Brown Eyed Boy by Jonathan Longfellow Hughes III My son, Stephen, and Janna, his lovely wife, Asked me to paint this sketch of my grandson’s life. Lucas Longfellow Hughes, quite the handle for a young lad’s name. Longfellow is a Welsh-English surname of yor, Quite popular back on our country’s Eastern shore, It’s my name, my father’s and a dozen generations wear it proudly just the same. Lucas... my brown eyed boy, my one of a kind. My handsome, my tall... and forever mine. Always wearing those checkered Vans, and crazy mismatched socks. He loves Hot Pockets and fast food, Constantly in a ‘Check the Expiration Date’ mood. But, Oh how I miss those fun and musical family get-together talks. He was born in ‘02, on the 28th of May, During lunch hour, “most inconvenient”, as his father would say. But he grew quick and tall, reaching a towering height of 6 foot two. He played soccer & baseball, and karate for fun, But most of all, he cherished the long distance run. Cross Country, Half Marathoner, with a 2nd place medal for his age group, too. Where the Wild Things Are, was a favorite read, At bedtime “please mommy” was his regular plead. Then she’d mimic the voices for each of his 21 stuffed animal pets. Though deathly afraid of spiders, of Spiderman he’s fond, Loves Toy Story & Buzz Lightyears “To infinity and beyond’. But at bedtime now... its Apex & Destiny till long after the sunshine sets. He wants to be an epidemiologist & cure a disease, Loves helping others with their own special needs. And quite the musician, writing songs about his travels at home and abroad. He’d hike up a mountain, kayak a river, Repel down a cliff, that would make a lesser man shiver, Or bike a mountain trail, at speeds faster than man or God. He lives to go camping in the great outdoors, But, sleep in a hammock, away from dad’s snores. Forever the Eagle, he’ll fly straight to the mountain peak top, Each step with a curious bounce he goes, Each stride rolling up on his teenager toes, Never whining... Only when reaching his goal first, does he stop. Now his love of music is his passion by far, Playing piano, ukulele, drums or guitar. Making his own music at grandpas, or on the back porch at home, He listens, he feels it, even sings it at times Making up lyrics, with his comical rhymes, He wildly dances & swaggers whether in friendly crowds or alone We say he’s artistic, compassionate, yet daring, Reserved, creative, gentle and caring, A brave lover of exotic foods, a kind of foreign cuisine inspector. Confident, safe driver, offering all a listening ear, Funny and punny, seldom showing fear. Temple lover, Eagle Scout and loyal family protector. Our Heavenly Father’s never caught off guard, No surprises to Him, though we keep finding it hard To remember the big Gospel picture, thru our heartache and strife, But, I heard The Lord say, “Hi, Lucas, been expecting you”. “We’ve got some important work for you to do.” “Now, let’s get busy preparing for your own family’s eternal life.