Being Old Revisited...!

I'm sure that I've posted this, or a variation of it, before...

I wanted to post it again because, first of all, I like it! Secondly, I find it to be very true. It pretty much says just how I feel about getting older...

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.

I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer the question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)

Now, what say we get some fresh, hot coffee, my friend?

As This Ever Happened To You...?

This morning I was sitting here drinking my coffee...and I got to thinking. Always a bad sign, don't you think?

Several things occurred to me about my past life, and I thought I might mention them here to see if anyone else has ever experienced the same.

All through my life, I have been talked at, talked about, talked down to, talked over, and talked around...but very few times has someone actually talked TO me!

For most of my life, my opinion has been demanded of me, given to me, subject to change for me, bribed for, ransomed for, offered to pay for, and misinterpreted or misunderstood...but seldom has anyone just simply and honestly ASKED for it!

I have been looked over, looked through, overlooked, looked in the direction of, looked at but not seen, looked at to size up..but very few times has anyone looked straight at me EYE TO EYE!

Often I have had my hand pawed, pumped up and down, drowned by a sweaty palm, engulfed limply, slapped both playfully and for real, symbolically shaken, and even almost raised...but only on a few happy occasions have I ever had my hand firmly shaken as a new or reunited FRIEND!

Far, far too often I have been pushed out of the way, pulled down, pushed aside, pushed down, pushed in the wrong direction, pushed to the edge, pushed to my limit....but only a few remembered times in my life, have I ever had anyone offer to help push me UP!

I have been picked on, picked last, not picked at all, picked over and even picked clean...but once in a great while, I have had the honor of being picked as a new acquaintance or maybe even an advisor!

Most of these actions hurt a little. Most are done without even thinking about it. Most are done by nearly all of us from time to time, either on purpose or by accident. No matter how they are done, the impression and the damage is always the same.

To make sure that I do the best that I can to avoid these negative actions as much as I can. For instance, if you (or I) are in a gathering, such as a party or meeting or group activity...take the time to look around you. Scan the crowd a little and carefully look at the faces.

You'll probably see at least one person, maybe standing with their back to the wall, not far from a doorway...that has a look on his or her face that can only be saying "What am I doing here?" When you find that one person, walk purposefully up to them, offer them your hand while looking them straight in the eye, give them a nice firm hand shake and say in all honesty "Hello, my name is (your name) and I'm really glad to see you!"

Most of the time you'll immediately see the lost look disappear and a smile replace it. You will have just made a possible outsider feel as though they are a participating member of a group, and you will quite possibly just have made a new friend! Best of all, deep down inside...you have the satisfaction of knowing you have done something positive FOR someone and not TO them.

Now, let's have another cup of coffee, my friend!

A Little Change Of Pace...!

Instead of the usual stuff today, I thought I'd share this little beauty with you.

It's called an Albino Peacock and it's very rare! It's also very beautiful! Just goes to show that if we don't manage to totally destroy every living creature on this old Earth, we will have the opportunity in the future to see this treasure and many, many more!

Let's hope that the PTB manage to control themselves long enough so that our children and maybe our grandchildren have the chance to enjoy sights such as this.

However, with that being said, I want you to know that I truly enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature. That's one of the reasons that I want out of the city.

I want to be free of the ugliness of concrete and the smell of gasoline and exhaust fumes. I want to wake up to the sounds of gentle breezes and birds singing, instead of the head splitting sound of sirens and traffic jams.

I want to be able to see the blue of the sky without it being polluted with the smog and poisonous fumes of the petrol-chemical plants nearby.

I want to be able to sit on my own front porch on my own land at night, unafraid, with no sounds to disturb me except the gentle sound of night that nature makes. All I want in this life is peace of mind.

I want to eat food that I grow, from seeds that I plant, on land that I own. No following rules made by people I don't know, agencies I don't recognize, and powers that don't have my best interest in mind at all!

In short, I want to live as a free American, in the fashion our forefathers intended. I want to be free to oppose unjust laws, to speak out against any injustice, and to defend myself and my loved ones against all oppressors, foreign and domestic!

I give you this quote by someone much more eloquent than I...

" I know not what others may choose but, as for me, give me liberty or give me death."
Patrick Henry


God Bless America, the true America!

Now, let's go get some coffee, my friend!

Countdown To The New Year...!

A little bit of amusement for ya from the pages of the Farmers Almanac...

Among the various superstitions surrounding the advent of the New Year is the nearly mandatory practice of noisemaking at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Now looked upon as mere revelry, it once was considered protection against evil spirits, who would be scared off by all of the noise.

Whistling, however, is strictly taboo; to whistle is to converse with the devil or invite him in. Sailors, actors and actresses, and miners are particularly cognizant of the ill luck associated with whistling. On board ship, whistling is thought to raise a storm. In the theatre, it is believed to close the show prematurely. For miners, it is a sign of alarm.

A whistling girl and a crowing hen,

Always come to no good end.

Now let's start this day off right with some fresh, hot coffee. OK, my friend?