Life is About Firsts and Lasts.
By Franklin T. Wike, Jr.
I am a survivor, as were my parents, grandparents and other ancestors. I consider my family as part of the backbone of this country, because many of them fought or even died to defend and protect this country, while others helped to spread religious ideals and faith in a higher power.
I am a product of that union and as such have been a fighter as well as one who has shared my faith in a higher power.
I am no angel nor am I the spawn of Satan.
I have done things in my life that I should have been punished for and was not.
There are also things that have happened to me, during my lifetime, that I did not deserve.
The end result is that I have lived a full life. There were sweet moments as well as sour moments. That is what every life entails for none of us are perfect and therefore no person on this planet can go through as many years as I have, without experiencing the loss of innocence, the remorse of guilt, the joy of love and the tears of pain.
As you read more about me, you will discover the humanity of one person and how the individuals that interacted with me molded the positive and negative aspect of my character. You might even get a small glimpse into how my actions have caused happiness or sorrow in the lives of others and I have to admit that I am truly sorry for the pain and anguish I caused others to live with and hope they were able to overcome those obstacles instead of passing them on as I did at times.
Think about life and how the first time certain things happen in a persons life. Think also about the memories of that event as well as the effects that experience can have throughout a persons life, even if those memories are buried for decades.
For example, the first dance, the first car a person owns, or the first time a child says "moma" or "dada." Or the first visit to a hospital, jail or funeral home.
In addition to the effects of first time experiences, it is also about the last time people experience something such as saying a final goodby to a loved one, getting out of school and leaving many old friends behind, or leaving a long time job and retiring from the workforce.
The world around us changes constantly. Not all of those changes are welcome and not all of them are bad things. But the one constant is that nothing will remain outside your own home. As a person gets older and witnesses so many changes, they sometimes long for certain happier times. At least the memories try to reflect on happy moments and put the horror of bad ones behind us.
In my case, for the first half of my life, there were many more negative memories, than happy ones. While I am thankful that during the last half of my life, I was able to smile more and create happier memories for myself as well as others, I can never forget the horrors I experienced during my youth.
NOTE: The exact date if these thoughts are unknown, however I am sure they were written sometime between 1994 and 2024.
© Copyright 1994-2025 FTW JR.