The view from my desk

The View from My Desk
By William H. White, Jr.

On my computer this collection of my thoughts and ramblings is in a folder called “ The View from My Desk.” While you may think that my desk is near a window nothing, in fact, could be further from the truth. My desk sits in the corner of my living room and the only view from there is a beige wall. So if you are sitting where I am now there is no view. Oh, you can see the TV from here, but that is about all. No view of outside, but there is plenty to see from here. On this wall there reside many memories.
There is a drawing of a waterfowl of some sort with a frog hanging out of it beak. The frog is grasping the throat of the bird trying to keep from getting swallowed. The caption under it reads, “ Never give up.” I remember showing it to a roommate in college and he laughed at it for almost an hour wondering out loud who if the bird would pass out first or would the frog loose his grip. Close by is a computer printout of Noah’s ark and two snails, there is a quote under the picture by C.H. Spurgeon, “By perseverance the snail reached the ark.” There is also a drawing I made of my truck the way I wish it looked.
On a shelf above my head there are two bird nests. I have no idea what kind they are, but I have had them since I was a kid. I found both if them in my grandparent’s yard many, many years ago. I can remember the day I found each of them. Both times I was cutting their grass. They had a huge yard, and I got to use the riding mower when I cut it. Gran died a long time ago but Mema is still alive. She sold the old house Gran built and now lives with my aunt and uncle. I have so many memories of that house.
There is a reproduction of an old RC bottle on that shelf too. I got it when the Shelby Star had a contest where you had to go into downtown stores and try to find a stuffed pig. I went with a friend, Jenifer Perrell, and we found the pig two different times. The first time we got a gift certificate and went out to eat on it, the second time we got the RC bottle. I remember it rained both times as we walked around town.
The best things in my view are the pictures. There is a picture of Angela, a good friend who helped me through one of the worst periods of my life. I have never met her in person since she lives in Oregon, but I cherish her friendship as if she lived next door. There is a picture of a group of teenagers standing under a Southwest airline sign. It is my graduating class. It was a small class; there were only seven of us. I was the only guy. We were just getting to the airport to board a plane for California. That was a great trip. I miss those girls. There is a picture of a young lady I chat with occasionally. Her name is Emily, she lives in New Zealand. She is like a daughter to me. There are pictures of a good friend of mine and two of his children. I haven’t seen him in years. There are pictures of both of my sisters children. I have only seen my nieces and nephews once. I would love to be able to see them more, but they love in different states. There is a picture of my family at my youngest sisters wedding. It is the last picture we took as a family. It is at least 8 years old.
Then there are my favorite things to see - the pictures of my children. The oldest two are pictures of my son. In the first he is with my parents dog, Max. In the second he and I are on my Dads tractor. I remember that day well. It was close to Christmas and it was cold. Jared is all bundled up I am not. I was freezing to death. My dad was going to ride him around, but Jared wouldn’t have it. He wanted me to drive. I asked for someone to bring my jacket, but no one ever did. I was glad to get off then, now however, I would ride until I fell off frozen solid. There is a picture of Jared all dressed in camouflage and a sheriff’s badge. He has the biggest grin on his face. He was so proud of that outfit. Next to that are he and his sister, Emily. They look so sweet. Then there is the masterpiece. Right in the middle of them all is a picture of all three of my children - Jared, Emily, and Allison. They are all dressed up in Christmas clothes. I want to reach into the picture and squeeze them every time I see the picture.
There may not be a beautiful mountain scene outside my window. But with all the memories around me - I kinda like the view from here.