Like a Flash

Joe was in his late 80's when we loaded up and headed to Nashville. He asked if I had any need to make the trip to Nashville, some six hours north and east. I really didn't, but he was a friend and he wanted to go to his great-grandson's first birthday party. The great-grandson was named Joe. The trip was a done deal and we would travel two weekends later.

At the time, I was in my mid to late 50's. On the ride back, I turned to Joe and asked, "Does time slow down as you get older?". I was hopeful that it did as my fifties had sped by much quicker than any other decade of my life. Joe turned to me and said, "Oh, no. You'll put your head down and it'll be January. When you raise your head back up, it'll be May."

This was not the news that I wanted to hear. Already, in my mid-fifties, I would say something like, "In twenty years, I'd like to..." and then realize that more than ever, those twenty years were no guarantee. In your 20's or 30's or even 40's you can make that statement with relative certainty that you will be around. In your 50's you are starting to get old in twenty years.

I am now in my mid-60's and my friend Joe died this past November at age 98. Joe would tell you to respect each day that you are given and to give thanks for health and well-being. Joe would be right.