Every Time I Think I’m Falling

LOL!!  Sometimes it’s difficult making decisions about what song / video to put as the Anniversary / Birthday / Holiday tune.  This was my “alternate” song for a couple of days ago when Hil and I had our 34th wedding anniversary.  It wasn’t that I liked this song less;  just that I’d liked the one I eventually chose (“I Can Love You Like That“) for much longer…
And the lyrics I particularly liked:
Every time I think I’m falling
I know you’re falling too
There’s no doubt you’re all in
If you ever think you’re falling
You know I’ll catch you too
‘Cause all I am is you
[You can find the full lyrics on my “Poems” page.   —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2017	Still Testing The Hypothesis
2016	Excessive Weakness In January
2015	That Burns
2014	Hey, I Resemble That Remark… (4!)
2013	Sit, Put, Until…
2012	Lessons For My Son
2011	Reaching The Right Audience
2010	Christmas Trees and Profession of Faith

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One Of The Great Ones

“(You’re My) Soul And Inspiration”
Girl,
I can’t let you do this
Let you walk away
Girl,
how can I live through this?
When you’re all I wake up for each day baby
You’re my soul
and my heart’s inspiration
You’re all I got
to get me by
You’re my soul
and my heart’s inspiration
Without you baby
what good am I?
I never had much going
But at least I had you
How can you walk out knowing
I ain’t got nothing left if you do, baby
You’re my soul
and my heart’s inspiration
You’re all I got
to get me by
You’re my soul
and my heart’s inspiration
Without you baby
what good am I?
Oh, what good am I?
Baby,
I can’t make it without you
And I’m,
I’m telling you honey
You’re my reason
for laughing,
for crying
For living
and for dying
Baby,
I can’t make it without you
Please,
I’m begging you baby
If you go
it will kill me,
I swear it
Girl,
I just can’t bear it
You’re my soul
and my heart’s inspiration
You’re all I got
to get me by
You’re my soul
and my heart’s inspiration
Without you baby
what good am I?
What good am I?
Mmmmm
Written by:  Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
Performed by:  The Righteous Brothers
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On This Day In:
2017	Mirror In The Oval Office
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2016	What’s Your Excuse?
2015	Some Meaningful Resemblance
2014	Bloom
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2013	Walking The Walk
2012	Legacy Of Star Trek (TOS)
2011	Tolerating The Intolerant
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2010	Giants Win Game 1 In Philly (4 to 3)!!

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Even #45 Shall Pass To Sand

Ozymandias
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert.  Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away”.
Written by:  Percy Bysshe Shelley
[This poem first captivated me in my pre-teens when I read it in a comic book.  It remains a reminder to me when I despair from the evil I see in the world.  You can find this and other (more positive / inspirational) poems and writings on my Poems page / tab.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2017	Shedding Light
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2016	The Responsibility Of Freedom
2015	Face It
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2014	Honoring Firefighters
2013	And Never Will
2012	The Human Adventure Continues
2011	Almost Never

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Site Update / Poems Page Evolution

When I started adding my own poems to this site (see tabs on top), I decided I was also going to add famous speeches which moved me.  After a bit, I decided I would also add my favorite songs – again based on the words (in this case lyrics).  Over time, that evolved a little to also include some songs for humor or just because I liked them and not just for the words / lyrics themselves.  Again, after some time, I eventually decided to start adding the videos.  To be a little more honest, I started actually using YouTube to listen songs and watch their associated videos.  About three years ago, I started adding the videos to the lyrics pages.  Unlike in my postings though, I put the videos at the end of the lyrics (beneath the lyrics), instead of front and top.  At that time, I began indicating which had videos by placing an asterisk after the song title on my “Poems” (“menu”) page, with the promise I would go back to add them all “as time permitted”.
Well, after a couple of years, I finally made the big push to get it done.  Over the last week, I have updated the last fifty (50) or so songs which still did not have videos.  If any of you have time to go check them out, I’d appreciate any of your feedback.  I haven’t bothered to remove the asterisks, even though there is really no reason to retain them on the page.
Anyway, I hope some of you will enjoy the lyrics and the videos as much as I have enjoyed reading them and listening to them over the years…
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On This Day In:
2017	Our Thirst
2016	History Favors The Victor
2015	This We’ll Leave Them
2014	Sounds Like Faux News To Me
2013	Reasons
2012	American Libertarianism
2011	The Goal

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Too Soon We Part…

Advance the day,
Too Soon We Part
That Sooner Still
We might meet again.
Two Lifestreams
Joined and parted,
Joined and parted,
Joined and soon to part again
Our time is shared
Though miles between us be…
Our Love is shared
A bridge across the distance
My faith
In your Love
And in your strength
Binds me to you
A chain which Frees
My body to go – afar
My heart a gift
Held by you.
Too Soon we part
Love – tempered, and tested again,
My Lifestream flows (and yearns)
To join again with yours – Soon.
[This was another of the poems I have written over the years for my wife.  If you enjoyed this poem, please visit my “Poems” page to see others of mine, as well as some or my favorite poems, speeches and song lyrics.     —     kmab]
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On This Day In:
2016	Where And Why
2015	The Beauty Of Thy Voice
2014	Faith In Men
2013	An Average Verge
2012	Dew Drop Secrets
2011	Champion Freedom

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Tonight

If you dream tonight,
Will I come to you?
Will you share my smile,
My Heart,
The joy of my spirit?
If I dream tonight,
Will you come to me?
Will your arms
Ease my loneliness?
Your touch
Smooth my brow?
If we dream tonight
Can we be together?
Can we dance a waltz together?
In great lighted halls,
Or under twinkling stars?
My Love,
I will dream of you
Tonight.
[If you enjoyed this poem, please visit my “Poems” page to see others of mine, as well as some or my favorite poems, speeches and song lyrics.     —     kmab]
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On This Day In:
2016	Conscientious Courage
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2015	The Beautiful Snow
2014	Nurtured By The Voices
2013	Précis
2012	Fear And Understanding
2011	Just Being Human

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One Trouble With Television

Stonewall Jackson, who knew something about the use of weapons, is reported to have said, “When war comes, you must draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.”  The trouble with television is that it is rusting in the scabbard during a battle for survival.
—    Edward R. Murrow
From his speech to the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) convention in Chicago
Given:  October 15, 1958
[Popularly know as the “Wires And Lights In A Box” speech.  The link to the full speech is (also) available on my “Poems” page.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2015	I Am Lucky And I Am Grateful
2014	Future Envy
2013	We Do Not Want To Learn That
2012	Social Inhibition
2011	Studying Chinese Food
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2010	Rant, Pant, Deep Breath – Reality

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Shouting At The Void

I AM!!
When last I looked upon a mirror,
I wondered that indeed,
I do exist.
There I was,
In living color.
Yet, strangely not alive.
A reproduction of the shell
Within which, I am alone.
A prisoner.  To my feelings —
	Of love,
	Of joy,
	Of hope,
	Of happiness,
and of the pervasive rapture
	Of my aloneness;
There are none to share —
	to totally understand.
Within my finiteness,
	the universe is captured.
Within the universe,
	my finiteness is insignificant.
And yet…  I AM!!
Against the scale of all that is,
I AM!!
Though locked within
this fragile shell,
My living consciousness
joyously proclaims
To the farthest reaches
of the void  —
I AM!!!
[The above poem was written back in 1980.  When one has the words, one shouts them to the universe.  You can find more of my poems on my “Poems” tab / page.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2015	Crab Feed
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2014	Beyond Proof
2013	Poor Students Of History
2012	Between Two Worlds
2011	Common Humanity
2010	The Last Two Olympians

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Ways

True Love Ways
Just you know why
Why you and I
Will bye and bye
Know true love ways
Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways
Throughout the days
Our true love ways
Will bring us joys to share
With those who really care
Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways
Throughout the days
Our true love ways
Will bring us joys to share
With those who really care
Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways
Songwriters:  Buddy Holly and Norman Petty
Performed by:   Buddy Holly
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On This Day In:
2015	Be Happy, Too
2014	At Least Smile
2013	Comfortably Bound
2012	Certainty
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2011	And In Every Level Of Media

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That Which You Restore

You know sometimes I wonder
How it has come to be
That a little bit of you
Could have rubbed right off on me.
It seems I need you more and more
A little bit each day
Your smile and gentle hugs
Help me make it thru the day.
Sometimes it almost makes me wince
To love you as I do;
And still you draw this love from me
As only you can do.
It would take another lifetime
For me to love you more —
I thank you for this love I give
And for that which you restore.
—    kmab
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On This Day In:
2015	Thousands
2014	What We Can
2013	Mostly Unsound
2012	Malcontent
2011	What Have You Seen Lately?
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Along The Path

Flowers
I do not seek to place you
In a little box named Joan,
I seek instead to understand
Why thru you I have grown.
Your name is not a label
I have placed upon a box,
You are instead a flower
On a path that I have crossed.
Do not fear, Little Flower
The longing in your chest
We are all a little lonely
And perhaps, that is best;
From loneliness we learn
To reach out to each other —
So on our paths of life we may
Become as little flowers.
So if along your life’s path
There among the rocks
You spy a little flower
Growing in a box…
Look a little closer
And a beauty it may show,
And by this bit of beauty
You may simply grow.
And growing, you will go
Further down the path
Seeing truly each little flower
You may encounter after that.
—    KMAB
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On This Day In:
2015	Make Mine Rare, Please
2014	Passion Flooding
2013	On Purpose
2012	Sans Gall Bladder, Day 4
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2011	It’s Hammerin’ Time!!
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Time Said

Who’s to say
What’s wrong
And what’s right
I can’t —
I know.
I’ve tried.
Once, long ago,
In what seems
Like another life
Time said,
“Wait…”
And I waited.
Now, I feel
I might
Have been wrong —
But as always
I’ve again
Learned more
From being wrong
At the right time,
Than right
At the wrong time.
—    KMAB
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On This Day In:
2015	If Only Common Sense Were More Common
2014	PTI
2013	What Now, Then?
2012	Big C, Little B
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A Tiny Ripple Of Hope

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.  Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.
“If Athens shall appear great to you,” said Pericles, “consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty.”  That is the source of all greatness in all societies, and it is the key to progress in our time.
—    Robert F. Kennedy
From: N.U.S.A.S. “Day of Affirmation” Speech
6 June 1966
University of Cape Town, South Africa
[To read the full speech, click here.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2015	Liberating Books
2014	Discover God
2013	Without Witness
2012	Nutritarian

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The Hard Way Every Time

Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile I caught hell for.
—    Earl Warren
Former Chief Justice
United States Supreme Court
[You can find the song’s lyrics on my Poems page.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
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2012	2012 National League Champions – San Francisco Giants!!
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2011	Just Kickin It
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2010	Giants Advance To 2010 World Series!!!

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Unanswered Prayers

Just the other night
at a hometown football game
My wife and I ran into
my old high school flame
And as I introduced them
the past came back to me
And I couldn’t help but think
of the way things used to be
She was the one
that I’d wanted for all times
And each night I’d spend prayin’
that God would make her mine
And if he’d only grant me
this wish I wished
back then
I’d never ask
for anything
again
Sometimes I thank God
for unanswered prayers
Remember when you’re talkin’
to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn’t answer
doesn’t mean he don’t care
Some of God’s greatest gifts
are unanswered prayers
She wasn’t quite the angel
that I remembered in my dreams
And I could tell that time had changed me
In her eyes too
it seemed
We tried to talk about the old days
There wasn’t much we could recall
I guess the Lord knows what he’s doin’
after all
And as she walked away
and I looked at my wife
And then and there
I thanked
the good Lord
For the gifts in my life
Sometimes I thank God
for unanswered prayers
Remember when you’re talkin’
to the man upstairs
That just because he may not answer
doesn’t mean he don’t care
Some of God’s greatest gifts
are unanswered
Some of God’s greatest gifts are all too often unanswered…
Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers
—    Written by: Pat Alger, Larry Bastian and Garth Brooks
—    Performed by: Garth Brooks
[The version I prefer is by Garth Brooks.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t allow most of his work on YouTube, so below is a cover version by Buddy Jewell.  I’m not a fan of Jewell, but this is one of the better covers of this song which I’ve been able to find.  —  KMAB]
—    Video performance by:  Buddy Jewell
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On This Day In:
2014	Pray, v.
2013	As I…
2012	But We Need Room
2011	A Definition Of Leadership

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