Well, it finally happened - I became middle aged when I woke up this
morning. Yesterday I was twice 17, and today I'm halfway to 70. It
makes me feel old, realizing that half of my life is probably over. I
looked back at an old "to do" list I made up when I was in my late
teens, and I haven't gotten much of any of it done. For example:
A) I still don't have a harem, or enough money to afford one
(and now I don't have enough ENERGY, either)
B) I still haven't written my first book - just jotted down
lots of rough ideas
C) I still don't own a 1960's era VW Karmann Ghia
(though I do now have a 1969 Ford van, so I'm getting closer)
D) I still haven't invented something or patented an idea that changed
everyone's life
E) I've never grown another pumpkin larger than the 263 pounder I grew
back in 1984
F) I still haven't eaten snapping turtle, raccoon, squirrel, crow, or
any number of other animals that my Grandmother told me she had eaten
in her childhood. To my wife's chagrin, I did actually eat slugs.
(well fried, in a frying pan she made me clean out very well afterwards)
On the other hand, I have accomplished a few things on the list. I
got married and started raising a couple of kids. We own our own
house now. I've been published - not only did I have a monthly
computer software/hardware review article for 6 years, but I've also
been commissioned to write some freelance articles recently.
Anyway, sort of in jest, I wrote the following poem:
Ode to Arthritis
Oh, to be young and carefree again
when things cost less
and ideas were new and exciting
Today it's the same old, same old
routine has taken hold
and the thought for the day seems recycled
everything is taken with a grain of salt
or in my case, sometimes a lump
the size of a bowl of breakfast cereal
And yes, sometimes my joints pop
or a muscle ache reminds me that
I'm not a youngster any more
The senior moments come more often now
and sometimes I find myself
standing in the basement
wondering why I went down there
But you know what?
I'm eccentric, and happy that way
the greying hair doesn't bother me too much
and hey, I can always dye it green, can't I?
I still like comic books
and science fiction
and by darn it, I refuse to grow up!
When I'm 70, I'll still lay on the grass
out under a tree, looking up at the clouds
imagining what the shapes might be
morning. Yesterday I was twice 17, and today I'm halfway to 70. It
makes me feel old, realizing that half of my life is probably over. I
looked back at an old "to do" list I made up when I was in my late
teens, and I haven't gotten much of any of it done. For example:
A) I still don't have a harem, or enough money to afford one
(and now I don't have enough ENERGY, either)
B) I still haven't written my first book - just jotted down
lots of rough ideas
C) I still don't own a 1960's era VW Karmann Ghia
(though I do now have a 1969 Ford van, so I'm getting closer)
D) I still haven't invented something or patented an idea that changed
everyone's life
E) I've never grown another pumpkin larger than the 263 pounder I grew
back in 1984
F) I still haven't eaten snapping turtle, raccoon, squirrel, crow, or
any number of other animals that my Grandmother told me she had eaten
in her childhood. To my wife's chagrin, I did actually eat slugs.
(well fried, in a frying pan she made me clean out very well afterwards)
On the other hand, I have accomplished a few things on the list. I
got married and started raising a couple of kids. We own our own
house now. I've been published - not only did I have a monthly
computer software/hardware review article for 6 years, but I've also
been commissioned to write some freelance articles recently.
Anyway, sort of in jest, I wrote the following poem:
Ode to Arthritis
Oh, to be young and carefree again
when things cost less
and ideas were new and exciting
Today it's the same old, same old
routine has taken hold
and the thought for the day seems recycled
everything is taken with a grain of salt
or in my case, sometimes a lump
the size of a bowl of breakfast cereal
And yes, sometimes my joints pop
or a muscle ache reminds me that
I'm not a youngster any more
The senior moments come more often now
and sometimes I find myself
standing in the basement
wondering why I went down there
But you know what?
I'm eccentric, and happy that way
the greying hair doesn't bother me too much
and hey, I can always dye it green, can't I?
I still like comic books
and science fiction
and by darn it, I refuse to grow up!
When I'm 70, I'll still lay on the grass
out under a tree, looking up at the clouds
imagining what the shapes might be
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