Age and Remembrance

Friends and family have been writing and calling me about my approaching age 88
on May 11.  Most all of them want to know how it feels to reach this ripe old age.  Of course, I inform them all that it is better than the alternative but
in truth, old age is not that great.  I'd rather be as old as my grandchildren,
just starting out in this brave new world.  Instead of old memories that seem to
infect much of my daylight hours, I would prefer to think of the things that I
could look forward to in the coming years, worlds that are out there to conquer
just as I used to dream about in my youth. I have few regrets during my long life.  I lived through some exciting times; the great depression of the '30s,
World War 2 in which I served for 4 long years, a marriage to Norma of 25 years with 3 wonderful children, gainful employment in responsible positions, including
a High School principalship then a beautiful marriage of 40 years to sweetheart,
Annabelle and be a close friend to her children as well. To top it all off,
I retired at age 54 and have been able to see the world and visit countries that
my father only talked about but never lived to see.  Throughout this time, I
managed to accumulate the finances to accommodate all of our aspirations to travel, buy what we need and share some of our good fortune with others. Now
where do we go from here.  They say that people who are afraid to die are also
afraid to live.  I'm not certain about that since the next few years will be
a challenge to both Annabelle and I as we open the final chapter in this episode.

People also want to know how one knows when one is getting old.  For me, the
response is quite simple.  Here's how I know that I reached that point in life.
Of course, you will have different markers to tell you when age has crept in.

When I still find the big band sounds of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw still
exciting and I find myself thinking of how I used to do the Lindy Hop at the
high school proms.  When I cringe after hearing some of the raucous language
on the TV, after listening in the old days to the mild comments of Jack Benny or
Phil Silvers on the radio.  When I remember Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby croon
their melodies, so sweet and tender.  When I seek out the old TV classics of
Gary Cooper or Jimmie Stewart or Kirk Douglas and the westerns I enjoyed.  Oh! yes, there were the ball players; Di Maggio, Mantle and even Babe Ruth that my
dad took me to see in New York.  When we traveled to the city to see Al Jolson,
Eddie Cantor and Will Rogers at the Palace in Manhattan.  How I remember the
1939 World's Fair which demonstrated the brand new gadget, television, which
was predicted would be the rave in the distant future.

These memories are so fresh in my mind and I still enjoy these vicarious
experiences.
The other day while strolling through Costco, Annabelle mentioned to me that
a good looking girl just walked by wearing too tight jeans.  I hadn't even noticed. Doesn't that tell you all you have to know about the aging process.

(Barri wrote to remind me that "too tight jeans weren't nice".  She's probably
right.)