Bruce Cullings

Today is November 14, 2019, and I sit quietly pondering my life over 86 years. As I do so, I am amazed at the length of it, happy that it has lasted this long and wondering how I have managed to do all the wonderful things that I have been able to do, see and participate in. Somewhere in all of this is a God that I believe in and who supports me every day.

Most of all, I am elated to have found my wonderful, loving, supportive wife, Barbara, who has stood by me and with me, through so many successes and failures. She provided me with two great children and their offspring and a solid household throughout 56 years of life together. I could not be more grateful, more in love with any one or happier to be with any one. Both my children have delighted me, mystified me, confounded me, loved me and angered me. I’m sure they feel the same about me, but we are family and I am very grateful to each of them for allowing me to be me. I hope I have allowed them the same response.

As I think about varied lives; my family life, my social life, my military life and my professional life, I am surprised and grateful for all those who have been a part of them.

In my family life, the palette of colors is amazing, with each member adding their own special splash of color each time we interconnected. Sometimes, the colors blended and were calm, while others, bright and forceful, even clashing on occasion, but they always added to the full glory of the portrait they have become in my memory.

My social life, while lengthy and varied over the years, has been primarily pleasant and enjoyable. Meeting such a wide variety of beings on this level has made me a better person and one with a wider knowledge of friendship, companionship and connection. I am forever grateful for each of their addition to my life, however brief or lengthy it might have been. Each one in that beautiful bouquet, has added a scent to my existence that lingers still to this day; colors, pale or brilliant, yet a vibrant part of me wherever or whenever they joined my travels through this world. Thank you, wherever you are.

My military life, while quite brief, stands among my favorite times of life. So much of the world to see, so much joy to be there, so many friends to share it and the music together. The friendships shared and continued through the years, covered completely the uncomfortable necessity of military protocol. Unforgettable and joyous, those connections simmer in my memory often and I am thankful I was included in their lives and times.

The most lengthy of my many various lives, has been my professional or school life. It lasted, in the classrooms, over 33 years and three states. The kaleidoscope that was that life, was so colorful, changing, varied and valuable, as to be almost indescribable. Each student, wherever and whenever I encountered them, was a special strand of colorful light that brightened the day in a unique way that allowed me to place them in my memory with great care and pleasure. And to still have, all these many years later, a connection with so many, endows me with a gratefulness that I cannot explain in words. The fact that, as adults, they still remember me and wish to stay in contact with me, simply mystifies and delights me at the same time. They were, and are, the threads of the fabric of life, creating the memories that enlighten my every day. They give me honor, strength and belief that I was able, in some small way, to help them along their way, and was able to use music to make that happen. My gratitude to each of them has no bounds.

So, now as the last day of my many lives draws unquestionably closer, I wanted to put on paper some thoughts that I have swirling about in my head. To some, perhaps a little egotistical, to others meaningless, but for me, necessary to put in print, what I have long thought but never spoken much about. It is important for me to express my deep gratitude for all the people who have been a part of this long life and how much they mean and have meant to me, though I probably was not as vocal about it as I should have been. Your forgiveness is requested but certainly not required.