Tag Archives: love

BLOG 14/52

29 Sunday Mar 2026

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ISLANDS

     There are islands in all the seas waiting for us to visit if we please.

   The girls will dance

    For you each night.

    Everyone is happy

   There is never a fight

    They are so pretty

    You cannot resist

 You ask them to dance

     Again, before they

           Dismiss.   

 The sun slowly fades into the night      

The lights come on to our delight.

      The dancers glide onto the stage

         They know every movement 

         They have practiced all year

         We sit marveling at their skill

         As we eat and drink our beer. 

__________________________________

Tomorrow is Easter, April 5, 2015. This morning, I got up at 4:30 am and watched the moon hide in the shadow of the Earth, an event that helps us define who we are and what we are. It made me reflect on my life. What came to mind were the Easters I spent as a child. They were some of the happiest times in my life that we old folks who live at the end of the street still enjoy, in our journeys through memory.

            In my family, we all gathered at my Aunt Aggie’s house. There were about 20 of us. The years were in the early 1940s. She and Uncle Leo had about an acre of land right on the Los Angeles River somewhere in “the valley.” I have no idea now where that would be, but it was rural. She had a goat that she milked, and my cousins and I would go out to see if we could milk it. We were primarily city kids, and milking a goat was a skill we didn’t possess. My aunt would squirt the milk into our mouths from three feet away. Of course, it would get all over us, and that was part of the fun.

            Being right across the street from the river, the cousins (there were four of us who lived close enough to be there) were given the duty of collecting enough crawdads to put in the salad. The L.A. River was all mud banks back then, and it was full of crawdads. We even had a swimming hole in it and went swimming if the weather permitted us to, without our mothers thinking we would get too cold and get sick. My mother and all my aunts would prepare the meal, and of course, the crawdad salad was my favorite part of it.

L.A. River circa 1940

            As I write this, there are tears running down my face. These were wonderful times. Now the river is all cement. No more crawdads. No more swimming hole. No more goat milk. All of those people are dead now, except two of my cousins and me. I don’t think any of us have had a crawdad salad or gone swimming in a swimming hole or milked a goat for a long long time. What a travesty that is.

BLOG 13/52

17 Tuesday Mar 2026

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MANTA RAYS 

They are huge, 14 feet across

When they arrive at the scene, they 

Instantly become the undisputed big boss.

They get close enough for you to stroke

They’re quite sociable and scary

But don’t care much

About human

Folk

______________________________

What does it mean to be alive?

          This is the fundamental unanswered question of most, if not all, religions. Fortunately, it is not our job to find the answer. As painful as it may be for some, it is beyond human capability. We can define the word scientifically without issue for most of us, but when it comes to the spiritual realm, it becomes impossible. We can only make assumptions, which we choose to accept as facts, and that is okay because all facts are based on assumptions. 

          There are a few assumptions we make about life on Earth. One is that it must reproduce something at least like itself. We used to believe that if it was alive, it needed oxygen, but we found some life forms that don’t. That opens a whole new way of thinking about the Universe.

          When I was in college in the 1950s, one of my professors commented, “The only bad thing about becoming a scientist is you will be included in a small group that realizes that they know nothing.” It is sometimes hard to live in a society that thinks it knows everything. My dad told me that life would get harder, so I just handle it. I did, and it was fun. I enjoyed every minute of my 92-year life, even though I am not sure of what it is.

          My mother told me my life was only worth what it was worth to other people, and that to help them, I had to keep myself healthy, which had to be my prime job. I thank her for sharing that with me. I have been a caregiver for 28 years of my life. 

           I do not know what the ultimate meaning of life is, but her interpretation has worked for me. When the world around you seems to be going crazy, remember you are a tree, and your roots are deep and strong. The earth does not give way; you will survive the storm and enjoy the good weather ahead if you handle it. 

BLOG11/52

24 Tuesday Feb 2026

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What is your favorite poem you wrote?

All my poems are my favorites; they all came from my heart. 

When I couldn’t find the words to say how I felt, I wrote a poem about it, 

and it worked for me. Every poem is a verbal picture of how I felt at that moment.

I will share a favorite that has helped me understand why I was feeling the way I did at that time.

I wrote this many years ago.

When I read it now, as I live in my 92nd year, it seems much more relevant.

(I wrote this while sitting on the beach watching the waves rolling in.)

Patience is a Virtue

Hi there, old salt.

You’re in-between, aren’t you?

Your face is smooth or nearly so,

Ah, but your edges give you away.

Your swells peak up and break gently.

Caressing my toes, disappearing around my feet.

If I were to take you at your word,

I would run and fling myself into your embrace.

I would just jostle your white caps and

Relax in your peaks and hollows.

But I know better than that.

You are losing control.

You are growing impatient.

I have noticed it sometimes.

Even like now, when you are calm.

That upheaval of emotion that comes

When you do not expect it.

That breaker that is less controlled

Then the rest shows your impatience.

It does not caress my toes and

Then depart through the sand.

Ho! It grabs at my knees and

Pulls at me with fierce enthusiasm.

No need, friend, for your impatience.

Think about it.

From you, I have learned to be strong,

Without a show of force.

From you, I have learned to be placid,

But never complacent.

In your depth, I have had great joy,

And near death.

You have taught me to trust,

But never to rely.

I have learned what I do is important,

And what I would like to do remains insignificant.

No, my friend, be not impatient.

Two billion years ago, I was created from you.

I would not deprive you if I could.

Yours is a millennium, mine but half a grain of sand.

Do not be impatient,

We will be as one in due time.

Until then, my friend,

 I will visit you as

 often as I can.

An Update 2026

I have kept my word, and I think

Due time is on the horizon.

The good thing is I still

Need binoculars

To see it.

_____________

Don’t look back; it may bring tears to your eyes.

Look ahead and fill your eyes with surprise

BLOG 6/52

17 Saturday Jan 2026

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 NEVER TOO YOUNG TO LEARN

 When we are born, our brain wakes up.

There is very little, if anything, in it 

It is empty now, but will fill up.

Like a sponge, it absorbs information.

It starts to form who I am

 A cute woman or a macho man.

This self-image will control and direct my life

I want to be the very best of what I am

It depends on what I see, hear, and 

Experience as I grow up

I will do my best to be

Who am I?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

JUST FOR FUN

When there is nothing special to write about, and you are a writer, you must create something.  A writer must keep writing; that is who and what we are. It is a great self-image, but a hard one to keep. I will be sharing some of my idle times with you every so often, so you can see how hard it is.

Practicing the English language

Why is it that we can only see the stars when they are out, but can’t see much of anything when the lights are out?

I did a bad thing and wanted to make amend, but you can’t; you must make amends. So, I did a few more bad things so I could.

I wanted to take the longest zip line in the world. One person said, “Fat chance.” A second person said, “Slim chance.” I didn’t know which one to believe. I didn’t know if they were wise men or just wise guys.

I had a friend who called me in a panic and said, “My house is on fire and is burning up.” I knew he was distraught and meant his house was burning down.

Why do you have to fill in a form when they ask you to fill it out?

I spent time looking for the boxing ring at the gym before someone told me it was the square thing in the corner.

A friend told me I had a lot of odds and ends in my house, but he didn’t tell me which were the odds, and which were the ends.

These are just a few examples that demonstrate the creativity of the human mind. I don’t think the right hand was talking to the left hand when they created the language. I didn’t even know the hands spoke to each other.

I just found out that cows killed more people than sharks. I was amazed. I didn’t even know that cows killed sharks.

BLOG 4/52

30 Tuesday Dec 2025

Posted by in Education and Teaching, Personal Philosophy, Photography, Tips for a Happy Life, Travel, Uncategorized

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Sharon, A Departed Spouse

I thank you for orchestrating the best 35 years of my life. 

Our love was not a separate part of our lives

You were more than just my best friend.

It was what our lives were all about.

Rest in peace, my sweetheart, 

You were and will always be

 beloved by me 

And the ones that

 You showed what real love was,

The family.

The New Path  

You asked if I ever think of her,

I answered, “of course I do.”

My mind wanders back to my past,

Where memories that are buried seem to last.

But worry not, my dear sweet lady.

For when I think of the present, I think only of you.

My reflections are both happy and sad.

A wonderful life together

That ended too soon.

I held her hand for hours.

Until her last breath, her soul left the room.

How could I not remember her?

She was the core of my life.

For thirty-five years

She was both my lover and my wife.

But she is gone and no longer exists.

She said to me before she left

On this one thing I must insist,

Your life must continue forward

Grief must not stop you

Don’t fall behind; you must resist.

Love is everywhere; if you look, you will find.

Life alone is not meant to be.

Find someone who is not like me.

Your memory will last, but I represent the past,

You’re on a new road now,

New faces, new places, new fields to plow.

Now, sweet lady, I am with you

And all she said has come true.

Mine is a new life, we’ll call it Act III.

And we will explore it together,

Just you and me.

——————————————————————————————————-

What Does It Mean When You Say You Love Someone?


I have written about love in some of my other books; what I said in them
was what I believed to be true, and I still do. Love’s definition, like
everything else in my life, has matured with age. I have called it a concept,
and it is how we use it in English. What, then, is the definition of it? Now, at
age 91 years, I have more to say about what the word love means to me.
All my life, I have taken the word and broken it up into parts.
An example would be telling my wife, ‘I love you,’ then asking, ‘What are we
having for lunch? I love lunch; it’s my favorite meal.’ Does the word love
change its meaning? It must; you don’t love your wife the same way you
love your lunch. I would fight to protect my wife from someone who was
going to hurt her; I don’t care if I miss lunch. Why do we use the same
word? When we talk about lunch, we can use many different words, such
as appreciate, enjoy, or wish for, among others; however, when it comes to
our wives, the word ‘love’ is the only one that seems to fit. Why?
What does it mean that most other words wouldn’t convey? I have thought
about this a lot. What does it truly mean to love?
Love is like a puppy, cuddly and fun, and just like a puppy, it will grow much
stronger if it is well cared for; and you can have it at any age. It is up to you.
A baby loves its parents because it depends on them for care. That is the
only thing it understands about them. Young people love each other
because of the passion and innocence of youth in real life. There are many
personal qualities hidden within the word love, and it is used to mask them
so they can enter our lives.
A few of these include control over someone, dependency on someone,
sex and lust, and finally, security. Because there are so many reasons that
make us think we are in love, it is easy for us to make mistakes and realize
this later.
We say, “I don’t love you anymore. If that happens to you, it is
because you only love a person because they seemed to fit into your world
at the time.
True love can’t be broken up into parts. Love can be explained in one word:
it does not take more than that. What is the word? If you have ever had a dog that you loved, and he or she loved you too, you have experienced true
love. The dog doesn’t care what you do. It still loves you.
The only word I can think of that describes what true love is made of is
acceptance. You must fully accept what you say you love and not try to
change it. If you try to change it, then you don’t truly love it. You only love
certain parts of it. It’s challenging to love only parts of something and not
the whole. This also applies to people. It’s easy to find someone you love in
parts, but hard to find someone you love completely. That’s why people
often say, “I don’t love you anymore.” In a long relationship, you might find
parts you no longer love.
Love is a fantastic quality in life, but it must be an act of total acceptance to
be long-lasting. (See the poem “Home”.) Be a flower, it gives beauty and
asks nothing in return. It accepts you accepting it for what it is, nothing more.

BLOG 3/52

19 Friday Dec 2025

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HOW HAVE YOU KEPT A GOOD ATTITUDE?

When my mother passed away in 1969, I was devastated. I wrote this to help me
live my life like I knew she would have wanted me to. It has been my guide ever since. It has worked.

MY CREED
It is today, not tomorrow.
This is today; yesterday is history.
Every morning when I wake up, it will be today.
I will start each of my todays with a positive attitude.
I will not criticize anything, as it has accomplished nothing.

I refuse to utilize my time on things that accomplish nothing.
Today, I have one thing in which I know I am equal with others: time.
We all draw life’s paychecks in hours, minutes, and seconds, no favorites.
Today, I will not waste any of the time I have been given.
The minutes I wasted yesterday are already too costly to me.
Today, I refuse to use my time worrying about what might happen.
Instead, I’m going to utilize my time by working to make good things happen.

Today I am determined to improve myself.
For tomorrow, someone may need me to help them.
I must work hard today so I will not be found lacking tomorrow.
Today, I must accomplish something and not waste any of my limited time.

Today I will do the things I should do.

Today, I will stop doing things that I feel are harmful to me.
By the end of each week, I will be a better person than when I started.
My worth to myself and others is directly proportional to how I use my time.

Things in my world are not different.
I will not imagine what I would do if they were.
I will make the most of my life with what I have now.
I will arrange my schedule to make the most of my talents.

I will take time for my people.
I will not wait till tomorrow to say, “I love you.”
I will treat everyone I encounter in life as a true friend.
If I do these things, it will be a good day for me and those around me.
I DID THE BEST I COULD. I HOPE IT WAS AS GOOD AS I SHOULD.

(In 2026)

To my mother, Alice

I loved you as much as possible in my younger years,
But I didn’t appreciate all you did for me
Until I was an old man,
Looking back on my life.
You died way too young for me to tell you
How much I loved and needed you in my life.
You gave me the foundation that I live by.

You taught me how to handle my daily
Chores and how and why it was
Important to appreciate
Every one of them
To have a life
Worth living

I still judge whatever I do
Against the standard
Would my mother
Be proud of me

I thank you with all my heart and love.
JOHNNY Reseck Jr

Alice visits Siem Reap, Cambodia

(This is very special, written by my son JR III in Cambodia
At the age of 68, he recalled his grandmother from his childhood.

Maybe 1965,
in that double wide
a hundred yards from the ocean sand,
My father’s mother used both arms to shake it up, then
levered two sharp triangular holes,
the normal way back then,
opposite each other
into the top of that big tin can
that held the pineapple juice,
and poured some into a glass just for me.
It’s now more than fifty years
since then,
and I’m alone
in a Cambodian apartment
eight thousand miles from anyone I love,
tipping up a paper and plastic carton, pouring out some last drops of that same sweet tropical memory,
grateful for the heart she watered and grew in me, and the one who still visits
but I just no longer see.
12 April, 2025
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Love you,
By
John Reseck III