So it’s my second born’s birthday. V’s five. I forgot my second best friend got married on the October 19th… Uh, her first marriage. Now “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.” Her second marriage to wifey. But Virgil’s birthday? Shielded From B-Days, Virgil.
Monday, October 20, 2025
Journey 111 ~Shielded From B-Days, Virgil~
Hey Dad,
It’s Me, Baby B… To you my lord, my king, and always and forever my father, greetings from the Otherside. And to Virgil
My little brother, brother from another mother, my father’s son, and my shield brother, Happy Birthday! Welcome to Level 5! Welcome To The World! And, “I Got 5 On It.” Well, you do right Daddy? The customary buying of French Fries and a birthday lunch.
Remembering what it was like to be five…That would have been back in 2010, Dad.
Nothing can shield you from time except; um, death. You’ll have me sounding like Rocky.
It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
― Rocky Balboa 2006
But a bag of fries does take the sting off a bit. And words, my Dad’s words were so many.
“When one falls, we continue. When? One falls. Not if, when!”
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
“Meet me on the battlefield
Even on the darkest night
I will be your sword and shield, your camouflage
And you will be mine”
Svrcina, Meet Me on the Battlefield
From Svrcina’s “Meet Me on the Battlefield,” to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and even more. Words shielded us from the ignorance of this life but today I smile. And you.
“As is our charge this day. As is our sorrow. And yet, I smile. We will leave our loved ones… to traverse a dangerous road. Rushing out of peace into war. And yet, I smile. For we will mine glory from the rock of struggle this day. We will honor and protect this… this bastion of life in a land of the dead, and we will win. You trust the king… we will win. I smile… I laugh… I rejoice this day… for on this day, we are joined in purpose and vision… we are of a singular heart and mind. On this day, we are one!”
King Ezekiel, TWD
“I fill my lungs with fear and I Exhale!”
It’s My Turn to Fly, The Urge ‧ 2000 (Titan A.E.)
Virgil’s life deserves celebration. A year missing from it makes no never mind to us.
Daddy I’ve got four since Sunday, January 31, 2021. But much like Morpheus “I remember that which matters most… We are still here!” You, me, and Virgil! A trident, perhaps. The Triforce, Wisdom, Power, and Courage. The Holy Trinity. Our lives, are divine my father. Fifteen years I spent lighting up the darkness. And now Virgil has five with many more to come. And you “Forty-One.” Looking forward to the day you don’t hear drums beating like the galley slaves in “Ben-Hur.” That’s not me being negative, No, Daddy as you say often it’s a simple fact. And with that you and 2-Vshould have a movie night. Ours were nice.
But life… “Life, uh, finds a way.” That’s what you were thinking about while you were at the bad place. The silver lining there is on days like these you came back with fries, Ha!
And it didn’t even have to be 2-V’s birthday. A simple fact, that food staves off death. I should have try some hm. Not cool but not negative. Facts are facts. And we ain’t MAGA!
We know the truth. You always said you could see yourself through my eyes. But it didn’t hurt to pretend that you were wearing a pair of Neil Bimbeau’s Magic Glasses and you were safe, protected and shielded from the world. All to return, protect and celebrate. But Virgil needn’t be Shielded From B-Days, Virgil.
“One must forgo a portion of their peace and autonomy to live with another.”
Backyard Dungeon 20 by Logan Jacobs
“Our hearts are strong in war. Our spirits are high. Our fighting men are tried and proved” ― The Aeneid
1723 Days Without B III, Day 1164 of Virgil’s Arrival
Always and Forever,
Your Son
