As I face nine hours of surgery on the 25th

A repeat of a similar exercise four years ago

At least from the hazards

I have the best surgeon in Ohio

Perhaps one of the top ten in the country

He did it once

And when he told me the cancer was back

"One down for double" was my reply

I want to live

My mantra had been

"I don’t want to survive, I want to thrive"

And that hasn’t changed

I have three simple prayers

"Lord let me live"

"Lord let me see"

"Lord let me eat"

"Lord let me talk"

Amazing you can distill your existence

Into these four simple desires

Like the last I have a bucket list

I want to see Elsa graduate

From High School

She is going into fourth grade

Deke and Al the same

Jr and Frosh

I want to see Daughterof OhioHawk

Remarried

And Patrick is one cool dude

I want to take Mrs.OhioHawk

for a week on the Mississippi

On a houseboat

With the kids

And see the kin in Ferryville

while I am at it

Just living to hang out with

Mary Mary Quite Contrary

Will do

She is my heart and my soul

Aka Mrs. OhioHawk

You all have given me so much

In our time together

Rather as

An extended family

And you know what they say about that

You can’t pick ‘em

But you have to live with them

Golf, played for fifty five years

Good as a kid, a hack now

Last round before surgery I just asked God

To let me break 80

Two over 73 with a birdie at the last

Three over on the front, one under on the back

I am grateful

I have loved the Hawks

Since I worked at the State Library

In Death Moinez

I was used to orange and blue

Were loyal to you

The only B1G team with HS colors and fight song

Et al

Then DaughterofOhioHawk gets

A journalism degree from IC

And moves to purgatory aka Ames

But I did get to see whomever

Stuff forty in on Kansas in Hilton

Pretty thin highlight reel

I could never become a Buckeye fan

To arrogant, to insolent

I feel bad I buy season basketball tickets there

Just to watch B1G

And the one time I met Hayden

Was enough to convince me

There need not be more

I have said this before perhaps

In different ways,,,,

There is integrity and honesty

And a truthfulness

(Farta excluded)

About the mass of Iowa humanity

Good people doing good things in a great place

Sure it has warts and farts upwind

We could make a list a mile long

Of a young man like Gatens

He just tried his best

And worked hard

And bore the fruit

As oh so many other Hawks have

I think what I love most about Iowa

Is that success comes from effort

And dedication

Whatever happens I bring that same spirit

To my fight with cancer

I did what they told me

And let them bolt my head to a table

Thirty three times for twenty seven minutes

That can never happen again

And I will do the same this time

I pray for four things

I want to live

I want god to give my doctor this skill

So I can still see, eat and talk

I know your prayers are with me

And I don’t need more than that

Thanks for being my friend,

Thanks for being here for me

I have tried to give

A little more than I have taken

"Is this heaven?

No, it’s Iowa"

Go Hawks