: About Me

The Great Adventure of
Tim Stewart
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My life has been an adventure. Being raised on a farm has several advantages, one of them being that your life is controlled by nature, not a clock. You learn to get up with the sun and go down when the work is done. You learn to respect nature and listen to her carefully. On the farm, I learned to hunt and fish at a young age, not necessarily to supplement our diet, but more to relieve stress. Being raised in a farming community meant learning what it was like to help a neighbor when they were down, or accept that help when you were the one recovering. I raised chicken, pigs, cows and Siamese kittens. I drove tractors in the field for all stages from planting the crops to hauling them to market. I rode motorcycles, learned to water ski and drive a pickup truck all before fourteen. I went to church most Sundays with my family, unless there was something on the farm that had to be accomplished. In high school, I played football, basketball and ran track. In track, along with three of my teammates, we set school and state records in the mile and two mile relays.

Then, I had a choice. Join the Army or go to college. I left for basic training on September 14th, 1973, never to return to my home for more than a week's vacation. At <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Ft. Leonard Wood, MO., I learned what it meant to be a soldier. Those lessons carried me to 1998 when I retired as a Captain. During my military career, I had more adventures. I got to be a military policeman, a motor pool dispatcher, a combat medic, an infantry man, an infantry platoon leader, an infantry executive officer and an infantry company commander (twice). I had the great honor of being a trainer at the Officer Candidate School where I was the Distinguished Candidate of Class 29-84. I got to climb rocks, rappel from cliffs, carry M-60 machine guns and fly in helicopters. I got to take a unit to Germany and provide training for one of the elite units in the US Army. The greatest adventure of my life began when I was a MP stationed at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in Denver, CO.

The day was May 6th, 1974. The movie was Papillon starring Steve McQueen. The red head in the front row, that I met on the way out, was April. Six weeks later, I asked her to marry me. We have stayed that way for thirty two years. We have three children, Dawn 31, Shawn 27 and Brandon 25. They have given us three grandchildren, Kailyn 4, Talyor 3 and James 19 months. There are two more on the way on April 5th , 2008, Eathon Michael, and April 6th, 2008, Jesse James, bringing the total to five. April is a Registered Nurse in a Cardiac Rehab clinic. Her patients believe she is an angel, and so do I.

I have come a long way from the farm, but there are lessons from the farm that will never leave me. 1. Treat all living things with respect. 2. If you plant it, it might grow. 3. If you nurture it after you plant it, it will grow. 4. If it starts growing and nature stops it through wind, hail or other events, don't get mad at nature. Plant it again and move on. 5. If someone needs your help, don't wait for them to ask, just pitch in. 6. Do the right things for the right reasons. 7. Make the lady of the house happy. If momma is happy, then everyone is happy. 8. Work hard, play fair, win with humility and lose with grace. 9. Play with children to keep yourself young. 10. Marry a red head.

My great adventure keeps getting better. I thank God for my red head, my children and their children, and all of the adventures that I have had so far. I look to the future, no matter what it may hold. I know that this farm boy and his red head will keep on keeping on.

Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Spiritual

9 of 596

I Owe It To My Friend Time was passing quickly by, And leaving me behind. The muscles that once were my pride, Were getting hard to find. If I was going to be in shape, In this life again, I knew the time had come, I had to do it then. So, I said a word up to the Lord, To help me through the miles, And started off upon a run, That first one held no smiles. At the end of that first week, Of running the same old boring course, I reached the end of my drive way, I felt strong as a new born horse. At the end of the second week, I had to face the facts. I wasn't going to make it, Running got th...

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