He wasn't a horse, He was Secretariat

Well, this has been an okay day. I went to Abuelos in Tulsa and mainly just relaxed and awaited
the election results to come in. My brother-in-law, Jesse James, was running for the School Board
and he won so he will be there another 5 years to watch over Laney and little Landon as they grow
up. I'm hoping he will be watching over my kids as well....IF I ever do have any. I have my moments
of doubt to be sure but I'm always reminded of the possibilities out there in life if you just look
around. If you can believe. People nowadays don't believe in anything anymore. I used to be that
way until my grandfather flipped that light back on for me and took away all that darkness. It just
took a few more years for it all to come to fruition or for the seed to finally blossom that was
planted that day I held his hand as he passed away.

I know the kind of person that I am. I know the kind of person I was. All that is well and good with
my soul. Now, it's time to start being the person that I know I can be. Time to leave what's in the past
where it is and not be caught up in the forests of the present but to look at the big picture. I will not
give up. I will stand ready and do things the right way.

I have learned so many things since grandpa died. I learned that, sometimes, you can go home
again. I learned that death truly has no sting in the face of love. My grandfather has been gone
for almost 4 years and yet his life and words live just as strongely as ever before. He told me
that love is stronger than hate. Belief is stronger than doubt. And that it's better to have faith in
something then to seek refirmation or evidence around every corner. Sometimes, the impossible
is just what people need to see in their lives.

I'd like to talk about that for a moment if I may. Maybe it is just more pronounced due to us
living in this age of social networking but this generation has lost faith in everything. What is
life without it? We, as a society, have been beaten down so much that we never consider the
possibilities of miracles or silly stuff like magic. I'm not saying to break out a spellbook. The
kind of magic I'm talking about is the look on a child's face when you hand them their candy
after scanning it in the checkout line. They just light up and can't stop smiling at you because you
did something nice for them. Being that it's Valentine's Day, what about that feeling you get when
your sweetheart spontaniously kisses you while it's snowing or standing out in the rain? That's
the kind of magic I'm talking about.

What about innocense? Isn't having that magic? What about coming back to it after 10 long years
of being lost and jaded? That's my story. Can someone find their innocense again? I think they
can. Now, that is truly a miracle. I was as niave and innocent as any good Santa Claus-fearing,
Tooth Fiary-hunting young child once. I was so idealistic and wanted to change the world. I was
being trained to be a preacher when my whole world came apart and I lost that little boy somewhere
along the way. I found alcohol and hate instead. I was so angry inside and mad at the world. I thought
that God had something against me or something. I was even mad at Him for not giving me the
only thing I ever asked for....a wife and a family. I didn't want riches or money or fame...just a
wife to come home to  and kids to play with.

What I didn't understand that was He was simply answering my prayers and forging something he
could use..a weapon if you will against the same hate I was feeling and probably many others were
to. I felt every swing of His hammer and every lick of the fire as he would cast me back in to melt.
Oh, and the cooling waters that would strengthen my resolve. Looking back now, I can see where
I wasn't even close to being ready. Now, I feel the strongest I've ever been. I will not break nor will
I bend. I will stand resolute in the face of the challenges that lie ahead. Like I said, death has lost
it's sting. I fear it not. I will greet it as an old friend when that time comes. I seek to be the shoulder
people run to for support and protection. I will not accept anything but victory.

Hope is such a funny thing. There appears to be none until one person decides to take one step...
a leap of faith and then people start having hope and believing again. I have found that people say
they don't need anything to believe in but themselves but I view that as a lie...one we all are guilty
of telling ourselves. The reality is that be can't do things on our own. We need other people in our
lives or we will always fall short. Too many times, we have placed people on podiums. That will
always fail. The only way things last in this world is by movements. People need something to get
behind. Something that brings both acceptance and freedom. I have spent all my life studying
people and trends. There are two true movements in this world. Hate and Love. Fire and Ice. George
R. R. Martin has the BEST title for his series. :P If you give people something that restores their
hope, their beliefs, and their innocense then they will follow you. They don't follow titles but
movements. So, by example, when a horse like Secretariat wins the Triple Crown, people see
something with greatness, of glory, or something divine they had lost faith in and they cling to it.
That image they hold in their minds is undeniable and irreplaceable. They hold onto to pictures of
the event or moment like holy relics because it sybolises a dream for them. A dream of something
better than themselves. A dream that lifts them from their circumstances and gives them hope.
That's the reason people still talk about the 1972 Miami Dolphins or Hannibal Barca against the
Romans or even the Spartans of Greece facing the mighty Persian fleet. It's holy to them and
cannot be blemmished from their mental images. Let's all work to create something like this.
Let's do something greater than ourselves. Give back to the world today. The future is uncertain
and the end is always near.

My grandfather would be my relic. He makes me better than I would ordinarily be. He was just
an ordinary farmer and easygoing person but it's what he represents to me that makes the
difference. And, we all learned in Salem's Lot that it's not the cross but the belief in it that kills
the vampire. :) I uplift those around me and I build bridges. That's what I do.

I will never give up. I'm just like Secretariat and my best races are just ahead of me. Let the journey
begin.

-Thork