Lump Versus Chaos - a Tribute To Lyle Snodgrass

This is actually for the  young woman Zoey will become someday. I watched Lyle grow from a baby into a talented athlete, capable fisherman, and the guy would always find a way to get where he going. I was there when he and Brandy held out the newborn Zoey to proudly show us their beautiful baby daughter. 

Sometimes I think there is some cosmic being looking down from outer space, nestled in a prone position with his Chaos sniper rifle, randomly choosing people on our planet to blow their lives apart. One shot, and he laughs while the innocent below staggers and finally falls under the weight of so much bad luck heaped on a single person. One day, he found Lyle, and thought this guy just has too much going for him. Everything is coming easy, and he seems to quickly master what others struggle to do. Our being lines up the crosshairs and takes the shot that will put a stop to all of that. But, strangely enough, after Lyle falls and is motionless on the ground for a while, there is movement and he shakes his head, and hobbles off.

It turns out that Lyle, nicknamed ‘Lump’ by his Dad when he was young, was born with the genes of a star football player. He quickly mastered any sport he tried, and had the survival skills of a swamp rat. In fact, of any one I know, he’d be the person I would expect to still be around after a zombie apocalypse. Everybody knew how tough Lyle was, except our cosmic being.

Needing a second shot to take out an earthling was unusual, but it was done, and soon Lyle is back down on the ground. There are others to pick off that day and it is not noticed that soon Lyle is once again moving, more slowly and unsteady, but he is not ruined yet.

Time passes, and there are so many people on this planet that Lyle goes unobserved, until that final time when Lyle is once again caught out in the open with no one around. The being goes, “What the hell”, and grabs the seldom-used golden bullet and decides that a headshot is necessary, because what he can’t have is somebody walking away from his work. This one takes Lyle down for good.

What the being didn’t know was that while he was busy elsewhere, Lyle managed to produce an offspring, one that was as tough as him, with protectors all around her. She has his brains, his easy athletic abilities, his good looks, and an uncanny memory. She will not be caught out in the open, and the being, knowing none of this, moves on, thinking he destroyed Lyle. He’s not quite right about that.

Note: no matter how tough you are the golden bullet is killing people almost every day where we live. Don’t get caught out in the open, find your family and friends and get protected.