NFP community foundation; 35 years at ILFarmBureau via cfb mgr system, Iowa State alum, DeWitt IA native, aspiring National Anthem singer, Tweets are my own
“One day I will tell little Moira my story, and I will become a strong uncle for her to turn to for help and guidance. I will become strong in mind, body, and spirit. I ask God for guidance in my journey to strength.”
Mac wrote these words the night he became an uncle, and looking back, I think they speak so deeply to the man my son was and the kind of role model he wanted to be. While Mac may not be here physically to watch Moira grow up, she will always know her Uncle Mac - his strength, his faith, his music, and the extraordinary heart he shared with all of us. I will never forget standing in the hospital room and seeing Mac with such love in his eyes holding this precious little baby for the first time.
Little Moira, our first granddaughter and Mac’s first niece, was named in honor of her grandmother.
There is something very comforting to me in knowing that, in a different way than Mac imagined when he wrote those words, he can still be that uncle to her. As his nieces and nephews grow older, they will have his story, his music, and his own words to turn to. They will know how deeply he loved them from the very beginning and the kind of example he hoped to set for them.
Music has always been one of the threads connecting our family. When our children were little, Moira would sing them the Irish lullaby “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral.” Years later, Mac recorded himself playing that same lullaby with members of the Lt. Dan Band for his album Resurrection and Revival. It means so much to me that his nieces and nephews can now hear their Uncle Mac playing a song their grandmother once sang to him. You can listen to Mac’s rendition here: https://t.co/AnlRenE5eu.
This is just one small piece of the story I share in Graceful Warrior. It is a story about our family - the highs and the lows, the joy and the heartbreak, and the ways we leaned on one another through circumstances we never could have imagined. Most of all, it is about the hope and faith we found along the way, even in our most difficult moments.
Preorder your copy of Graceful Warrior today: https://t.co/WgtmSo5HTE
Truly humbled and honored to write about a great friend and a great family. The column is about dying, yes, but mostly about living.
Dan Miller opens up on wife's death: Makes you appreciate 'gift of time' https://t.co/IneY6VQ2YQ via @detroitnews
We will donate one million dollars to the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital..
We would like to thank that hospital for everything that they do #PMSLive
We’re rolling in!
Our Farm Rescue volunteers are headed to Missouri to support a farm family during harvest. We’re grateful for the volunteers, donors and supporters who make it possible for us to show up when families need a helping hand.
Missouri, here we come! 💚
Just drove through Clinton, Iowa, and stopped at @Culvers. After Lara finished taking my order, she looked at my sweatshirt and said, “I’m old enough to know who Walter Payton was.”
I told her, “That’s my dad.”
She freaked out!
Then 17-year-old Ze lost it, too. He told me WP was his favorite football player.
Before our food even came out, I took pictures with everyone. What a special, unexpected moment.
Thank you, Lara & the entire team for making my day. 🙏🏽
@WalterPayton, you have no idea the impact you left down here. Your legacy continues to touch people in places you never imagined. 🙏🏽
🐻⬇️ #Bears
Incredible performance from my pal John of his hit song Superman. 25 years ago, he performed the song at the Concert for New York City. The concert raised 35 million for families and first responders directly impacted by the terrorist attack in NYC. Never Forget.
Capt. John Ogonowski, a pilot with @AmericanAir, also farmed. He was a board member of the @MAFarmBureau. John left White Gate Farm at Dracut, MA in his dusty green Chevy pick up at 6:00 a.m. 9/11/2001. At 7:45, in the left cockpit seat of AA Flight 11, he pushed back from the gate at Logan Airport in Boston. Fifteen minutes into the flight air traffic controllers could no longer reach John or his co-pilot. #neverforget