I cannot begin. I am frightened of what I have learned in the four days that I hung with Grace. Even now I am on the verge of weeping. She showed so much. As did I. I fell in love without desiring to. I learned some things that I will need to discuss with her and with another friend in California. They are alike and I can learn something here.
Therefore I will write later in the day or tomorrow when I can get my left brain back in gear enough to form sentences and when I can think more straight. Or maybe I won’t.
The password with Grace is ‘honest vulnerability’. She is a champ.
Here is a poem I wrote on the way to Spring City, Tennessee. I wrote it in my head in pieces and then later I transcribed it directly onto the page with a minimum of editing. The experience of driving at night on the interstate highway in a metropolis with so much traffic is death defying to say the least. Usually I maintain focus. The sign that was lit up and standing high alongside the highway was bright yellow with stark, black lettering. The image of the man falling from the bridge is a true event, not witnessed by me but recorded for posterity on video for viewing on youtube. The image of falling backwards toward the ground with no parachute is all mine. The three days is the time I spent close to Grace.
Here it is:
ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER
Part One
I-40 in Tennessee,
Hogging the fast lane,
Dicing it out with eighteen wheelers,
Ten wheelers and four wheelers,
Night and road-work signs crowd the shoulder.
A billboard yells from the edge,
“Skydiving Ahead!”,
The mind switches to the image,
Sensations take over
For a full minute.
Three days of gain and loss,
Like falling from great heights,
Back to the ground,
Eyes on the open door,
A face and eyes follow my descent.
The earth far away,
But its approach certain,
My shirt and trousers flap,
Like the guy in the long black coat,
Falling from the Golden Gate.
Skydiving seems frightening,
I’m too busy right now,
I’m operating a vehicle
At seventy-five,
In a different world.
G. M. Goodwin
3 February 2015
Playing Fair and Being Kind 
Wow! Vivid strong writing.
Thank you, Robert. This was an intense few days. Glad you read it.
Oh my. Goodness. George, I’m only just now seeing this for the first time ever.
I’m entirely blown away….
Have we had the discussions you want?
I’m glad you made it back to Charleston, Grace. You’ve had quite an adventure in the jungle along a beautifful beach, eh?
That chapter in our lives was so many moons ago. We have had all the necessary conversations over many visits and phone calls. Thank you for all you have been for me. We are good and life slips along its lazy path.
Hugs.