Journey

If you were to stop in the front yard of a home

In a certain small town in Willow City, North Dakota

You would find me thinking...

What's it like to leave your childhood friends and move to...?

If you were to ice skate to the middle 

Of a certain lake in Michigan

You would find me wondering...

What's it like to leave all your relatives here and move to...?

If you were to walk to a certain spot

On a Lake Erie beach in Ohio

You would find me thinking...

What's it like to board a bus and head west across the States to...?

If you were to ride a city bus to downtown Seattle

And hang out in the pool halls with the sharks

You would find me wondering...

What's it like to become an Air Force Airman and fly to...?

If you were to step into my backyard in Northern California

And toss the tennis ball for Molly a few times

You would find me weighing in on life and saying,

"This is good.  I am fortunate.  I wonder what will be next...?"

You have made these moves, and had these thoughts...

In different places

Your fingers are on these keys - your words - your memories replace mine...

And you wonder... or you don't.

"It's all part of the journey" (Donald W. Palen Jr., August, 2008)