POETRY AND ARTWORK
(Please send poetry or art to bbing4@bradbingham.com)

"AN ANGEL SENT FROM HEAVEN"

In the year 1974, on a bright day of October Eleven
God blessed Betty and John Bingham with a beautiful baby boy from Heaven

He had eyes of deep sea blue and hair so golden blonde
The chosen name of their beautiful son was Brad John

Brad was always smiling and happy to play
He brought sunshine and joy to each and every day

He loved life, children, music and sports
Oh, how he loved those basketball courts

He touched everyone's life in a very special way
So special, people would remember him from that very day

He was such a great guy and was nice to all
His blessed soul could comfort those who would fall

A great son, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew, and friend sent from above
Brad delighted in all of these roles with unconditional love

Thank you dear God for sharing this angel from Heaven
A beautiful baby boy from October Eleven

Brad, you will be greatly missed and will forever be in our hearts
You are an angel who brought warmth to our souls, and left footprints in our hearts

GOD LOVE AND KEEP YOU
LOVE FROM YOUR GODMOTHER, AUNT DIANNE

BRAD JOHN BINGHAM
OCTOBER 11, 1974 - MARCH 30, 2002

I WONDER
I wonder if you watch me go through my busy day.
I wonder if you hear me as I bow my head to pray.
I wonder if you see me as I go to sleep at night.
I wonder if you're next to me, when my days not going right.
I wonder if you're singing when I play your favorite song.
I wonder if you're laughing when I do something wrong.
I wonder if you've watched as I've written every word.
I wonder if you like it, or if you think that I'm a nerd.
I wonder if you read what I'm thinking in my thoughts.
I wonder if you know all of the happiness you've brought.
I wonder if you were happy when I married my true love.
I wonder if you were smiling down on me from up above.
I wonder if you were crying when tears fell down my face.
I wonder if you felt it was your time to leave this place.
I wonder when I'll get to see your smiling face, dear friend.
I wonder when I'll get to feel your bear hug once again.
I wonder if you'll remember me when that day comes at last.
I wonder if we'll just pick up as if no time has past.
I wonder if you're with us when we gather on your day.
I wonder if we could hear you, just what you'd have to say.
I wonder if you'd tell us, there's no need to be sad.
For always shining down on us, we'll have our angel Brad.

You're forever in my thoughts,
Bowman

Juli Graves (Houston, TX )
August 13, 2003

I saw this poem the other day and I couldn't help but think of Brad. It might already be posted somewhere on the site, but I thought I would add it just in case. It reminds me too much of Brad to leave it left unsaid.
here goes:

We thought of you with love today,
But that was nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday,
And days before that too.
We think of you in silence,
We often speak your name.
Now all we have are memories,
And a picture in a frame.
Your memory is our keep sake,
With which we'll never part.
God has you in his keeping,
We have you in our hearts.

Brad, I love you and miss you so much. I feel you watching over us every single day. Darin and I finally got all of my things moved into his house. More than anything in the world, Darin wishes you were still here so you could come and visit us.

Also, Jake says hi...

Take care up there. We love you and miss you.

LATER
Juli

FRIEND FOR PROFESSION

They don't come often
Often leaving early
They grace the earth
with greatness and warmth
This one's mine
We've had the pleasure
I've reluctantly traded you for a new life
No one goes in vain on my watch
Seeing things less blurry now
Silently I seek a simple saying to sum up the several seasons we've shared...
Upon some thought after seeing the end
Your purpose here was Professional Friend

Paul Richard Deegan III

Juli Graves (Houston, TX )
August 28, 2003

Hey Bingham~
saw something else that I think you would absolute love...and agree with!
Enjoy : )
Later,
Juli

PROUD TO BE FROM TEXAS!
When you're from Texas, people that you meet ask you questions like:
"Do you have any cows?"
"Do you have horses?"
"Bet you got a bunch of guns, eh?"

They all want to know if you've been to Southfork. Yes, they watched Dallas.
Have you ever looked at a map of the world?
Look at Texas with me just for a second...that picture, with the Panhandle, the Gulf Coast, the Red River, and the Rio Grande is as much a part of you as anything ever will be. As soon as anyone anywhere in the world looks at it they know what it is. It's Texas. Pick any kid off the street in Japan and draw a picture of Texas for him in the dirt and he'll know what it is.

What happens if I show YOU a picture of any other state? You might get it after a second or two (maybe), but who else would? And even if you do, does it ever stir any feelings in you?
In every man, woman and child on this planet, there is a person who wishes, just once, he could be a real-live Texan and get up on a horse or ride in a pickup. There is some bit of Texas in everyone.
Did you ever hear anyone say, "Wow...so you're from Iowa? Cool, tell me about it?"
Do you know why?
Because there's no place like Texas.
Texas is the Alamo.
One hundred, eighty-three men standing in a church, facing thousands of Mexican nationals fighting for freedom, who had the chance to walk out and save themselves, but stayed to fight and die for the cause of freedom. We send our
kids to schools named William B. Travis and James Bowie and Davy Crockett and do you know why? Because those men saw a line in the sand and they decided to cross it and be heroes.
John Wayne paid to do the movie himself. That is the Spirit of Texas.
Texas is Sam Houston capturing Santa Ana at San Jacinto.
Texas is Juneteenth and Texas Independence Day.
Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett National Forest.
Texas is breathtaking mountains in the Big Bend.
Texas is the unparalleled beauty of bluebonnet fields in the Texas Hill Country.
Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of the Gulf Coast of South Texas.
Texas is the shiny skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas.
Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork.
Texas is Mexican food like nowhere else, not even Mexico.
Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards, Bass Hall, and the Astrodome.
Texas is great companies like Dell Computer, Texas Instruments and Compaq.
Texas is NASA.
Texas is huge herds of cattle and miles of crops.
Texas is skies blackened with doves, and fields full of deer.
Texas is a place where cities shut down to watch the local High School Football game on Friday nights or the Cowboys on Monday Night Football, or the NIOSA River Parade in San Antonio.
Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, and modern cities.
Texas is larger-than-life legends like Willie Nelson,
Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, Janis Joplin, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Landry,
Darrell Royal, ZZ Top, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Denton Cooley, Michael DeBakey, Sam Rayburn, George Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson, and
George W. Bush.
"FREEDOM is not America's gift to the world; it is God's gift to humanity."
George W. Bush January,
2003 State of the Nation Address

If it isn't in Texas, you don't need it. No one does anything bigger or better than it's done in Texas.
By federal law, Texas is the only state in the U.S. that can fly its flag at the same height as the U.S. flag. Think about that for a second. You fly the Stars and Stripes at 20 feet in Maryland, California, or Maine and your state flag, whatever it is, goes at 17 feet. But you fly the Stars and Stripes in front of Pine Tree High in Longview at 20 feet and the Lone Star flies at the same height - 20 feet. Do you know why? Because Texas is the only state that was a republic before it became a state.
Our capitol is the only one in the country that is taller than the capitol building in Washington, D.C. We can divide our state into five states if we want to! We included these things as part of the deal when we came on.

I came across a poem that I thought said pretty much how I feel.
Mom (Georgetown, TX )
May 28, 2002

I wish that we could go back,
Relive all those precious times
I would hold you tighter
Keep you closer to my side
I would take a picture
Of every smile, each tear.
I would listen harder
To unspoken words and fears
I would grant each wish,
Make every dream come true,
I would try my best
To make more time for you.
If only I had known
our time would be so short,
I would have made sure you knew
The secrets of my heart.
But all of that I wish to change
Would have changed you too.
Only God in His great wisdom knew
What life He planned for you.

Jennifer Perry (Spring, TX )
April 2, 2002

"When I Must Leave You"

When I must leave you for
a little while
Please do not grieve and shed
wild tears
And hug your sorrow to you
through the years
But start out bravely with
a gallant smile;
And for my sake and in my
name live on and do all things
the same, Feed not your loneliness
on empty days,
But fill each waking hour
in useful ways,
Reach out your hand in comfort
and in cheer
And I in turn will comfort you
and hold you near;
And never; never be
afraid to die,
For I am waiting for
you in the sky!

IF TEARS WERE STAIRS
AND MEMORIES WERE A LANE,
I WOULD CLIMB RIGHT UP TO
HEAVEN,
AND BRING YOU HOME AGAIN.....