The Best and Worst of Times

Across the Fence #371

It’s time to open the door to a new year and see what awaits us on the other side. We never know what adventures, opportunities, and challenges we’ll encounter. Only time will tell.

I imagine many of you are looking forward to New Year’s Eve parties where you’ll welcome the New Year in with toasts, cheers, funny hats, noisemakers, and the singing of Auld Lang Syne. Did you know the words of that song mean “the times gone past; the good old days.”

I’m not much of a party animal anymore, so I’ll just try to stay awake long enough to say that I saw the New Year arrive. Once I kick back in my Lazy Boy I don’t always make it. I’m like one of those dolls whose eyes close when you put them in a horizontal position. Even three-quarter horizontal will do it for me. The dropping of the ball in Times Square often takes place as I’m wandering around in dreamland, with a distant voice somewhere in the fog that sounds a lot like Dick Clark, counting down the remaining seconds in the old year.

As we look back on the old year that we’re leaving behind, the words of Charles Dickens from A Tale of Two Cities, comes to mind, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” That probably applies to most people. We all have good times and bad times. Hopefully, the good times far outweighed the bad for all of you. Just remember, when you sing Auld Lang Syne, you’re waxing nostalgic for the good old days.

I have some friends who would just as soon leave the old year far behind. It hasn’t been the best of times for them. Heart attacks, cancer diagnosis, injuries in an auto accident, arthritic problems, knee replacements, hip replacements, jobs being eliminated, and the list goes on and on. Needless to say, most of my friends are card carrying AARP members. Senior citizen status is not for sissies! Many of my best friends are fellow Vietnam vets. We may no longer be lean, mean fighting machines, but there’s still plenty of fight left in us.

That reminds me of the story about a C-130 that was lumbering along when a cocky F-16 flashed by. The jet jockey decided to show off. The fighter jock told the C-130 pilot, “watch this!” and promptly went into a barrel roll, followed by a steep climb. He then finished with a sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier. The F-16 pilot asked the C-130 pilot what he thought about that.

The C-130 pilot radioed back, “That was pretty impressive, but watch this!” The C-130 droned along for about five minutes and then the C-130 pilot came back on and said, “What did you think of that?”

Puzzled, the F-16 pilot asked, “What the heck did you do?”

The C-130 pilot chuckled. “I stood up, stretched my legs, walked to the back of the plane, went to the bathroom, got a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll, and then came back to the cockpit and sat down.”

When you are young and foolish, speed and flash may seem like a good thing! When you get older and smarter, comfort and unexciting is not such a bad thing! We older folks understand this one. It’s called S.O.S.... Slower, Older and Smarter.

On the flip side of Dicken’s saying, it’s also the best of times. Those friends who’ve encountered problems during the past year, are still alive and above ground. They have positive attitudes and have enough life experiences to know that the road we travel is not always paved, and sometimes filled with potholes. When we hit those roads, we adjust our speed and continue on our journey, slower, older, and smarter, just like the old C-130 pilot.

As we open that door to the New Year, we know it’s filled with new adventures and possibilities. It holds excitement for our family, but that’s another story. It also holds more of those moments that money can’t buy; the sun rising out of a morning fog; golden sunsets that change every day–each more breathtaking than the next; towering storm clouds rolling across the prairie; deer grazing in the back yard–always on alert; water rippling over the rocks in a peaceful trout stream; the soothing sound of the wind ruffling the leaves of the trees and making the oats move like waves on an ocean; the smell of new-mown hay; corn shocks standing like sentries in a field, lined up in perfect formation as they disappear over the hill; the sound of a windmill cranking in the wind on a hot summer day; following animal tracks in a blanket of new-fallen snow; snowshoeing through a woods as large flakes of snow fall around you; sitting quietly in a fall woods and watching the leaves drift lazily to the ground; hearing the sound of turkeys calling nearby; and the sound of a Loon echoing across a lake as the water gently laps against a canoe.

Being aware of nature all around us, and taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells; these are the intangible things that add to our lives and often become the best of times, even if you’re going through the worst of times. Enjoy them all. Happy New Year everyone!

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