It All Started 15 years ago Today....June 21.1999

I has lasik in June of 1999 that left me with 

a myriad of vision & eye problems...This is how i feel 

My Vision- My problem

put my sight in the hands of a man like you. 

trusted my eyes that seemed weak to something new.

it will be great, don't worry, are the words i still hear

the countless trouble with my vision is now my biggest fear

i've stared down the devil and had to look away

called out to  the angels no one ever came

 laid down odd and even, double zero played

it's alright i'm the lucky one.... ahh...such a fortunate son

everyday i carry this weight and i wonder why?

why something sold, ends blinding my eyes

i know the reason and so do you

the treatment was not right and the doctor not true

 i kinda feel sorry for one who never learns, 

covering up his mistake never showing his concern

the doc knows he got away with one 

it's something he'll never boast

it's alright im the lucky one, the fortunate son, stronger than most

i write these words for no one but me

they help me deal with my plight as far as i can see

my eyes so dry, my vision so blurred 

you and i are the two that know what occurred

right now i am just a stat, a percentage on your chart 

one who was blinded, a laser mis-used just like a dart

you don't get it ..you changed my life...you put me thru hell 

my family, and my wonderful wife.

i gotta give it you ...you got away with one

don't forget or worry about me.

i'm the one you blinded....the fortunate son

When I Wake

                                                                     

            I wake to dryness, haze and glare    

            A blur , a burn, a stinging, un-focus in my throbbing eyes

             

            Do I give thanks?

            Is this happening to me?

            everything is dim....too hard to see

           I strain, eye strain......my strain

           what is really wrong?

         My cornea has slipped...it's not very strong

         doing lasik...is it really doing me in?

         thank god ...if there is

         for the honesty of some

         because others  like you, will rob me blind

         and then, tell  a story, that sells well

         but if i can stand 

         I try to wash away this feeling

         then i kneel down to put in my plastic eyes

         that helps any pain
       Please

       make me see a whole world
      make me feel whole

         if you had been sure with your laser

         I would still have my other life...I left,

         when you took my eyes from me

         I forgive, but, never forget

         the feeling is strong and never goes away

      the images faint in the morning light

        I'm closing my eyes that have been ruined

        everything goes black

        which is more peaceful

        than the blur I was left

          

Video Clips From The Basketball Hall Of Fame...etc

Augie Daugie 1997-2014

       Augie Daugie was our older dog…She was a Cairn terrier, you know, like “Toto” in “The Wizard of Oz”…but we didn’t talk much about her….because quite frankly… she always seemed to be...“just there”…and never did…really much of anything… Augie Dog wasn’t playful…or affectionate, didn’t want to be petted…and always seemed annoyed…You might say, she was …Just like “one of the family”…What, she liked most was…to be left alone….Yeah, that quality, was definitely  “like family”…And as it was, for so many years….Augie didn’t have much of a personality, at all…didn’t want anything to do with us…So in that sense, she fit right in… like…“one of the family”…It’s funny how a dog could have so many family traits…Oh, she would get excited at meal time & love to eat…Just like our family…and eating always perked her up…Just like our family…She could care less about playing ball… in the back yard, unlike our other dog, her furry brother, Harley…Augie Daugie couldn’t hear a damn thing, Geez, she was deaf…so when you called her name, right next to her…she wouldn’t respond…and that’s a “family thing” too…Augie Dog couldn’t see very well… and was always bumping into the furniture (yep, like family, like me)…Lately, she looked like…she had no idea where she was…Boy, she was really out of touch…(like family?…we’ll see)…Augie Daugie on occasion because of her age, would do what she wanted…where she wanted…No matter what…like  family?…You’re damn right…So when Augie would leave a warm, liquid gold gift…on the floor ( that was OK, we understood)… and that made her even more like “one of our family”…Wow…I never really thought about it too much…but…she matched us…to a tee…It’s her time, now though…It’s a sad day…and Augie has been suffering in silence for awhile….R.I.P. Little one…We will really miss you…more than I ever thought…because she was…just like one of our family.

Thanks, Dad

Thanks to my Dad, on the 70th anniversary of D-Day 

From time to time, when I was young, my Dad would talk about his years in the Army ...and his job as an radio operator in World War II...and I listened, like a kid would, but never realizing how he put his life on the line in his years of service...Yeah, I'm guilty of the arrogance of youth...but when he was young... he was in Germany... and in France near Normandy as a part of history 70 years ago...and I'm only here... posting his mementos of WWII... (that he treasured)... because he was a veteran of The Greatest Generation...He was in the army, he was pretty damn brave...and he was my Dad...Tom Wilkins, a member of 119th The Field Artillery Group WWII