As a new year approaches and the last one draws to a close I find myself looking back at the years before. The unrulyness of my childhood, the adolescent foolishness, and the unwise choices of my younger self.

Many times I have pondered on the saying, " what would you change if you could go back? " my list was a mile long. Untill I realized most of my most cherrished memories where a result of my flawed actions. My first kiss which I obtained from a broken ankle, causing me to miss my first school dance. This in turn lead to meeting the girl next door by chance that day and starting my memories of childhood love for the first time. Later in life foolishness landed me in trouble skipping rocks from the side of a train to whatch them spark. Untill a misjudgment in timing my rock found its way through the front windshield of the locomotive rendering the conductor unconscious, wich derailed  a short while down the track. I was caught along with my fellow accomplices, and put on juvenile probation. Without experiencing this I would have never met my best friend of over twenty-five years. Our adventures are priceless memories I will cherrish forever. For five years I have gone through a terrible seperation which encompasses every aspect of the worst breakup ever! Something I do wish no-one ever had to endure. But as I have realized for every awful, hurtful, or just foolish action I have committed or endured something wonderful and priceless has followed. Oh yea that horrible break up gave me two of the most memorable, and priceless gifts God could bestow uppon a person, my precious boys. Eythan and Aydin. I could go on and on, but I believe my point is clear. So if I could go back I would, but not to change the mistakes of my past, but to watch the beginnings of the most wonderful memories of my years before. Change is for the future not the past, and remember a lot of the best of this world started of as a mistake or foolish action. Even a diamond begins it's life as a chunk of coal.

 Happy New Year! May your foolish mistakes bring you The best memories ever!

F. Woods 12/26/2015

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away......

It started as a pebble floating uppon the cosmic stream,

and soon became a rock which was struck by a cosmic beam.

the rock was hurled across the void collecting fragments as it passed,

and soon became an asteroid and it's size was growing fast!

passing through the atmosphere of a burnt out dormant star,

and crashing through debris of forgotten galactic wars.

on and on it made its way out beyond the great divide,

melding with the wonders of its universal ride.

past the rings of saturn its speed was fading fast,

it's final pass was mars and the pebble stoped at last.

its journey started small but in the end it grew,

for it became the planet Earth and home to me and you!

  F Woods 12/24/2015

May The Force Be With You!

There is no word written in any language that could describe the feeling that came rushing through my entire body that morning. It was as if the slumbering components of my most facinating dreams had somehow intertwined with reality, leaving me in a state of confusion. It was a suprisingly breezy yet somehow sureal morning, the sun's rays were warming against my chilled cheeks as i slowly crawled from my cozy king size bed planting my feet curiously and cautiously uppon the roof of some strange buiding, which seemed to be within the heart of a thriving metropolis. Once i had gained my composure and come to terms with the fact that this was truly not a dream, or a twisted delusion being created by my unpredictable mind, i made my way to the edge of the unadorned flat roof. The roof was bordered by a small three foot tall embossed concrete wall and peering over the side seemed to be at least 40 stories high! How on earth could i have awoken on top of such a structure tucked snugly within my own bed and with no knowledge of how this came to be? panic began to overcome my already trembling body as i scoured the rooftop in search of an exit. I have never believed in aliens, but this thought was not without a place within my irrational and crazy reasonings. finally finding an exit door i grabbed the handle and to my relief pushed it open to a dimly lit stairwell wich at this point looked more like a dimensional portal headed down into an unknown world. As i descended the unoccupied stairwell which seemed to have no end i passed many doors which were all sealed tight exept one which adorned the wall at the bottom off the foreboding trek. it was pitch black on the other side of the half cracked steel door but it seemed my only escape. i slowly crept through the portal into the darkness frightened and gripped by terror. what happened next i will never forget for as long as i live there are some things a man or woman will experience that just imprints uppon the brain forever. everything went white as every light within the gigantic room snapped on and the figures off a hundred beings all with one voice shouted aloud, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" 

  Later that night as i turned off my lamp beside my "Real" bead i contemplated the day and the enormous amount of trouble my company had went through to spring such a suprise, and thrilling birthday party for me. replicating my bead, shuting down an entire building, drugging me before i went to sleep so i would not wake during my relocation to the roof! I can only smile and say they would make a fine group of alien abductors.

   by Fred Woods. 12/24/2015 Merry Christmas