I never went out for Track but I know what hurdles are. Life is full of them. All are challenging. Some are fun. Some are onerous. At one time I dreaded some of life’s hurdles…now I realize that they are an essential part of the journey. Much as an Olympian…it is all about practice and rhythm. In a perfect world, you start with the short ones first. Sadly so many of our young people are not afforded that opportunity.

Everyone enjoys running the track coach said. You get an endorphin rush. Tom preferred to read. He loved reading and writing. If he did not have his nose in a book…he had his old Royal typewriter out and happily struck the keys to produce a new short story. Tom had an abundance of tchotchkes surrounding his writing desk and through the writing porch. Each spoke to his imagination and engendered plots for his next novel. There was the bronze bust of JFK which was also a bank. Tom never got enough of writing about the former President who had been assassinated when he was a small child. Sitting in the rocking chair was Mortimer Sneerd who was Charlie McCarthy’s friend in the days of Vaudeville and Edgar Bergan. Behind him was Laughing Santa. LS reminded him of Christmas past and the pleasure that LS had brought him on so many occasions. By the clock was the Statue of St. Francis of Assisi. Tom purchased the Statue when Pope Francis came along. In front of him was the Crystal Sailboat from the Waterford Factory that he purchased when he visited Ireland.

Tom had found a new passion…identifying the various trees and plants in the woods that he frequented on a daily basis. He had a wonderful application on his iPhone and found several new species each day. He liked Skull Rings…and did not understand why…other than they reminded him of the race to complete our earthly tasks before our mortality catches us…

People are fun in all of their shapes and sizes. We are all different. We have different hurdles to jump. None of us knows what our family and friends and neighbors are practicing their jumping skills for…give each other a break…love is the answer.