Bartman

I set this space up at the urging of several friends, although I don't know why, as I seldom have time to spend on it. Nevertheless, here it is.I have had a pretty good life so far, and although things may not be as I would want them to be, I have little to complain about. For those of you who think that my life has been a bed of roses, then you don't know me very well. I have used hair dryers to warm the sheets of my bed before putting my son in it, and crawling in next to him to keep him warm, while ice accumulated on the ceiling of the bedroom from the steam off of a hot water leak in the bathroom.I've picked cotton up off the side of highways, that had blown out of trails, to supplement my income and help put food on my family's table. I've worked long hours for months on end, and have at times been very successful financially. I've been rich and poor, and will be in both places again. The richest of times are not what they are cracked up to be. I would have traded everything I had just a chance of having someone to share it with. The poorest of times has left me with some of my best memories.I never learned a damn thing by being successful. But I've learned a hell of a lot by my failures. I attribute my success to the belief that:"That success is never final, and failure is never fatal."I don't believe in age. It's a number, not a way of life. What counts is what is in your heart and your joy of living life. I have always tried to live my life to the fullest, and so far, have very few regrets. I've done most everything I've ever wanted to do, and sometimes did it two or three times.My greatest enjoyments in life have been from my two children, Cody and April, and from my truest of friends, like Lacy, KK, and Hannah, all of whom I trust without hesitation or limitations.My goals in life have changed over the years, but the biggest one has always been to be even half the man that my father is, and that both of my grandfathers were.