‘Jimmy Dunne Says’

The Palisadian-Post presents an homage to Will Rogers’ column, “Will Rogers Says,” with a column by Palisadian Jimmy Dunne—on life in the “greatest town in America.

All ’Long the Way
A story of gratitude

The happiest of Thankgivings to you and those who touch your life …

I drift in a harbor in a boat built for one,

The water is still, the day almost done

The noise of the world has faded from me,

Just quiet and sky—and a soft, breathing sea

In the smallest of boats, I float and I sway,

Wrapped in a hush at the end of the day

It feels, for a moment, like I got me here,

Like every good thing is my doing, my steer

But when you trace back—your life in soft light,

You see you were carried through so many nights

By arms that first cradled you close, skin to skin,

A mother’s low humming that rocked you within

By siblings you sparred with, then found at your side,

Believing in you, with unconditional pride

By teachers and mentors, and the dearest of friends,
You’re stitched out of pieces of all that they’ve been

From all who have loved you and played their small part,
You carry their fingerprints, etched in your heart

You thought you were drifting alone in that bay …
Then you start to remember …

All ’long the way

————–

Joy changes its face as the calendar turns,
Its colors grow softer—a deep gladness burns

As a child, it’s a moment—a toy, a new day,
To young parents, it’s simply, “We got through today”

But later, joy deepens in quieter things,
In knowing you showed up when showing up stings

It’s seeing yourself in the light of your kids,
In stories your pals tell of kind things you did

In grandkids who laugh at your old, borrowed jokes,
In towns where you planted a few sturdy oaks

It’s leafing through scrapbooks of chapters gone by,
Those rich, messy seasons when dreams learned to fly

The moves and the losses, the worries, the wins,
The good fights you fought, new doors you walked in

You see that your mark isn’t set into things—
Not houses or titles or bright, shining rings

Your mark lives in people whose paths crossed your own,
In hearts where a small seed of kindness was sown

When your most precious gift was that you were just there,
And said with your eyes just how deeply you cared

So here in your harbor, at close of the day,
You whisper a thank you for all of the ways

Life gave you the chance to love and to stay,
To be shaped and to shape …

All ’long the way

Jimmy Dunne is a modern-day Renaissance Man; a hit songwriter (28 million hit records), screenwriter/producer of hit television series, award-winning author, an entrepreneur—and a Palisadian “Citizen of the Year.” You can reach him at j@jimmydunne.com or jimmydunne.substack.com.