no putting it off for another day. I was given a second chance, and I knew it would be spent enjoying the wonders that God created. The vast ocean, the majestic land, and the wonderous sky. I seized life and began a quest to really define the word 'live' as it means to me today.
I started tech diving shortly after, as my fascination with the shipwrecks lying at the bottom of the ocean has peaked over the last couple of years. I would like to see the Andria Doria, and she is what I train for. I have conquered the sky, and use her as an asset in my other endevours. One of the most beautiful and powerful things on the planet is the power of the storms. Flying close to a towering storm as the sun sets behind it is incredible. Too close, and she'll tear you up and spit you out. Too far away, and you can't enjoy the beauty of it all.
My next quest is terrestrial: Mt. Kilimonjaro in Tanzania, Africa and the Serengeti. The hike up the dormant volcanic mountain takes you through jungle, tundra, desert, snow, and glacier. The diversity of life and complexity of this mountain are an experience no one should miss. The glaziers are melting rapidly, so my goal to see her will happen shortly after my dive on the Doria. The Serengeti is the true picture of "The Circle of Life". To sit on a grassy noll and observe nature in this place seems so fitting.
Anyway, I'm glad you like the poem. I'll send you some more of the tale as it is finished. It's unedited and I hope that someday my parents and friends will read it and finally understand what drives me to do the things I do.
BTW, since you're in Lee's Summit, you'll know about the big black planes. We crashed about 10 miles south of Whiteman AFB and the B2 was returning to land. I actually thought in my daze that it was 'death' coming to get me! Silly hallucinations!
