Another Year Older and Still Riding

Across the Fence #337

By the time you read this I will have slipped quietly from one age into another. I’m another year older. William Shakespeare wrote about aging: “Have you not a moist eye, a dry hand, a yellow cheek, a white beard, a decreasing leg, an increasing belly? Is not your voice broken, your wind short, your chin double, your wit single, and every part about you blasted with antiquity?”

I admit that I’m a year older, but I don’t feel like an antique. My mind is still functioning, but it’s getting harder to find and retrieve the information stored in it. I like to say my mind is like a computer, the more information I put in it; the longer it takes to find the compartment where I stored it. So, if you meet me on the street and say, “Hi Howard,” don’t be surprised if I stare blankly at you as my mind says to me, “Who the heck is this person?” My computer is merely searching through its data bank. Unfortunately, it sometimes runs into a brick wall or an empty room. Sometimes I don’t even recognize myself. Do any of you ever look in the mirror and wonder who that old bugger is that’s staring back at you?

Recently, a man in his late 80’s told me, “My mind still thinks that I should be able to do anything, but my body won’t cooperate.” I knew what he was talking about. I’m still in my 60’s, but my body definitely knows it has a lot of mileage on it. I can’t do things the way I once did them.

There’s another Shakespeare quote that I like: “Many strokes, though with a little axe, hew down and fell the hardest-timber'd oak.”

It may take us older folks longer to do something, but inch-by-inch, anything’s a cinch. We may have to spend all day chopping away at that hard oak, but it will come down. That’s a good quote to apply to many things in life. If the task at hand, or an obstacle, looms too large in front of us, we think it’s insurmountable. That’s when small steps, small strokes, will eventually bring us to the top of the mountain. We may not win the race, but we will finish!

Just because our bodies are aging, doesn’t mean that we have to stop doing, thinking, and learning new things.

I’m on the backside of the sixth decade of this journey through the hills and valleys of life. It’s been quite a ride so far. I want to keep riding and enjoying the trip. There’s still so much I want to do and learn. As I begin the 67th year of this journey, what have I learned so far?

I’ve learned that life is a lot like a county fair. There are lots of rides to give us a thrill, games of chance to take our money, and the offer of great rewards and prizes if we’re willing to take a chance.

I’ve learned that politicians are like carney barkers. They offer us great prizes if we’ll support their game, but the majority of them seldom deliver the prizes they promise.
I’ve learned that life is too precious and short to waste. Make use of every waking moment you have. It can be gone in the blink of an eye.

I’ve learned that life and technology keep changing. You need to constantly adapt your thinking or be left behind. Change can be exciting.

I’ve learned that we need to take things less seriously. 95% of the things we worry about, we have no control over and can’t change anyway.

I’ve learned that if you want financial security in old age, you better start planning when you’re young and not depend on the government or someone else to take care of you. The retirement plan for many of us is death.

I’ve learned that life is not what you hope to do, or say you’re going to do, but what you actually do.

I’ve learned that when life looks the darkest, even a small light is appreciated and gives you hope to keep on going.

I’ve learned that money and possessions come and go. Some friends come and go depending on our good or bad fortunes, but the real friends, who are always there through thick and thin, are priceless!

I’ve learned that some people have a mind like an old steel trap. It’s rusted shut. No matter what you do or say, it’s not going to change their thinking.

I’ve learned that even a dead fish can float downstream. If you want to get someplace, you need to expend some effort and often swim against the current.

I’ve also learned that a door will open when you least expect it. We have the choice of closing it or walking through to see what new adventure awaits us. I’m curious and always want to know what’s beyond that door.

I’ll leave you with this final thought by Joseph Campbell. “You don’t want to get to the top of the ladder, or the end of your life, only to find it was leaning against the wrong wall.” Follow your bliss and dreams. Life isn’t a dress rehearsal. Don’t waste it.