Yesterday

Yesterday, I was a Senior in High School and I had big plans. As long as I can remember, I have been able to draw just about anything. I also have a love of type/fonts. And finally, I LOVE music, especially music from the 70s. My plan was to graduate, pack my stuff and move to Macon, GA --home of Capricorn Records and most notably, the Allman Brothers Band. Other artists recording at Capricorn were Wet Willie, The Charlie Daniels Band, and The Marshall Tucker Band--I loved them all. I was going to walk into Capricorn and ask for ANY job they might have. ANY JOB! I just wanted to be in the building and I didn't care if I had to work for free and sleep on the floor. I wanted to be where I thought the center of 70s Southern Rock was happening. During that same period, there was an artist by the name of James Flournoy Holmes that had done several album covers by the aforementioned artists. I hoped to meet him and maybe be able to show him some of my stuff. I just knew he would look at my work and say: "We gotta hire this guy!"

I graduated from High School and never made the trip to Macon. Seems like yesterday, but it was 35 years ago.

Yesterday, I graduated from OSU-Okmulgee with a diploma in Commercial Art. There were 75 of us that began the program; 12 of us finished. There were three of us that quickly became friends and throughout our time at OSU, it was a contest to see who could outdo the other, whether it was our class assignments or the pranks we pulled on each other, as well as our classmates. We graduated at the top of the class--I was number three--with very high hopes and prospects. Two of us made the decision to open our own design studio rather than working for someone else. We were going to make it big and we were going to make a LOT of money.

We did pretty well for a while, but making a long story short, we weren't very good money managers and ended up closing the doors to go our separate ways. It seems like yesterday, but it was 32 years ago.

Yesterday, I met this girl. I was painting a window sign on one of the businesses in the town where I grew up. She and some of her friends stopped to watch. "Did you draw that freehand?" "How do you make those lines so straight without a ruler" "Are those special brushes?" I answered all their questions, but the whole time I'm thinking: She is CUTE!! I've got to get a phone number.

I got the number; we dated for a couple of years. We got married in May of 1980--over 30 years ago--but it seems like yesterday. (She's still cute!)

Yesterday, we went to the hospital for the birth of our first son, Ryon. A few days later, we were back at the hospital for the birth of his brother, Alex. Ryon is now in college; Alex graduates from High School this Spring. It seems like yesterday...

Yesterday. It goes by pretty quick. Actually, it FLIES by! There were a lot of things I intended to do, but never did. Some of them, I'll get around to; some I'll never have the opportunity to do again. The things I did accomplish--those are good. I wouldn't trade them for anything. That's yesterday.

I still have today and tomorrow, which opens all kinds of possibilities. Sometimes I take on too much and get bogged down in the details of all the stuff to be done. But all that stuff is really surface.

One of the most most important things I need to work on is today...now. Yesterday, I got married, and became a father. Those things are way more important than all the other stuff. Sadly, I don't do those jobs very well sometimes. Today, I'm going to try to do better, but I better get busy...because tomorrow, today will be yesterday...

Obituaries

Whenever I pick up a local newspaper, I read the obituaries. If the obits are broken down by town, then I look for particular towns, if not, I just scan the listings. I'm always thrilled when I don't read my own name; I guess that means I made it another day.

Death comes, for most, when we least expect it. One day you're here; the next day, people are reading about you in the paper. Some obituaries are short and to the point:

Bob Upslaker died last Tuesday, July 17. He was 84 years old. Services are pending.

Some obituaries are LONG.

Life-long Bochachita, KS resident Bob Upslaker passed from this life on July 17, 2006 after a lengthy battle with psoriasis. He was a pillar of the community, having served as a Deacon AND Elder in his church. He taught the 9th grade boys Sunday School class for 55 years and was on the Finance, as well as Building and Grounds Committees at Church of God in Jesus Christ Our Savior Independent Baptist Church (Est. 1912).

Bob was a member of the Kiwanis, Civitans, and was the Sargeant at Arms of the Bochachita Garden Club; he also served as Grand Marshal of the Bochachita Founders Day Parade. In 1998, Bob was named "Man of the Year" by the Sweetwater County Chamber of Commerce for his participation in their annual aluminum recycling drive.

Bob was preceeded in death by his wife, Bernice. He is survived by three adult children- Joe, John, and Jeremiah, two dogs- Pepper and Scotty of the home, and one cat- Mr. Whiskers.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday at 2:00 PM at Crosby-Still-Nash-Young-Merrill Lynch-Sakowitz Funeral Home Chapel.

Some obituaries don't go as planned. I remember hearing about a funeral/memorial service where the obituary was interrupted by the "mourners." It seems that the deceased wasn't a regular church attender, so the memorial was held in the funeral home chapel with a minister that was hired to do the service. Since the dead man was virtually unknown to the pastor, he did the best he could--given the situation--by interviewing a few "friends/co-workers" and relying heavily on the obit that appeared in the paper.

About half-way through the service, the minister stated something like: "In talking with some of his (the deceased's) co-workers, many of them spoke about what a kind, generous man he was." The words had no sooner left the minister's mouth when from the back of the sparsely filled room came: "Oh, bull crap! He was the most selfish &%*$#@ I've ever met!!!" Before the minister could gain his composure, one of the FAMILY MEMBERS stood up on the front row and shouted, "Yeah! He never was generous. In fact, he was the most selfish #$%*&^!!** I've every known!" From there, it was utter chaos as one after another, family members and attendees yelled and shouted some of the most vile, hateful things about the deceased man. After what must have seemed like an eternity, the funeral home director rushed to the front of the chapel, declared the "service" OVER and sent everyone home. I don't think there was a graveside.

I hope my obituary goes better than that...of course, not any time soon.