Scattered Thoughts from a Scattered Mind: Volume Vi Boys by Day

By David Mills

It was November 2015, and I had just received my advance copies of Scattered Thoughts, Volume Five, with a picture of my grandson and I on the cover.

As I was sharing it with family and friends, I overheard my nephew say, Why is he on the cover? Whats he ever done? Hes only three!

I decided right then that Volume Six (should there end up being one) would be dedicated to my three boys, Rick, Dallin, and Michael.

Therefore, as you now know, imagination held serve, and here is Volume Six.

Signed, sealed, and delivered, in honor of my boys.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524548148

David Mills

David Mills has worked in the field of pneumatic conveying for over forty years. From 1998 – 2006 he was Professor of Bulk Solids Handling at Glasgow Caledonian University. He has published over 170 papers in the field, and has been working as an independent consultant in pneumatic conveying since 1996.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by David Mills.

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5245-4816-2

                Softcover        978-1-5245-4815-5

                eBook             978-1-5245-4814-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Bible Citation

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Rev. date: 10/19/2016

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Contents

FOREWORD

Lines

Vegas 2015

Penny and the Slots

Tears on My Pillow

For Ann

Wallenda

Mona and Mare

Once

The Other Woman

The Long Descent

Incursion

The Landfill Girl

What I Really Want

Cash Game

New Year

Pirates

Prayer

Troublesome Trip

Waking Up Tired

Memory Lane

Staying Alive

On a Day When Bowie Died

Sincerely, Me

Time Out of Time

God Wants Us Dead

The Hours

Mother

New World

Valentines 2016

All Good Things

Continuing

Seeing is Believing

Pig Latin

Then Came Mary

Trudy Blue and The New Beginning

Things I Learned at Work Today

Boys By Day

Ambrosia

For Paul and Sally

Ratings

The Four Temperaments

Things I Learned From The Old Testament

The List of Things To Do

Hybrid Lies

Future Tense

Short and Sweet

Two Feet, Walking

The Trouble With Julie

Questions

Vertigo

Trellis

Justified

The View

For Erica

Sunday Best

Person of Interest

I Love You

A Mile Alone

Most Can Hear, Few Can Listen

Thoughts From a Family Reunion

A Chair By The Sea

36

Weaveworld

Vacation 2016

Arnie

Tomorrow’s News Today

THE GUEST ROOM

Untitled by Rocky Hammock

Schism by Richard Parham

Survivors by Richard Parham

Survivors by Richard Parham

So Many by Richard Parham

For Momma by Richard Parham

Life by Michael Mills

63 by Michael Mills

Destiny by John Grillo

You by Lexi Marie Townsend

My Life As a Country Girl by Lora Stambaugh

Chasing Mr. Hamilton by Rocky Hammock

Pore Ole Jesse by Rocky Hammock

When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking by Jackie Bowman

God’s Gift by Charlene Jones

The Shamrock by Charlene Jones

The Mountains by Anne Hartwig

Challenger by Anne Hartwig

Memories by Anne Hartwig

AFTERWORD

Also by David Mills…..

Scattered Thoughts From a Scattered Mind

Xlibris Publishing, 2011

Scattered Thoughts From a Scattered Mind

Volume II…The Doctor is In

Xlibris Publishing, 2012

Scattered Thoughts From a Scattered Mind

Volume III…A Laugh a Minute

Xlibris Publishing, 2013

Scattered thoughts From a Scattered Mind

Volume IV…Prime Redefined

Xlibris Publishing, 2014

Scattered Thoughts From a Scattered Mind

Volume V…The Road Home

Xlibris Publishing, 2015

This volume is dedicated to

Rick, Dallin, and Michael Mills,

my chil-ren,

in whom I am most proud.

"…and he surnamed them Boaner’ges,

which is, the sons of thunder."

Mark 3:17

I am less mature now than I sometimes ever was.

Bill Swicegood

"Sometimes, at night,

I think of hippies asleep in the earth."

Stephen King

The Bone Church

Foreword

I had to laugh.

It was November 2015, and I had just received my advance copies of Scattered Thoughts, Volume Five, with a picture of my grandson and I on the cover.

As I was sharing it with family and friends, I overheard my nephew say, "Why is HE on the cover?…what’s HE ever done?…he’s only THREE!"

I decided right then that Volume Six (should there end up being one) would be dedicated to my three boys, Rick, Dallin and Michael.

Therefore,…

As you now know, imagination held serve and here is Volume Six.

Signed, sealed, delivered,…in honor of my boys.

Lines

There are lines in the desert, baby,

There are hollows in the sand,

The rats are raiding the pantry,

There are troubles in the land.

There’s a sadness in the garden,

There are tares and thistles grown,

Some have caused confusion,

Some aren’t ever shown.

I pray in the acrid breeze tonight,

My hope is for the morrow’,

Maybe soon the voice of God,

Will calm the winds of sorrow.

Vegas 2015

Best to know the pathway in,

Where reason ends and fools begin,

Our days are numbered parking spaces,

No substitutes or trading places.

We ride the wind now Vegas bound,

The engines hum, the only sound,

The Lockharts laugh in 14D,

Out the windows, cotton sea.

I find myself at peace today,

The wife beside me, fear at bay,

We’re off to seek the great unknown,

Soon home again with money blown.

God keep us safely as we go,

For you’re the one that loves us so,

We thank you daily for our care,

A life so rich in you aware.

Penny and the Slots

Where do monsters come from?

And what does make them grow?

I’ve now seen the answer go live in my sight,

As I watched sweet Penny go.

It started out innocent as the dew,

That freshens the grass anew,

But it quickly turned bad, and honestly sad,

As Penny’s addiction grew.

At first it was nickels, then quarters by roll,

Then dollars, then bargaining souls,

It’s hard to say when she’ll have to pay,

But her essence is now on the dole.

Be careful and don’t let the itch get you,

Be watchful in all that you do,

For Penny was lost to the Slot Machines,

And soon will give Devil his due.

Tears on My Pillow

Sadness covers my mind and soul,

I live as two halves, but never a whole,

My life is in free fall, my days push and shove,

If a savior be found, it is you my love.

I see you in fresco, I see you in oil,

These paintings that line our homestead soil,

Where once was our foundry, our furnace afire,

A boiler room sweatbox, unbridled desire.

Now I see shadows as darkness abounds,

My nerves set at edge from these scuttling sounds,

I never know warmth, neither body nor heart,

The fireplace sits empty and falling apart.

I sit by the phone and pray you return,

I’ve conjured a spell, I’ve polished your urn,

I’ll take one more minute, one hour, one day.

I’d give all I have if you’d come home to stay.

For Ann

I awaken to the rhythm of her soft and easy breath,

Then remember that her presence

                                 is by heavenly request,

The Father in His mercy sent

                              her knocking on my door,

She saved me from myself,

                           she raised me from the floor.

I was the broken hearted, one love had left a mess,

Could I ever trust again was anybody’s guess,

I’d ridden Paula’s Pity Train,

                           they knew me there by name,

I’d reconciled it in my mind I’d never be the same.

But in she came with broom in hand,