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TAMPA BAY • FEBRUARY 23-24 2026

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If There Is A Heaven … I Know You Are There

I didn’t get to say goodbye to my Dad, He was a very quiet man. He smiled a lot and was very kind. You could spend all day with him and he would never say a word. It has taken me a long time to understand him and according to my family, I am a lot like him. So, Dad, this poem is for you.


If there is a heaven, I know that you are there working the fields, watching things grow, and if there is a newspaper, there you are reading it with your morning coffee and your dog by your side.

If there is a heaven, I know that you are there having Sunday dinner with all your family and friends, Homemade biscuits and mashed potatoes, sweet tea and warm apple pie. I can see your smile and hear your laughter.

If there is a heaven, I know that you are there working on your old ’49 Ford pickup truck, Polishing the finish, stepping back and looking with pride at your handiwork.

If there is a heaven, I know it’s filled with people like you, and I know now that you were always there for me. You have taught me that there were many words in your silences now that I know how to listen. You have taught me and guided me for all these years.

I know now that your deeds have stood the test of time that you didn’t leave me without guidance and knowledge. Who you were has helped me be who I am. I know that you were a good man, a good father, and a loving husband. Your silence gave birth to my words. 

Goodbye Pops


Point Of View: Every time I see an old truck speeding down a dirt road with a cloud of dust trailing behind it I always smile. While we grow up and become who we are a part of us will always be influenced by those that cared for us and helped us grow up. He truly did influence my life more by what he did than what he said and by the things he left behind.

Larry Tyler
Larry Tyler
Awaken the possibilities … then unleash them. After 55 years of successful retail management, I have returned to my passion of writing. I write Poetry, Storytelling, and Short Stories. As a child, I grew up on front porch storytelling. I would sit and listen to my Dad and his brothers tell these great stories that were captivating, and I always wanted to hear more. I wanted to experience the things they talked about. I started writing at a young age and reading everything I could get my hands on. At twelve years old I started a storytelling group and several of my friends became writers or poets. At 16 I hopped box cars and worked the tobacco fields, orange groves, picked cotton, and spent many nights around a campfire listing to life stories. Someone once asked me why I wrote. It consumes an amazing amount of time and I assure you it is not going to make me rich. I write so that my children can touch and feel my words telling of the ones that came before us and the stories they told me. These are the chronicles of our family and even though they come from my childhood memories and are deeply rooted in a child’s remembrance at least they may feel what it was like in the time before them and cherish the things the elders left behind. I am a Columnist & Featured Contributor, BIZCATALYST360 and I have The Writers Café, a group on LinkedIn that features Poets, Writers, Artists, Photographers, and Musicians . On Facebook I have two groups and one page; Dirt Road Storytelling, From Abandoned To Rescue Dogs And Cats, and About Life, Love And Living. As writers, it is true that we honestly do not know what we hold within us until we unleash it. When our words inspire others only then will inspiration return to the writer. I will spend my twilight years in search of the next story, the next poem, and the next image. I will take the time to enjoy my Wife, our Dogs, and Cats, and our amazing new home and I will always find the time to walk down a dirt road I truly hope is that I never have to read another book on Leadership, be on a conference call or see another plan o gram as these were the tool for what I did in life and not about who I am.

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15 CONVERSATIONS

  1. Larry, I know there is a Heaven and your father is a part of it, proved in the book Dreams That Can Save Your Life, that Dr. Larry Burk and I wrote, published by Inner Traditions April 17th. Throughout the 36 stories in the book and during their darkest hours patients saw deceased loved ones in their dreams. Their dead parents, husbands, and children brought them life-saving information that was then validated by pathology reports. In a way, it proves love is something we can take with us.

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