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General > Thoughts From The Lower Bunk™
Thoughts From The Lower Bunk™
by Greg Gilbert
This column or blog will be updated as inspiration hits me. But let me share where the title comes from. My grandson and I sometimes spend the night at the “bunkhouse” on our farm. I’m of course on the lower bunk. This is what happens:
My favorite conversations are filtered by his mattress in the top bunk. It is those lights out moments, laying there, thinking that I’m going to sleep but knowing the night is not over yet. Then, all of a sudden, here comes the word “Papaw”. It is always followed by another question. I love this time. After I answer one, I lie grinning, anticipating the next question. I know that I will soon be disappointed as he falls off to sleep. We have started something like Team Prayer. He would start his prayer at night and before he would say Amen, he began asking, “You got anything Papaw?” I would add what was on my heart and we both gave a hearty Amen. These are “My Thoughts From The Lower Bunk”.
This page will be updated occasionally with Cowboy Poetry, a verse from a Christian Country song or an editorial. “Thoughts From The Lower Bunk” By Greg Gilbert www.greggilbert.org Papaw, What would you do if you were a deer during deer season? Or Do We Really Want To Become A Nation of “Zoo Deer”? Published in The Nashville News-11-12-2009 I just spent four great days with my 11-year-old grandson. We participated in the Arkansas Youth Deer Season and he was out of school Thursday and Friday so we had extra time together. We didn’t see anything hunting but the time spent together was worth more than any deer meat that I can imagine. We visited many subjects as we hunted, rode the Kawasaki Mule, walked through the woods or sat and just whittled on a stick (anyone need any mulch) over the weekend. My favorite conversations were filtered by his mattress in the top bunk of the bunkhouse at our farm. It was those lights out moments, thinking you were going to sleep, then there was the word Papaw, followed by another question, that I truly loved. After you answer one, you lie grinning, in anticipation of the next one, knowing that you will soon be disappointed as he falls off to sleep. We started something like Team Prayer I guess. He would start his prayer at night and before he would say Amen, he began asking, “You got anything Papaw?” I would add what was on my heart and we both gave a hearty Amen. One of the questions was “papaw, what would you do if you were a deer during deer season”? My first answer was if I were a deer I would do what all the other deer do, try to live and survive. God creates all animals with the same ability and senses. The deer don’t have a calendar with big red letters that says DEER SEASON-BEWARE!! Animals have a sense of survival and given food, water and the ability to get to it, most will live up to their full potential. This gave me the opening to say that of all of God’s creations, we are the only one with free will and the ability to make choices in life. As a result of this we are the only ones that don’t choose to live up to our full potential. There are no “excuses” in life, only “circumstances beyond our control” and “choices”. I am so thankful I didn’t have to go into how my thought processes and priorities would have been different depending on whether I was a doe or buck. We will save that for when we discuss God’s other creations, the birds and the bees. I probably gave more of an answer than he wanted to hear. I think he was probably just looking for “I would hide out until the season was over”. A little later it came up again & I said, “Well, I guess a zoo wouldn’t be a bad place to be”. They would provide food, water and a safe place to live and you wouldn’t have to worry about deer season. The subject was then dropped, on to something else. Then, Saturday night at the bunkhouse when the questions had ceased and I reflected on the day, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I would have sat straight up in bed but I couldn’t, I was on the lower bunk. My zoo statement. Yes, I would have food, water, a safe place to live and free medical care provided by the veterinarian that the zoo chooses. All that would be required is that I come out in the open to be visible to the paying customers. If I choose to not be visible, the zoo would change my surroundings or reduce my space to insure my visibility. I would not need any of the senses that God gave me to survive. I would become, oh no, a “zoo deer”. Yes, I would be safe during deer season, but I would lose my most prized possession as a deer………my freedom. I would become lazy, unhealthy and may become too expensive to keep around. They may choose to put me down. I would come to expect that the zoo take care of me. I guess as long as I remained a “zoo deer”, I would be entitled to certain things. The longer I remained a “zoo deer”; it would become more and more difficult to survive if they ever put me back on my own. A hunter’s proudest moment is to bag that huge 10-point buck. It will probably be on his wall somewhere. That 10-point has survived through many seasons on his own. He survived with what God gave him. A huge doe has survived many seasons and has raised many deer. She survived with what God gave her. No one gets that excited over a spike buck or a young doe. Dominion! In Genesis it states that Man should have dominion over fish, birds, cattle and creeping things. Friends, it scares me to death that our government is gaining dominion over us, a little at a time. And let me say this, I’m not some radical from either wing. I don’t care about what party, if any, you are affiliated with. What started out as simple reflection and light chuckling in a bunk bed turned into pure fear and concern. The first part of the article described my joy of time spent with someone that I love so much, but I am so, so afraid for his future. Will he be able to do what we did this weekend with his grandson? Will he even be able to own a gun? Maybe it doesn’t bother you. Maybe you don’t mind losing your freedoms. Maybe you can’t or you are not willing to make it on your own. God gave you the ability. Choices. Maybe you want someone to take care of you. Remember, there are only choices and circumstances beyond our control. Are our politicians helping us or hurting us. Choices. One of our protected freedoms so far is our ability to vote. We all need to become more educated on the process. We need to speak up. I refuse to vote for people that do not align with my values. You learn a lot from a person from their values. Yeah, that answer of “well, I guess a zoo wouldn’t be a bad place to be” sounded good at the time but the more I think about it, it scares me to death. If we were “zoo deer” we would have everything, or would we? I just decided that I don’t want to be a “zoo deer”, do you? Choices! Wishing you a great day from the lower bunk. As I think of regret reduction, the first thing that comes to mind is time,I can't get it back. Enjoy it, make the most of it and remember, it ain't all about you. March 10, 2008 I woke up early and this thought was on my mind. If you enjoy this poem, you will enjoy my book. God Bless, gg The Best Day Of My Life© By: Greg Gilbert- The old cowboy sat there in the attic, surrounded by his past, His wife had saved everything; it's where 50 years of ranching together was stashed. It had only been a year since the death of his wife, But a son, a daughter, friends and grandkids had all helped fill his life. His wife, friend and partner never lost faith or her smile as he brushed back a few tears, When the doctors had said just months, their family, friends and church had prayed it into 14 wonderful years. The memories raced though his mind under the glow of a 60-watt light, You know it's just hard to close a book that it took 50 years to write. As he looked through boxes of photos he laughed, then he cried They had a very good life together, that couldn't be denied. There were albums of many vacations, photos of her and the kids, Most times he stayed home and worked the ranch, the only picture missing was his. After all, he had fences to fix, calves to move, vacation was just time lost, But he sees today sitting in that attic, it all came at a cost. Then it caught his eye, one box alone, up there on that shelf, It contained two diaries and a journal packed all by their self. He brushed off the dust, thumbed through the books slowly one by one, As he viewed dates and memories recorded by his wife, daughter and son. There were many events written but the memories were much different in his mind, But he too had kept a business journal so he gathered the three books and down the stairs he climbed. He found his journal from this time frame buried oh so deep in a file, He opened it up to compare the writings of a father, a wife and a child. He flipped open his journal and just picked a day one Spring, It said he took off from work, wasted the entire day fishing with my family, and didn't catch a thing. He scrambled to find March 20, 1965 in each of the other three diaries of his son, daughter and wife, They all said the same thing, went fishing with my family, I had the best day of my life! -------------------- Don't get your priorities out of order. When I was growing up my FFA was the Future Farmers of America. Now it is my Faith, my Family and Anything else. I just returned from visitation for a friend that just passed away from cancer. I have not seen Rodney in a few years but the last time we talked we said we would get together and shoot some pool. We never did. Rodney Browning was just 50 years old and left a wife, son, daughter, mom and many friends that loved him very much. He will be greatly missed by many. Our prayers are with his family. This reminded me of a article I wrote last year about a classmate of mine that passed away. I wanted to reprint that. We all need to get back to that lost form of social networking: shaking hands, breaking bread together, laughing together or least pick up that phone. Written in Jan/Feb 2008 Before we close and speaking of regrets, I want to share a recent experience. Later last year I heard a high school classmate of mine, Coach Tommy Miller, Hallsville, TX had lung cancer and was very sick. No, Coach Miller was not a smoker and was in excellent health before his illness. I had the best intentions of calling or going to see him even though I had not seen or talked to him in years. We ran around with the same group in high school. His mother was a nurse and had patched me up a few times when my Honda 160 Scrambler scrambled out from under me. Well, I did go to see Tommy in January. It was at the visitation the night before his funeral. I want to describe visitation for a Brother in Christ that had touched many lives in 31 years of coaching. First I had to park two blocks away. As I neared the funeral home I saw a line that stretched out the door and down the block. I waited in line 90 minutes to pay my respects to his wife and parents. The line was filled with young adults whose lives were touched by Coach Miller. By the time I had reached the front of the line and had visited with many people, there was no doubt that he was a Godly husband, father and son. What a legacy this man had left behind. As I drove back to Texarkana that night there were two thoughts that weighed heavy on my mind. Number 1: Last year I said someday I was going to call him or drive down. Friends, the road called someday leads to nowhere. I regret (there’s that word) that I didn’t get to visit with Tommy but I have no one to blame but myself. “As soon as” are some of the most regret producing words we have. Quit putting things off! Number 2: What a servant’s heart Coach Miller must’ve had. What a legacy! What could I have learned from him if we had the opportunity to visit? I’ll never know. I honestly believe we would have spent very little time talking about the past. The past truly is a place of reference, not a place of residence. Even after not talking to Coach Miller in many years, after visiting with many people that night, I am very, very certain that Tommy heard these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant”. Will we? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regret Reduction Recap 1. Use your gifts to help others. 2. The road to someday leads to nowhere. Do it now! 3. We never know when our time will be up! God Bless, Greg Gilbert Tribute To A Mentor Dear Friends, A few weeks ago we had a celebration of life for Perry Buster from Nashville, Arkansas a few days after his passing. Perry taught Sandy & I how to play the guitar. It wasn't gloom & doom that night, it was singing, praising the Lord and celebrating Perry's life. I wrote a tribute to Perry that was in the Nashville News on June 4, 2009. Everyone in Nashville knew and loved Perry. As I drove home and "reflected", there was a strong life message in it for me also. Read this and I will share what hit me. ------------------------------------------------------------ Nashville News-June 4, 2009 “I Will Not Let It Stop With Me” A Tribute To Perry Buster By Greg Gilbert A few weeks ago I received a call at 11:00 PM from a friend of mine, Scott Chambless. He had just returned from the Nashville, Arkansas class of 2009 graduation ceremony. He shared some information from a speaker that night. He had written the information down and we talked for an hour about what was shared. I did some research the next day and found that retiring teacher Karen Hughes had shared this information. She told of a study in which fifty people over the age of 90 were asked to reflect upon their lives. "If you had it to do over again," they were asked, "what would you do differently?" Though there were many answers, three responses dominated. Here they are: First, many respondents answered, "I would reflect more." Do you ever feel that too much time is spent in "doing" and not enough spent thinking about what you are doing and why you are doing it? Second, they said, "I would risk more." Do you think that important opportunities either have been or might be forfeited because of your fear to take a necessary risk? Finally, they said, "I would do more things that would live on after I died." Do you feel that you are immersed in something bigger and more enduring than your own existence? Every day we wake up, we get a second chance at all three of Karen’s points. Okay, remember these, especially the third one. From a personal growth perspective this was powerful information in itself. I shared this information with many friends. The morning of June 3, 2009 it resurfaced again. Let me explain. Lee Mercer of Hope, Arkansas called me that morning and informed me that Perry Buster of Nashville had passed away. My wife Sandy and I had taken guitar lessons from Perry in 2004. Perry was an absolute pleasure to learn from and visit with. He was such a talented singer and guitar player. He was also very humble about his ability. He had us making noise that sounded like music very quickly. He kept our interest up. After awhile he had given me the confidence and the ability to try a few specials at my church. It then developed into a program “Life Resume Update” that was a collection of stories and Christian Country music. I have written a few songs with the ability passed on to me by Perry. I have presented this program to many different churches and groups across Arkansas and Texas. One night at the Elberta Arts Center in Nashville, we were there to listen and enjoy Perry’s music. He asked me to come up and play a song. It gave me the opportunity to share with a large group of people how thankful I was that God placed Perry Buster in my life. Although I had told him that personally many times, it sure felt good to honor him in front of others. I have thanked and honored him many other times in programs even though he wasn’t there. Regret is a horrible roommate to live with. I am so thankful I don’t have to live with “I wish I had told him.” He knew and I knew he knew. Sometimes this is tough for men to do. I tell men if you have trouble with this, get over it or you could end up with “regret” as a roommate. Okay, here is where it resurfaced. When received the call informing me of Perry’s passing, point number three of Karen’s words to hundred’s of people came back to me. "I would do more things that would live on after I died." This is speaking of leaving a legacy. Passing something good on. I immediately wrote these words in my journal. “Don’t let it stop with me.” Perry Buster learned to play guitar from his Dad. Perry passed this on to probably hundreds of people of all ages. I have a Baby Taylor guitar that I bought for my two grandsons. I will not let it stop with me. I will share my love of music and guitar with my grandsons. I will let them know where it came from. Perry Buster, I know you have already heard the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I pray that you knew how many lives you impacted in such a positive way. I loved you and you will be greatly missed. And oh yeah, I promise, I will not let it stop with me. I will pass it on. Till we can both play together without tuning, Greg Gilbert --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My reflection: Perry came into our lives as a result of a prayer in 2004. We were in a rut. You know what a rut is, a casket with the ends kicked out. If Sandy & I wanted to communicate in the evening, it involved pause, mute or waiting until commercial. Same old thing every day. So many things happened in 2004 as a result of that prayer and it has never been the same. This is what hit me from a life perspective: Point 2, taking more risks. I risked embarrassment the first time I played guitar in public, but I did it again and again. It got easier and easier. I have explored so many other options once I learned the difference between being thorough, skeptical and just plain cynical. We took some risks. Point 3: "I would do more things that would live on after I died." Do you feel that you are immersed in something bigger and more enduring than your own existence? Leaving a legacy. What kind of legacy am I leaving or is it all about what I want to do? We should all leave character, honesty, our faith, love, personal growth and integrity as a legacy. I guess the older I get the more I do reflect. I don't want to be one of these 90 year old folks giving the same three regrets. Every day we wake up is a second chance. If it's a good thing let's not let it stop with us! Also, if you have someone like this in your life, let them know, don't get that "regret" guy as a roommate. God Bless, Greg Gilbert Greg Gilbert is the author of the new book “If Your Baby Could Talk…Would You Listen?” A Baby’s Thoughts On Raising Good Parents. It is written from a child’s perspective to insure a more successful, happier, healthier family that stays together. It is available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, www.ifyourbabycouldtalk.com or by calling 1 866 909-2665. |
If you could take a brush, And paint a portrait of your years, Would it hang for all to see, Or be ruined by shame and tears? Verse from “What Have I Done For Him©” By Greg Gilbert Update the "Life Resumé" of your work, church or civic group with a presentation from Greg Gilbert  |
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