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Today
is September, 15, 2008 and I just finished reading,” "How
it feels to be 80"
SPIRIT:
The only really upsetting thing about being old is realizing
that I'm not going to see how everything comes out.
By
Richard D. Leonard, 9.15.08 (Fall 2008)
http://www.uuworld.org/spirit/articles/117933.shtml?n
I
hasten to add I have been thinking along those lines . I
agree with several of Richards’s observations.
It
is disappointing to realize that I’m not going to see
how everything comes out. Like Richard, I would like to know
if we’re ever going to discover other intelligent beings
in outer space, and if so, how we’ll react to the news.
My son, Greg, probably will hear such news. I am a naturalist
humanist. I do not envision keeping an eye on things below
from above. There is longevity on my father’s side of
the family. His sister, Nancy and first cousin Cora Bell lived
well over a hundred and he in his eighties. It is great
to have lived this long. I have experienced my two children,
Carol and Greg, as mature, responsible, successful adults.
I got to review my childhood with my grand children, Junelle,
Ian, Alex, and Colin. It has been the best of times. Born
the fifth child during the depression years, almost every year
has been better than the one before. I have been lucky. For
successes, luck is when preparation meets opportunity. I also
know the meaning of “pure luck”. It is when good
things just happen. I have had some of that. Proof, meeting
and marring Betty Grant my partner in life for over fifty years.
A few years ago I began to experience episodes of fast irregular
palpitations, atria fibrillation. After experiencing a heart
rate of over one hundred and sixty per minute for 24 hours,
I became poetic. ( my THANATOPSIS)
THANATOPSIS JBK
I
know I must go Mr. Tango.
for
no one gets to stay.
I
know I must go Mr. Tango,
others
showed the way.
I
know I must go Mr. Tango,
kin
, friends left yesterday.
I
know I must go Mr. Tango,
for
no one gets to stay.
I
know I must go Mr. Tango,
weeks
are days, years are months,
my
father would say. Yesterday?
I
know I must go Mr. Tango,
for
no one gets to stay.
When?
I'm not ready to say.
I
know I must go Mr. Tango,
for
no one gets to stay.
Say!
I need more time to play!
I
know I must go Mr. Tango,
for
no one gets to stay.
So
little time.
No
delay?
Is
it slipping away?
No
one gets to stay.
One
more day.
No
one gets to stay.
One
day.
Say.
Stay.
Stay
To
paraphrase Richard, I look at my body, which is gradually getting
older and older, but I know I am also that kid who once tossed
my large, black nipple baby bottle from my carriage, (hearing
my mother say that is the last one son) and the two things
don’t quite seem to belong together. But they do! Life
is an adventure that begins at birth. How it turns out depends
largely on the choices one makes along the way. At age 80 years,
things seem to come together. One tends to look way back and
a somewhat short glance ahead. The past is assured, the future
(as it always was) less confident.
I
value intelligence, knowledge, competence and character. I
usually remain in the background until I see a real need
to lead. I am a naturalist humanist with Quaker roots, somewhat
independent. All living things seem to be connected, ordered
in a logical and intelligible way. A long-range thinker,
I practices tolerances and try to effectively communicate
my insights to others. I do not like conflict, and tend to
avoid it. I have an interest in others. I love people. Dignity,
respect, worth and social justice for all is my collective
goal. Thus far, I have enjoyed a rich and rewarding life.
--
I
still sing, “ Life is good ”. The word “deserve” has
little validity here. It is better to enjoy life than to fuss
about death. Perhaps my life’s work in Public Health
and Preventive Medicine and teaching may be the final score!
The Individual succumbs but he does not die if he has left
something to mankind.
History
begins after origins disappears. JBK 08
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