Gordon L. Ewell - GORDY-ISMS

Engineer Castle

Also by Gordon L. Ewell

DUNG IN MY FOXHOLE

A SOLDIERS ACCOUNT OF THE IRAQ WAR, AND HIS POST WAR STRUGGLES WITH INJURY AND PTSD THRU POETRY

A LIFETIME AT WAR

LIFE AFTER BEING SEVERELY

WOUNDED IN COMBATNEVER

ENDING DUNG

GORDY-ISMS BOOK TWO

UPLIFTING AND THO UGHT-
PROVOKING QUOTES; PROVERBIAL

DUNG FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOP

LOOKING FOR THE LIGHT FROM THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

INSPIRATIONAL POETRY

Copyright 2019 by Gordon L. E well.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any resposibility for them.

isbn 978-1-948828-76-5 (sc)

isbn 978-1-948828-77- (e)

Poetry / Self-help / Biography

2019 | 08 | 02

Access Media Group

Gordon L. Ewell Books

For Scarlett Olivia and Lincoln Abby gale,
Daddys Princesses

People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.

Maya Angelou

Contents

List of Illustrations

Illustrations are listed in the order which they appear. First is its name, then its location within the book

01. Engineer Castle (frontisp iece)

02. Coffee Hands (first page of secti on 1)

03. Glass Half-Full (first page of secti on 2)

04. Mantle Clock (first page of secti on 3)

05. Piggy Bank (last page of secti on 3)

06. Love (first page of secti on 4)

07. Winged Heart in Healing (last page of secti on 4)

08. Volunteer Hands (first page of secti on 5)

09. Bonding Hands (last page of secti on 5)

10. Lincoln Memorial (first page of secti on 6)

11. M1A1 Battle Tank (last page of secti on 6)

12. Iron Cross (first page of secti on 7)

13. Angel Wings (last page of secti on 7)

14. Battle Cross (last page of book)

PREFACE

If only I could hold the momentto reach out my hand and stop time. But in this I err. For to hold the note is to spoil the song.

Richard Paul Evans

If I had but a quarter for every time, I wished that I could stop time, or rather go back in time and then stop time, I would be a millionaire. I was severely injured in the war in Iraq in 2006. A career soldier, I was proud of my chosen profession. I was honored to be a defender of freedom. I was among the very best at what I did as a soldier. When I was called upon to go to war, of course I had some fears. But one thing I knew is that I would come home. I had confidence in my skills, my training, and knew well the dangers of my mission and was prepared for it. I knew I would be successful and come home. I never dreamed I would come home severely wounded. My mission was, in a nutshell, to find the roadside bombs and ensure other teams with this dangerous mission had the latest intelligence, the skills, and the equipment to be successful as well. At the time, there were over three thousand one hundred roadside bombs being found or finding our soldiers every month, over one hundred every day. A vehicle I was riding in was blown up on six different occasions. One bomb blast too many left me severely wounded... permanently disabled for the rest of my life. Something I never dreamed would happen. With a long, lonely, and painful recovery road to travelto get put back together as best that forty-nine different health care specialists, surgeries, stays in six different hospitals in three different states, including a level one polytrauma hospital in Palo Alto, California, and years of therapies afterward could doI found myself many times wanting to stop time prior to getting wounded in combat. I didnt want to have a broken neck, a severe traumatic brain injury, and permanent neurological damage. I did not want to lose an eye, to be legally blind and deaf. I didnt want to need a wheelchair, a walker, and canes to get around. I didnt want to never be able to drive a vehicle again, to be homebound, to be in chronic pain, or to suffer daily with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). I didnt want to be on a liquid diet for over four years while getting my face and mouth rebuilt. I wanted to stop time to a period in my past when I was happy, carefree, and in prime physical condition. But indeed, six years now have passed, and I realize now, as author Richard Paul Evans said, To hold the note is to spoil the song! Though broken, I have been blessed beyond measure, in ways I could never could have been, or even imagined, prior to my combat injuries. To hold the note, I would have missed a very beautiful song. I have an appreciation for and depth of understanding for life and love and the fragility of both I never would have ever had. I have an appreciation and an eye for the beauty in everything around me I never would have seen before. I am grateful for my life. I feel ble ssed.

Just what is a Gordy-ism?

There were times during my recovery and rehabilitation, years in fact, that were very dark and full of pain and agony. More than once, suicide seemed like a brighter alternative. Just to make it through a single day was a big victory. I told myself, if I could think of just one single positive thought, or a thing to be thankful for at the beginning of each day, that when pain or dark images were getting unbearable, if I could pull out my thought and read it out loud or even just hold the small piece of paper I wrote it on in a closed fist, it would help me get through the darkness. Or at least let enough light in that I could just make it through the day. I would focus on one day at a time, just a day at a time. I would do this every day. It seemed to help. I soon began sharing my daily thoughts with others who were fighting their own battles of recovery, along with me, in different hospital stays, and with a few people in general that were close to me. They began to look forward to my little daily thoughts to share with them.

My first name is Gordon. Everyone calls me G ordy.

My peers began to refer to my thoughts for the day as Gordy- isms.

It stuck, and so began the birth of Gordy-isms, and it is a practice I continue to do each day. I think of something positive each morning and write it down to start my day. I now share them in my writings and on the computer with others via the Internet on my websites and Facebook p ages.

What is the purpose of Gordy-isms?

They are short and inspirational, uplifting, or thought-provoking little quip-its, or they are intended to be anyway. A little thought to start your day with a s mile.

I hope you enjoy them! I hope they bring smiles, warm your heart when needed, and perhaps provide a laugh or two when needed as well.

I dont profess to be full of profound wisdom or have some superior depth of intellectual insight into the mind, body, and soul or profess to have the answers to any of lifes quest ions.