THREW Mikes EyEz

Original Writings, Images, Video and Artworks of Mike Hartley


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Some titles

If there were a biography about you, what would the title be? – Interesting thought from the daily writing prompt.

What would others say about my life. That could get quite diverse. There have been a number of phases in my life that have some contrast, speckled with peaks and valleys. Sort of like a lot of people’s lives.

Of the titles off the top of my head.

  • Hang On
  • Loss and Lost
  • Ink and Paper
  • That Twinkle in the Eye is His Family
  • Charge – Yep, he’s that Friend
  • Relaxed Challenged
Relax, wish I could at times. Photo by Mike Hartley


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The Box

The Daily writing prompt asks “If there was a biography about you, what would the title be?”

Ah, another reflection on life. The title I first thought of was “The Box” so I’m going with that, which I’ll explain. I started thinking about my life and how someone would look at it. And I thought about the different sides or panels of me and my life, therefore The Box.

Photo by Mike Hartley

I thought about the first decade filled with turmoil of world events, turmoil in personal life and so much contrast in what I was seeing and experiencing as an infant and youth. This is the bottom panel of the box.

The 4 sides of the box are: The Doctor – The Husband/Father – The Professional – The Foundation/Building

The Doctor – A wild period but surprisingly a period that instilled a lot of responsibility and work ethic. But it was out of control a lot. Which made for some great times.

The Husband/Father – What a learning curve. Thankfully my better half is a patient person and we and the kids survived. The most wonderful experience of my life.

The Professional – The work life in newspapers and IT. What a ride. Filled with great times and some tough ones but out of it came a lot of wonderful personal relationships and a sense of accomplishment.

The Foundation/Building – What my better half and I build together. Through good times and bad. But a common goal that was a good foundation.

The top of the box is like a jack in the box springing open – We made it to our senior years. No small feat, being some of the medical challenges we both faced. We are still together and in love after many years and many challenges. We worked very hard for a very long time. We have been blessed with grandchildren.

And just like when the jack in the box opens the arms usually spread wide. And that is us looking forward to what isn’t written yet. I mean I’ve only been retired for 44 days so I better have a lot of chapters to expand on. Lots of love to share, lots of things to create and share, and of course lots of good times to share.

Go ahead, think outside the box. Photo by MH