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TAMPA BAY • FEBRUARY 23-24 2026

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Resting By The River

She placed a single rose on the cold marble headstone.  I often wonder if she did it for him or for her own comfort, an uncontrollable desire to touch something that is gone.  Perhaps it is a desire to remind her of a memory that slowly fades as time goes by.

I also wonder why coming here brings her peace.  Does she honestly think that he is resting in the quiet field by the river?  It is a question I cannot really answer, yet I know that thought comforts her?  It is sadness that we, for some reason, have a need and desire to touch that which is gone.

The truth is probably something that we avoid saying out loud that he is gone, a spirit traveling the universe at the speed of light or walking on golden fields where the soil is black and moist.  The skies would be blue, the air warm and embracing.  I must confess that it is more my dream because in truth you are somewhere beyond my dreams.

Did you know by your leaving our lives would change forever?  I do not think her heart ever let go of you nor has the love ever dimmed.  I must ask would life have been different if you had been here to guide us, could you have helped us avoid the pain and mistakes, we would make along the way.

I know she changed, my mom did, or maybe I never knew her like you did.  I do remember how much you loved her and her you.  I am thankful in my life to know the same kind of love and I am not as good at it as you were.  It is your standards I try to live by and like her, I will never forget my time with you.

It is often said you must let go and move on.  I have moved on, but I am sure I will never let you go.  I cannot see a dirt road or a tobacco barn without being that little boy following you down the dirt road trying hard to walk in your footprints you left behind.

I hope that you understand the roses she left behind over the years and that by leaving them behind she found some comfort and peace of mind, for that moment she can return to a better time, the time she spent with you and loving you.

She walks quietly to the car and turns for one more look perhaps to say goodbye.  How can we ever forget how you touched our lives and how truthfully you gave each of us what we needed to live our life to its fullest.

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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5 CONVERSATIONS

  1. Okay now I’m sitting here in the beauty salon with color all over my head and I’m ready to cry, but I can’t. This touched my core being. My parents were creamated and I often wish they were burried some place that I could bring them flowers. Just a peaceful time with each of them alone to talk about anything and everything. Oh I know I can do that anyways but still. Times like these I just really wish I could take them flowers. Really touched my heart. I could picture it perfectly.

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