When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.
Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, They found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.
One nurse took her copy to Melbourne. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.
And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet.
Cranky Old Man
What do you see nurses? . . .. . .What do you see?
What are you thinking .. . when you're looking at me?
A cranky old man, . . . . . .not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .. . . . . . . .. with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food .. . ... . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . .'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . .the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . .. . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . ... lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . .The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking?. .Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse .you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am . . . . .. As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, .. . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . .with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters .. . . .. . who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen . . . .. with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . .. . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . ..my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows .. .. .that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . .I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . .. . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . .. With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons .. .have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, .. ...Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future ... . . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing .. . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . And the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . . . .. and nature is cruel.
It's jest to make old age . . . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles .. .. . grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . A young man still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . . .. . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . .. gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .. . . . .. . . open and see.
Not a cranky old man .
Look closer . . . . see .. .. . .. .... . ME!!
Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within. We will all, one day, be there, too!
PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM!
The best and most beautiful things of this world can't be seen or touched. They must be felt by the heart!
I was on a two week road trip in my transit van. setting off from Cornwall I drove up the A30 stopping the night at Tiverton. The next morning I had a go at fly fishing on the river Exe, next to a bridge. There was quite a few trout rising on the other side of the bridge upstream but no access to the river there, so I tried on the other side where there was access. I noticed a dipper bird flying from rock to rock when we arrived . These dark brown birds resemble small black birds but with a white chest. They are unusual for song birds as they actually dive and swim underwater hunting mainly insect larvae . Although I wasn't getting any bites I did get to practice my casting technique as I am new to fly fishing having bought the fly rod a year or two ago and had only used it about twice in that time.
Above: Fly fishing on the River Exe.
My travelling buddy Awap was watching and started getting bored (he's more into train spotting) so I packed up after an hour. We next drove to look at the huge Wellington Monument up on the Blackdown hills which I might talk more about another time.
We then continued driving up the M5 to Tewkesbury and Cheltenham for a few days to see friends and also do a couple of hours jigging with a silicon-shad for Zander on the Gloucester to Sharpness canal (In Gloucester). No bites there either. My mate Awap had to get back to Cornwall and boarded a coach, meanwhile I continued driving up towards Shropshire to see my parents. I got to Craven Arms in Shropshire and decided to stop at the Shropshire Discovery centre to try for trout and grayling on the River Onny , it's only £5 for a day ticket there. The river here meanders through meadows and woodland , its not very wide there are fast shallow stretches and deeper pools where most of the fish lurk. I started out using a small spinner in the deeper pools and was chuffed to catch two beautiful smallish brown trout with stunning markings, the larger one is pictured here.
I also noticed in places some reasonable size chub but for some reason they seemed to ignore my small spinner. In the wooded areas I noticed some plants that resembled Phlox with white and pink flowers . I have never noticed them growing anywhere in the wild before . I decided to try on the fly rod again. I found a suitable open spot for casting. Above me a Red Kite, a bird of prey that mainly feeds on dead animals such as roadkill, stillborn lambs etc, was soaring over a field of sheep. These birds are now common on the Welsh borders. I saw trout rising in the pool where I had decided to fish and I drifted a dry fly down. The fish rose up and took the fly but I failed to hook it. This was a major advancement for me in fly fishing as it's the first time a fish had taken my fly. My confidence was boosted.
It was getting late and the fish seemed to lose interest so I called it a day as I needed to get to my parents that evening for a meal with them and my two uncles who were also visiting.
After a few fairly enjoyable days at my parents , apart from having terrible hayfever, it was time to continue my travels. I have for considerable time now wanted to look at the region near the source of the river Severn near Llanidloes in Mid Wales, to look at the river in its infancy and also explore the Hafren forest located there. I set off fairly early from my parents house , the journey involved driving south from Oswestry along the A483. I stoppped at various fishing spots along the way for observation purposes rather than fishing.
At the village of Llanymynech I crossed over the border from England into Wales
My first stop was at "the Wern" near Guilsfield ( where a lot of my relatives are from) . This is a stretch of the Montgomery Canal where I used to fish as a lad with my Grandad . Although he had never fished when younger Grandad also enjoyed fishing with me and shared in my enjoyment of catching roach and perch out of the canal using a roach whip. Grandad , William Frederick Rowland, was a glider pilot in World War 2 and was a war hero . He had his arm and leg amputated after being shot down . This was one of the sports he could more easily do, Its a shame he didn't get more into it , he did however love watching his football ... especially Wrexham and Everton.
When I arrived at the Wern I had a bit of a shock, it had been several years since I last visited ... perhaps even over ten years . The water was quite low and it was totally overgrown with vegetation .. mainly it was choked with the floating plants known as Water Soldiers (Stratiotes aloides) . Millions of them , Ive just had a bit of a laugh as I noticed while googling the latin name that Royal Horticultural Society is selling them at £25 for five plants .
A couple of men from the Canal and River Trust appeared on the scene and explained to me that the canal had developed some leaks which is why it was no longer having canal boats pass through and was getting overgrown. As a result of all the aquatic vegetation the canal here is pretty much unfishable but I expect the Tench might be doing very well as they thrive in these kind of conditions .
I continued onwards south down the A483 till I got to Welshpool where I turned off onto the Shrewsbury road so I could look at the River Severn which is near the turning . I parked near the bridge and walked down into a sheep-field to look at the river. There wasn't too much to report there, the water was quite murky , I possibly saw a couple of small chub or dace rising.
I got back on the A483 and continued on down past Welshpool to Newtown . I parked up near the big park that is alongside the River Severn and went onto the footbridge . The river here looked totally different to any previous times I had visited . It was much lower and lots of flat bedrock was exposed . Previously I had probably visited in the winter when water levels were high.
The Joy of the Lord . I want to use these life stories of mine as an opportunity to also share how my faith in God has affected and changed my life and helped me . At the age of twenty I was looking for the meaning to life . I read the books of the Gospels in the New Testament and I realised I needed to ask Jesus into my life, as we all need to . That night I said the prayer and was born again I awoke the next day feeling different , very light like some weight inside me had been dropped and I felt truly alive and joyful for the first time ever. The Holy Spirit of God had come into me, as talked about in the Bible. There have been times in my life since that I have wondered away from God and not seeeked him first in my life, other times I have got overwhelmed with the problems of life , this has usually ended in me becoming very depressed for long periods of time - even as long as two years. In those times I have eventually realised I need to seek God with all my heart, in prayer and meditating on his Bible promises and as he has promised when I seek with all my heart I find Him . The Holy Spirit causes the wonderful Joy of the Lord to once more start bubbling up inside my heart and the evil spirit of depression that was oppressing me has had to leave . This peace and joy that comes from seeking Jesus is so wonderful , better than life itself ... may I never stop seeking him and may I learn not to stray away from a close relationship with Him by lifes many distractions which only give temporary satisfaction.
I left Newtown turning off onto the A489 until I came to Caersws where I parked up in the main village carpark and walked to the bridge over the Severn. Here the river looked perfect for brown trout , fast and slow runs of well oxygenated water , lots of bends , overhanging trees . I followed the river through a low tunnel and came to the football club . I stood on the bank here and saw lots of trout rising for flies. I need to fish here I said to myself . On the way back to the van I saw a sign I hadn't noticed previously saying the fishing rights belonged to Caersws Angling Association and day tickets were available . A chap pulled up in his car , he was about to do an afternoons fishing here . I told him I was quite new to fly fishing and he kindly gave me lots of advice. He also gave me a Deerhair emerger fly that he had tied himself and said they were very effective on this stretch of river.
The price to fish here was £22 ,worth the money but I decided I would come and fish here the next morning as it was already mid afternoon and I would like to get as much fishing time as possible for the money .
Meanwhile I wanted to continue on my mission to Llanidlois and the Hafren Forest, so onwards I drove till quite soon I was at Llanidlois.
I had a quick look at the River Severn in Llanidlois, narrower yet again as each time I stopped it was nearer the source ... I noticed some small trout were rising . I drove over the bridge and followed the sign to the Clywedog Reservoir . The lane became quite steep up into the lush green Welsh hills, I didn't like thinking about my vans' diesel consumption going uphill in these low gears. After a couple of miles I reached a viewpoint with marvellous views down onto the dam which was a fair size and across the reservoir .
Above : Clywedog reservoir.
You couldn't see the whole reservoir as it is serpentine in shape and much of it is hidden behind hills as it twists from side to side. A biker couple were sunbathing on the wall as it was a sunny evening . I got my camping stove out and made a cup of tea , then took my deckchair out onto the viewpoint where I sipped my tea and enjoyed the scenary . As well as the view to my left of the large sparkling blue reservoir there were good vistas to my right across the Severn valley to the high hills beyond. I noticed a lot of young Mountain Ash growing near where I was sitting and also a beautiful Wild Rose with lots of deep-pink single flowers.
After the rest I got back in my van and continued along the lane , up through fields of sheep on the high hill top , across cattle grids and descended down again to the lake shore . There was a long stretch of gravelly beach here and several fly fishermen spaced at intervals far apart along the shore . I chatted to the nearest chap , he was in his late 70s , had driven here 80 miles all the way from Dudley and had been coming here for years. He also liked coarse fishing on the rivers around the Midlands . In his bag were a couple of rainbow trout he had caught.
I drove to the large wooden fishing lodge nearby to find out about day tickets and was happy to discover they also sold lots of fly fishing gear. There arn't many places where you can buy fly tackle these days due to more people buying it online. I purchased a few dry flies ...imitation daddy-long-legs and more of the Deer-hair emergers. I told the joint-owner, a Welshman of about age 40, that I was a newcomer to fly fishing but had been coarse fishing and sea fishing for years . He asked me what caused me to convert and I told him about how lots of fly fishing vids on youtube had inspired me , also that I wasn't exactly converting as I wasn't planning on stopping coarse and sea fishing, this fly fishing was to be in addition !!.
I stood by the jetty near the lodge and watched several boats come in to dock, laden with anglers as it was getting evening . The boats are for hire, but apparently its best to get there very early as they soon all get snapped up.
I then set off again in the direction of the Hafren forest , which I was already on the outskirts of.
I descended down into the forest , which is several miles wide . There were some lovely areas of mature spruce trees, hemlock and pine etc. a few meadows sometimes appeared within the forest. I came to the main parking area and set off walking down to the infant river Severn . Here I was very close to the source. I came to a little footbridge where the tiny river Severn cascaded down a relatively high waterfall . A pretty brown haired lady, who I had seen at the carpark, walked past and we had a little chat. I followed the river upstream and came to a narrow roadbridge . The girl came back from a different direction and we chatted again, her name was Lisa, originally from Brighton but now living in Wales. I said I might get my spinning rod out of my bag, she was surprised there would be any fish in the small river, just then a trout jumped ! I quickly got out my telescopic rod and cast my spinner to where the trout had jumped , in a couple of seconds I hooked the trout and showed Lisa the beautiful markings on the fish , she had never seen a brown trout close up and was suitably impressed by the fish and by my fishing skills!
I caught another trout on the spinner in the same location , fished further upstream for a bit with no more bites , then headed along the riverside footpath into the forest where there were more bridges and scenic views of mature forest and the river running parking through. I was back close to the carpark now and headed back to my van. I was tired after the long eventful day and set off along a different lane following the river Severn down back into Llanidloes. Initially I parked in the industrial estate with some lorries but I think I overheard some drivers complain about vans not being allowed in the lorry area so I found a parking space on the edge of town and enjoyed a bottle of Spitfire ale (my first taste of Spitfire ... very nice ) then I crashed out to sleep for the night.
I got up early next morning at about 8 , my first mission was to find somewhere that sells bacon rolls as I really fancied one , sadly the Subway in Llanidloes wasn't open till 9 so I set off towards Caersws and spotted a roadside cafe halfway along where I got a decent size bacon bap . I continued along to Caersws and when I arrived I went into the premier shop and bought a Caersws A A day ticket.
I parked my van in the official parking area for CAA , where I spoke to the fly fisher the day before. I put on my wellies ( no waders sadly, I need to get them from my mate Chesters caravan) , grabbed my fly rod and landing net and a box of flies and headed to the river.
I decided to head straight to the spot near the football club as it was fairly open with no trees , I would be able to cast easily, plus I had seen a few trout rise there the day before.
I decided to try one of the emerger flies I had purchased from the fishing lodge at Clywedog reservoir.
I waded out into the shallower part of the stretch and noticed a trout rise near the opposite bank just past some overhanging willows. I cast out and my fly drifted near where the trout had risen. Was this to be the first time I catch a trout on the fly? My confidence was up after the near miss on the River Onny a few days previous.
The trout came up and took the fly but I failed to hook it. I did a few more casts in the same spot but the trout seemed to have lost interest.
I tried drifting my fly further down the river where it was quite calm and deeper. I had seen some trout rise there the day before. But there were no takes.
Just then the trout rose opposite me again so I cast back to the same spot and the trout rose and took my fly . The line moved off , I struck and yeehaa I was fighting my first Brown Trout on a fly (and first ever fish on the fly) . Below is the video of this historic occasion ( well historic for me !)
I was totally overjoyed to have caught my first fish on the fly and said a prayer giving my thanks to Jesus .
I then went on to catch another smaller trout
just downstream of the first one. After that I wondered maybe half a mile upstream fishing in various good looking spots along the way but no more fish were to be had. It then started raining and I was feeling quite tired from all the walking so I decided to call it a day. Halfway back to my van I realised I had dropped my landing net but I didn't have the energy to go back and find it so being as it was a fairly cheap one I decided to leave it for another angler to find ... it might come in handy as a spare or to give to a friend.
That evening I carried on driving southish to Llandrindod Wells as that town always brings memories of a fun school trip I went on aged about 11 or 12. I visited for the first time in 42 years the Rock Park at Llandrindod, the old Pump Rooms and especially the "Lovers Leap" a high outcrop of rock overhanging the River Ithon where a broken hearted lover jumped to his death.
Above : "Lover's Leap"
Above: stretch of fence high above the River Ithon that stayed in my memory for 42 years.
I have had for years a clear memory of waking along a narrow path with my school mates, high above the river with a long metal fence to our right , stopping people falling into the river. I found this very same stretch of metal fence and high views of the river and it was a great feeling walking the same footsteps half a lifetime later. The river looked just as brown and murky as I remember it before.
I also went to Llandrindod lake , bought a coffee from the lakeside bar and sat in a little circular pod by the lake ( like a human size hamster wheel with a table and chair inside.) Here on this lake 42 years ago myself and my best mate Alex got screamed at from the shore by one of our teachers Mr Fenwick for wildly rocking a rowing boat we were in. Rosanne my old next door neighbour had to row us to shore. Me and Alex were in fear and dread if being sent back to Woking early. I told the Welsh girl serving in the cafe the story, she laughed.
It was getting late and I needed to continue heading back in the direction of Cornwall .
I decided that I would probably park the van for the night in Ross-on-Wye so I took the A44 road towards Leominster, this road was very scenic passing through some high grassy hills of the Wales and England border, plenty of sheep were to be seen , wandering on the roads in places. I then turned off at Kington onto the A4111 towards Hereford. From Hereford I was in familiar territory straight down the A49 to Ross where I parked next to the big park alongside the River Wye.
I made a coffee on my camping stove and walked with it down to the riverside where I sat and watched fish rise under the willow trees ... probably Bleak, Dace or small Chub.
I walked up the hill into town and went to Wetherspoons for the evening, enjoying a cider or two before heading back to my van and going to sleep next to the park.
Next morning I drove up into town, had breakfast in Morrisons then went in "Badgers Bait and Gift Shop". I sat in the customer-chatting-chair and had a long chat with the chap who works there - mainly about fishing of course. I also bought some flies , though there was only a limited selection at the time.
I set off in the direction of Gloucester where I joined onto the M5 , I was due to meet my friend Jill at Taunton Train Station , she was coming up from Cornwall to see a folk festival the next day in a small country village in Somerset called South Petherton . I was to be her taxi in exchange for a hotel room and some diesel money .
I arrived at Taunton very early afternoon and had a few hours to spare so I decided to look at Maidenbrook Country Park on the edge of Taunton . Taunton is a bigger town than I realised and even with the help of Sat Nav I took quite a few wrong turnings before I arrived at the country park . When I gor there I was dissapointed to find the car park gate was locked . I carried up the narrow lane looking for somewhere to turn round and ended up in a pleasant little village called Cheddon Fitzpaine with a lovely country Church. Here I was able to turn round and drove back down to Maindenbrook Countrypark and found a place to park nearby.
The park is mainly open meadow with lots of long grass and areas of young tree plantations . Near the middle is a man made wildlife pond , quite a good size with a pebble beach and reeds etc around.
I had my deckchair with me and a flask cup of tea so I sat in my chair on the pebble beach and enjoyed the pleasant scenary.
There were a couple of big Emperor Dragonflies darting around the reeds and also some Broad Bodied Chasers also some Damselflies .
I might have seen some little Tench bubbles out in the middle of the Pool , and spotted lots of water boatmen.
On the other side of the meadow was quite cool wooden teepee shaped buiding with the open entrance facing east to get the rising sun in the morning . I'm guessing this was used as a classroom for school visits etc. although anyone could go in it .
I met Jill at about six and after fishcake and chips from a chippy in Taunton we headed to a tiny village deep in the countryside called Curry Mallet . We were to be staying in a B&B called "the Manor House" .
When we arrived we were taken aback by the lovely old building we would be staying in . We were greeted by the owner a lovely lady who told us the ages of different parts of the house. A small part of it was actually Roman, most of it was built in the 1600s and in Victorian times.
Above: views of The Manor house at Curry Mallet.
Cowsville Hummingbirds.
The next morning Jill and me set off to South Petherton fairly nearby . It was another beautiful old Somerset village full of lovely old buildings. The Folk festival had just started with several Morris Dancing groups performing in the town square. Following this was a American style female country and western group called the Cowgirls.
