To all the girls I've loved before

Who travelled in and out my door

I'm glad they came along

(by Willie Nelson)

or

Some new glimpses of Jim

The plan: to show how the different women I have encountered have affected my life. Willie and I run a little on parallel tracks. My life has echoed the Old Testament in that there are some rough places followed by fairly good behavior.

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You will see that some of these women have helped me for the better when their help was needed. They came along at just the right time for me. I'm glad. There will be some asides, of course; observations of features or events which one could not conceive having any effect on me.

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One thing for sure, not everything will be published. Some women will not be mentioned. Several ladies will not be identifiable. I will let every present character know ahead of time to ensure I don't embarrass them too much.

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Fairly chronological in order, Mom will be first.

A few things:

one: I have always been faithful to the one I've been married to.

two: not everything will be published.

three: everything will be true--do I ever stretch the truth? I won't in these!

four: expect these only once a week or so.  Why would I want to do this?

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The idea first came to me when I presented my Christian walk testimony at a monthly men's prayer breakfast group. I even had purchased a Willie Nelson CD to play this song. And I had written a lot of notes.

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I didn't take the CD. I'm not sure why but it sure wouldn't have been appropriate on that day. Our organist and his family would provide the music program before my talk. He is a graduate student at Rice University, working on a Masters of Music. She and the boys are wonderful singers. And the music was wonderful. My attempt of humor using the Willie CD would not have served my intended purpose.

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In the back of my mind there is a desire to write my memoirs. I will not be writing an autobiography. Memoirs are told in story form, with a theme or plot. One book of memoirs would be along the lines of these coming blogs. There probably is more than enough material for just one book. The problem is, nothing for the book(s) has been put into writing. It may never be. So this will record a part of it.

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An aside--I have several other books in mind. One is a historical novel, one a 'how to' book of devotions, and another I won't mention.

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My old retirement joke goes, "What are you going to do now that you are retiring?"

My answer, "Finish my book." 

The Retort, "I didn't know you were writing one!"

Again, my answer, "I'm not, I'm reading one."

That is just about true. For several years I have been reading Mark Twain's Traveling with the innocents abroad: Mark Twain's original reports from the Holy Land. I just can't get it finished.

Twain was on contract with a San Francisco newspaper while on his cruise/tour of the Holy Land and was obligated to write letters for publication for his papers. The letters later would be the gist of his Innocents Abroad.

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Here goes.

. To All The Girls I've Loved Before . To all the girls I've loved before Who travelled in and out my door I'm glad they came along I dedicate this song To all the girls I've loved before . To all the girls I once caressed And may I say I've held the best For helping me to grow I owe a lot I know To all the girls I've loved before . The winds of change are always blowing And every time I try to stay The winds of change continue blowing And they just carry me away . To all the girls who shared my life Who now are someone else's wives I'm glad they came along I dedicate this song To all the girls I've loved before . To all the girls who cared for me Who filled my nights with ecstasy They live within my heart I'll always be a part Of all the girls I've loved before . The winds of change are always blowing And every time I try to stay The winds of change continue blowing And they just carry me away . To all the girls we've loved before Who travelled in and out our doors We're glad they came along We dedicate this song To all the girls we've loved before . To all the girls we've loved before Who travelled in and out our doors We're glad they came along We dedicate this song To all the girls we've loved before.

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Lyrics: http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Shores/5498/page3.html

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Previously posted for the main part in Jim's Little Blog on January 3, 2006