In Remembrance of Tom Wedemeyer 1952-2019

“From the murkiest gloom, I visualized a grand image emerge, intrinsically bright, Though only few luminaries burn with brilliance, squinting I saw- Magnified ann luminant in character, the product of toil in It’s life.

Like unto the radiant , coruscating brilliance shunned by a heavenly body – eternally shedding its resplendence for sake the eye of the beholder. Or the complex reticulation in a leaf’s vein pattern.

I pondered upon these nebulous mysteries and, resigned, I discerned, ‘Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die.‘”

The markers of my erstwhile confused life range the scale from tragedy, disaster, calamity all the way to forgiveness, triumph, blessing, grace, and protection; events, people, and struggles are arranged by predestined authority, both past present, and future. To add greater context to my humble, and yet no less convoluted story, one must have known, or be introduced too, my mentor and the inspirational force at the roots of my all-consuming passion to reach out to the world through the vehicle of this website. This little corner of cyberspace –supposing cyberspace has cubic dimensions– allows me to chronicle and corral my thought process, and offer documentary evidence to the abundant quantity of reflections, inspiration, and aspirations I have gained over the former and following epic-filled lifetime.

Few luminaries have stood out or inspired me with confidence like Tom did. With his inspired counsel and tutelage, a spark flared to flame that put me on a trajectory to fulfill that charge. One quote I remember Tom repeatedly stating was, that I had ”a lot on my plate.” Well, I have taken that what he was implying, this was my prophetic mission. And now I feel compelled to share “what was put on my plate.”

Although I already had a limited background and working knowledge of computers and website design, I had more or less resigned myself to live the remainder of my years with a minimum of complications. Because my experience has been that they inevitably find you when proverbially “sticking one’s neck out.” Admittedly, I have been known to push the envelope, which inevitably gets one in trouble. In spite of once “lookin’ for trouble,” I stand persuaded, that through all things —Whatever the problems incurred— they are meant for a reason, and one cannot comprehend the why from why-fore. I feel what has happened in my past was meant for tomorrow and, therefore, one is predestined to finish the course they were set; I will gladly surrender back, with interest, the ‘talents’ I was given.

Meanwhile, at this point in my story, the VA came along with a helping hand, and further fortune smiled on me when I qualified for reference by the VIST –Visual Impairment Services Team. The VIST Coordinator at that time at the Bob Dole VA in Wichita, Kansas, was Bob Hamilton, another “place-holder” in his own right.

I was now ready for my first visit to the Blind Rehabilitation Unit at the Doris Miller VA in Waco, Texas, in October 2017. That’s where I first met Tom. Being both students of Civil War history, railroads, computers, and all things technology, we got along well on a personal level. However, In the early stages of my instruction with Tom, I became thoroughly engrossed by the seemingly unlimited possibilities erver-evolving technology avails in relating one’s story through the instrument of a website. Offering inspiration, timely thought, and motivation to the discouraged, despondent, and defeated — but mostly just myself. — became my own goal.

I now know, claiming ignorance is no excuse for lacking to strive for what lies beyond your boundries. By not knowing through ignorance what lays beyond one’s grasp, the naked eye only dimly beholds the elusive glimpse of perplexing potentialities, capable of an uncontrollable chain-reaction. Through my own ignorance, I have been guilty of violating this premise. Quite often, I have have been a prisoner of my own making. Still, one must be willing to accept guidance from an external source to gain confidence, and Tom offered the inspiration necessary for me to step-out and outside the closed circle of my world with its finite resources.

My thinking leads me to believe, and I can affirm now and reiterate for the sake of the reader, this godly man had superior qualities I can testify to. In our relative brief though significant association, my departed friend Tom displayed qualities that only emerge from the lives lived by a precious few who have mastered life’s complexities, foibles, and follies.

The epistle my brother Tom and I live by states, “that all things work together for good to those who love God; that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is for our good-with those who believe.” It behooves me, therefore, to testify that Tom was placed there, another “place-holder,” in the precise moment in time when “the well of life was running dry, waiting to be primed.” And by some Great mysterious force, a brief, inspired apprenticeship was forged. I will sincerely be grateful for that tiny seed he sewed on this fallow ground and will endeavor to pass on his legacy and sagacity.

I am supplying the link to Tom’s website so that the reader may double-check my pithily crafted testimonial and verify for themselves the worth of my words and the weight of his deeds. http://www.wedemeyer.us/index.html