My Nana has died

Hi folks!

I just got word yesterday that my grandmother, on my dad's side, Nana, has passed away. I think she was 83 or 84. I remember her 80th birthday a few years back.

Anyway, this was one of the strongest women I have ever met, and her life story may be the reason why I have so much respect for all the women I meet professionally and personally. She was a single mom, and put her kids through school working nights, or whatever was necessary to raise them.

My dad is the product of this woman's effort to make a life for her kids that would be better than her own. And those of us who have descended from this effort have enjoyed a better and better life as we now grow older. We all appreciate the time and tears that were spent with a view toward the future....to us.

And now she's gone. I cry with my dad and all of the family. Even though I cannot be at the funeral because it's kind of far to fly to Pittsburgh from Erbil.

I wrote a couple of songs to get my feelings out, because my shrink says that's the way to go when under severe stress.

I must give credit to my favorite cartoonist, Stephan Pastis, who does Pearls Before Swine, for the inspiration for the first one I will share.....the other one is just from me.

Nana used to tease us when we were kids....She would say "Pull my finger" and then launch a ripper. Well pull my finger and see if this stuff stinks......



No Climbing on the Wall

Intro.
Insh’allah
I won’t have to climb up that wall
Insh’allah,
There will be nothing to fear at all


V1
The gates of heaven stand before us
We’ve got nothing left to say
The paths we’ve tread, the lives we’ve led
Speak in their own way.

And it’s too late to restore us.
And it’s hard to ignore us.

Ref.
Let the good Saint Peter beware,
We’re gonna get in there
‘Cuz there’s nothing like the fear of hell,
Nothing but the screams
That take up all your dreams.

V2
We’re gonna climb the walls to heaven
‘Cuz we know that God’s in there
We’re gonna sit down, take the crown
And take the highest chairs

At the table of the king
Like the prodigal with his ring

Bridge:
My God if I offend you
It ain’t because I’m meanin’ to.
Just that every time I turn around
Somebody’s beat me down
And I want to get there before him.

V3
If you can’t make it I have a ladder.
Or maybe you just have to dream harder.
The path to the kingdom is a narrow road
And you’ll be bearing a heavy load.

At the table of the king
Like the prodigal with his ring.

Ref.

Coda:
Let St. Peter man the gate
But we’re not gonna wait
We’ll climb the walls,
We’ll climb the walls,
Into heaven.


Farewell My Nana

There are no words to describe
And there’s nowhere I can hide


V1
You made my daddy who he was to me
You made my dear daddy bold enough to see
Through the pain and the fog
And he’s given all he could give to me

Ref.


You made my daddy,
You made my soul,
Please let me help you,
Help you climb the wall,
Into heaven.

V2.
We’ve all got puppets and Barbie dolls,
But Nana you were real.
Always gentle always kind,
Despite some wrong ideas,
You always had your mind.
Until you lost it.
Stolen by the sickness,
I love you, I love you in my weakness.

V3
I think there’s a place for you, waiting up above
And the only ones who ever get in,
are those who live in love.
So go lightly, go lightly with the Lord
You fear no more sorrow
And you do not fear the sword.

Bridge:

May you be blessed with the rest of the weary
The rest of us are stressed with eyes that are teary.
Build for us a bridge to the kingdom
Our souls may be lost
But we don’t yet know the cost.


Ref.

V4
Take your place at the table,
The banquet promised us in the Bible.
Sleep the sweet sleep of saints above,
And know that we surround you with our love.
You made my daddy, and this man is still here yet,
And as far as my Nana goes, I never will forget.

Ref.

Bridge

Ref.

Coda:
The end is always near
Some say there’s nothing to fear
But on that day
Are you sure you can just get away?

Sometimes you just gotta get words on paper, or else go crazy. Maybe I have already reached that point and it's a war of attrition. I hope not.

Anyway, I promised it would be a bonus day!

Love and Peace to All! Pray for my Nana, may she rest in peace!