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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

TRIBUTE TO MOM

A few days after my Mom passed away in 1993 I was meditating and wrote this to help me remember how I felt at the time. And now it has been 21 years ago and Mothers Day is approaching so I thought I would post it.

                             TRIBUTE TO MOM
I once read a poem called “no tears for me.”
I thought at Mom’s funeral, how could that be?
I know life was good for both she and Dad,
But death must make everyone feel very sad.

Then I thought to myself, death is not the end.
It is a new beginning, perhaps never to end.
Death is not a foe, but an inevitable adventure,
If we do not to Satan, our souls indenture.

We should recall our Mom with a smile and a grin,
The tall proud lady, with gray hair, ----thin,
Who would give her all for her family on earth?
And worried for the “little ones” from their time of birth.

We all loved her and she loved us in return.
She has left this earth now, to Dad to return,
To a glorious reunion which is past the grave.
For those left behind, we must be brave.

This old world of ours in the land of the dying,
She leaves us mortals sad, lonely and crying.
The next step, where she is, is the land of the living,
Where many others will meet her, with their love giving.

Her rocker is quiet, her needles are still.
She lived her life with a very strong will.
She took care of others her whole life through.
Small acts of kindness, she did continually do.

As death comes, we complete our mission in life.
We remember the good times and not the strife.
Death opens up the doors of immortality,
I hope Mom and Dad will be there to greet me.

Our shell which we leave in the grave so cold
Is not really us, or so we have been told.
Our soul has arisen, too much greater heights
We will walk with our loved ones in Heavenly Lights.

Carnations and roses will come from friends this day.
Sometimes flowers show to others what we cannot say.
Mom was a jewel, she did even sometimes glow.
What we did not expect was for her to go.

It is as natural to die as it is to be born,
And those left behind will always mourn.
But we can all meet again, in our Heaven above,
If we live our lives right and are full of love.

Many await us in the glorious hereafter.
Mom has met Dad and they are both full of laughter.
The meeting was joyous and happy above
When Mom met our Dad and her family with love.

Dad was waiting for Mom, and they now wait for us
Whether we get there or not seems to be up to us.
The way has been opened and in Heaven they wait
It is up to us, to use the keys and open the gate.

By W.R. Baldwin

11 Feb 1993

Friday, April 25, 2014

SERENITY


















If you want a place that is calm, serene and quiet-- This is the place for you.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Baldwin Heritage

This was written Jan. 1st, 1996 while I was thinking about the Utah State Centennial Celebration.

                             HERITAGE                  
What is the heritage of the Baldwin Clan?
It is probably much like any other man.
Heritage is something that comes to belong
To a person by birthright, be it right or wrong.

It is an inherited thing that a family does own.
Usually the family, not one person alone.
It could be wealth. Or position or a thought,
But usually by hard work or by sweat it is bought.

Of the Baldwin’s, in days past many were teachers,
But also I’ve found that many were preachers.
There were many who settled on the Ohio plains,
There were many who suffered great grief and pains.

Caleb and Nancy, were at least two, who did say,
Lets listen to Parley, he may show us the way.
And listen they did as he taught them the truth.
About this new religion, their hearts had the proof.

Our heritage, through Caleb, is a blessing you see,
As members if the Church, for the whole family.
Would we have been members, as we are today
If Caleb had not listened to Parley that day?

Caleb was strong in the faith, and we got that clue
By the way he was involved in the battle—Big Blue.
Caleb did languish with Joseph, in a Missouri jail,
At Liberty where they became hungry and frail.

Our heritage is great as a family you see.
To love one another, does greatly please me.
For the Baldwin’s to be close, is all I would ask.
But sometimes I wonder if we are up to the task,


We are no longer called to give great sacrifice,
Nor to languish in a jail that is as cold as ice
The way Caleb and Joseph did many years in the past.
But we must live our lives so that our faith will last.

The heritage of the Baldwin’s as I can see
Is to pass on to our children from you and from me
A faith in their lives that is strong and bold,
Like the faith in the lives of our ancestors of old.

Are we honest and faithful and up to the task
To impart to our children the truths they do ask.
Do we love them, and help them, and cause them to cheer.
Do we truly and honestly their lives revere?

If we can say yes to the questions above,
Our heritage is safe, and so is our love
For our children, our life, our teachings, our home.
Then the Baldwin Clan, will never need be alone.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

SOLITAIRE & RETIREMENT

Sorting out more old files tonight and found this. I must have written before I got a computer as I seem to have been playing solitaire at kitchen table at home.. That would have been in about 1997. A lot of things has happened since that time. A lot of them I did not even think about happening way back in what my grandkids think were the "horse & buggy" days.


SOLITAIRE & RETIREMENT
He sat at the table playing Solitaire
No outside work today, with frost in the air.
It was Wed., or Thurs., or some other day,
They all run together now, like a Saturday.

If he wanted to work or to loaf, or perhaps play,
He could do what he wanted, any given day.
He has dug in the yard and gave the lawn a trim
Then “don’t over-do”, his wife would tell him.

He knew it was facetious, this saying of hers.
It was like under a saddle a bunch of burrs,
To get him to move, or to buck or to run,
 But not me today, not unless it is for fun.

It seems strange to have every day as a day off,
Except when you’re sick or you’re starting to cough.
To do genealogy is too hard on the brain,
If you are sick it causes your body to strain.

You have to think, and to process the facts that you find.
It’s easier to play solitaire, than get in a bind,
By trying to do something to tax your recall.
It might even be better to do nothing at all?

I have been retired now for a month, no it’s two.
I’ve been able to keep busy, there is plenty to do.
But I am glad to get out of that every day grind,
To leave all the complaints and gripes far behind.

I miss all the friends I made along the way,
Those that I met with day after day.
My life will now take a new turn I hear.
I’ll spend much more time with those I hold dear.
My consort, my friend, my companion, my wife
With whom I will spend the rest of my life.
And even when life has ended I pray,
In Eternity we will see each other, each day.

As I play solitaire, and out the window I stare
Does it cause anxiety, and give me reason to care
About more important things, in my time of distress
Or am I sick enough to cause worry or cause stress?

“Of course not,” I say to myself with concern,
But these cardboards should go in the fire to burn.
The scriptures I could read, or a classic or two.
It’s not like I sit here with nothing else to do.

A letter could be written to my children or a friend,
Or a note to a grandchild, in the mail I could send
To tell them I love them and I am here to help solve them
Whenever they have one of life’s little problems.

I could write to my sweetheart and tell of devotion,
Or of appreciation she feels in times of commotion.
I depend on her and her unconditional love
To calm my emotions, like balm from above.

The cardboards still slap on the table with haste
As I think of all the time I must waste.
While playing solitaire, as out the window I stare
Thinking, I must stop this game now for other things that I care.



Written by W.R. Baldwin in April 1997
while suffering with a cold and cough,
but not really sick.

Friday, April 4, 2014

NAMES

                                                                          NAMES
                          NAMES
What is your name, the stranger asked?
I told him Baldwin, as he went on past.
I thought to myself later that day,
What’s in a name, what does it say?

By your name you are known, for good or bad.
Your name, you inherited from Grandpa and Dad.
Some names are glorious, some trip off the tongue.
Some known for evil, and some, heroes unsung.

One thing I’m sure of, as sure as can be
I want no one to steal my good name from me.
Not Father or Mother or Daughter or Son,
Will tarnish the name our family has won.

When I think, can I sin a little today,
I think of my name and temptation goes away.
Your name is something to cherish and praise.
Children with a good name, we hopefully raise.

Don’t steal another’s good name, no way.
By gossip or lying or whatever you say.
Let your name be integrity and consideration,
If it is, you will be known throughout the nation.

As one whose name is as good as his word,
Not someone just shouting, his voice to be heard.
If your name is good, you are solid as gold,
People will trust you, your confidence hold.

A good name means a lot in temporal things,
But think how much more, when an angel sings.
When you have gone past the veil and shut the door
And you face justice for your name, only once more.

Were the people on earth very proud of you?
Did you do all the things you said you would do?
Did the name you carried make you very proud?
Did you ponder these questions as you passed by a cloud?

Will you always remember as you go through the day,
Your name could be blemished by the things you say?
Or it might be revered by those you meet,
By the way you act, and not some heroic feat.

A name you are given at the time of your birth,
The name you’ll be known by while here on earth.
That name may be changed in the heavens above,
As we pass through the gates to our Father’s love.

Be proud of your name and the works that you do.
By that name you are given, we will all know you.
In England our name means “Bold Winner:” they say.
Don’t tarnish the name that you’re known by today.


W.R. Baldwin
16 March 1993
THE COAT OF ARMS SHOWN AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE IS THOUGHT TO 
BE CONNECTED TO MOST OF THE BALDWIN'S IN THE UNITED STATES.