The Poor Valley Gazette
A Product of the Fruitful Mind and Faulty Memory of Don Morgan, KD4JDI
Vol I Issue 7 Page I We support Prosperity for Poor Valley Poetry To The People!
PHANTOM POET MEMORIALIZES TWO FRIENDS
To the Longevity Of Uncle Dave Collins In Memory of John "Dub" Heath
I read this to Uncle Dave as he stood beside me at 100th birthday party. Quite a crowd of folks there. Quite an honor for me.
As I composed this poem,
One thing bore on my mind,
Uncle Dave was born
In a much simpler time.

When he looked up into the sky,
Birds were all he saw,
He also saw white fluffy clouds,
There were no planes at all.

He's seen the end of smallpox,
The death of polio,
He witnessed Henry Ford's first car,
Plus the beginning of radio.

He's seen two major World Wars,
He watched them come and go,
He survived the Great Depression,
Some other wars, you know.

He's eaten tons of pinto beans
Since 1893,
He lived through fat and cholesterol,
He's chipper as can be!

Of all the things that Dave has heard,
Of things he's done and seen,
The only things that haven't changed
Are gum and pork and beans.

Happy birthday, Uncle Dave,
We love you, one and all,
Go on, enjoy your hundredth,
Go on and have a ball!!!

I was privileged to write a poem for Uncle Dave's 10st birthday also.
His hair is snowy white,
He serves as an example
For those who're here tonight. A good man is our Uncle Dave,
A witness for our Lord,
He is a cheerful giver,
Good man to have aboard. The Lord has blessed this gentle man,
Who prays a simple prayer
That makes us all feel wonderful,
We know it gets up There. He's not as strong as once he was,
His steps are not as long,
I can tell you now, my friends,
His spirit's still as strong. A century has he lived on earth,
In fact, it's one year plus.
He's been a pillar at our church,
A friend to all of us. So happy birthday, Uncle Dave,
We love you, one and all,
Old friend, in our mind's eye today,
You're standing six feet tall!
Uncle Dave was standing at my side in front of the pulpit when I read this 101st Birthday poem. I felt quite humbled.

The previous year, at his Century birthday party, I congratulated him, and he responded. "You know, Mr. Morgan, if I had known I was going to live to be this old, I would have taken better care of myself." At one hundred years of age, he was still as sharp as I was at fifty-five.

 John was a friend to all of us,
Oh, yes, he was our friend,
He fell asleep on Sunday last,
He will not wake again.

Soft spoken was this friend of ours,
Will fish with him no more,
Until we cast that special bait
From some celestial shore.

Remember Dub the way he was,
Faced life without a dread,
When someone asked him how he felt,
"'Bout half," is what he said.

He called a land line a "hello phone,"
He said just what he meant,
We'll never forget, he was a part
Of the "loose wheel" incident.

Some were pleased to call him Dub.
Some others called him John,
We'll never forget forever
When he launched his good friend Don!

Those of us who are still here
Please ask the Lord on High
To watch out for our good friend Dub,
A very SELFLESS guy!

Dub was known on the amateur radio bands as KC4AUO
More Senior Moments from the feeble mind of KD4JDI, Ole Don
ISSUE 8 WILL APPEAR SOME TIME THIS MILLENNIUM. GIRD YOUR LOINS!

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