I’m a Riser

By Bud Focht

Hi, my name is Bud and apparently I am a Riser.

About a year ago, not long after my wife Terry was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, I met a young man (20 years younger than me is a ‘young’ man in my book) named Dierks.

He was the first person I ever met named Dierks. I had a student-worker about 15 years ago named My-Heaven Aaron. A great kid and a very good worker. When he introduced himself to me I told him, “Ya know, you are the second My-Heaven I met today.”

He was only a college freshman so he didn’t realize how funny that was. My humor is wasted on ‘utes.’

Believe it or not, My-Heaven was not the most uncommon name I have run across in my 37 years of dealing with college students.  Key & Peele sent met quite a few interesting ones.

There was that kid who I thought worked at the airport-Logjammer Debaggageclaim, the kid with the over-bearing father, J.R. Junior Juniors, Jr., and my favorite, the kid who was always testing everyone’s boundaries, Takittothu Limit.

Anyway, back to Dierks, a pilot from Arizona who moved to Nashville to be a singer. Dierks and I happened to spark up a conversation in a bar at a time when I was just starting to feel the effects of finding out that my best friend, my partner, my soulmate, had an incurable disease that was only going to get worse with time.

He didn’t exactly catch me at my best.

Dierks is an artist and that night he was a very good listener. I had only known him a short time but he and I talked like we were old friends.

A few months later I received an e-mail from him. To be honest, I drank a little more than I should have that night I met him and didn’t really remember much about him or that night until I got the e-mail. In the e-mail he said that our talk about what Terry and I were going through had inspired him. One thing I do remember about our talk that night was that he was having trouble ‘getting inspired’ so I was happy to hear that I might have helped. The more I tried to remember about that night the more good memories came back.

In the e-mail Dierks wrote about his wife Cassidy and how he hoped he and her would someday have what Terry and I had.

He then enclosed the following, thanking me for the ‘inspiration’ and saying that, after having that conversation with him last spring, this is what I should say to Terry.

Lay your pretty head down on my shoulder
You don't have to worry anymore
This old world is cold and getting colder
And I know how to lock and bolt the door

I'm strong enough to hold you through the winter
Mean enough to stare your demons down
The hard times put the shine into the diamond
I won't let that keep us in the ground

I'm a riser
I'm a get up off the ground, don't run and hider
Pushing comes a-shovin'
Hey I'm a fighter
When darkness comes to town, I'm a lighter
A get out aliver, out of the fire
Survivor

I'm a trier
I'm a get down low so I can lift you higher
An army couldn't keep down my desire

I'm a riser

Until next time, thanks Mr. Bentley.

Bud