Getting Old

As I continue to head towards that Netherland of 90 years old, this December, I think I am finally beginning to sense that aura of OLD. I had not really sensed much change in my personal body-sense. But lately, I notice little things. For example, I will be doing something minor, brushing my teeth perhaps.  And then I will look down and think, huh, this small thing I am doing, I will suddenly cease doing.  Or, I will be in the garden, and sink a pitchfork into the earth, and think, I am doing this, but for how long? Each action is a tiny event, one that is carried out in the millions by others. And most of us think not at all about those tiny gestures. We just do them, and that is called LIFE.

And so each day proceeds with tiny gestures that we scarcely notice. We raise a glass and say, “To Us”, and then it is over. We then begin drinking that fluid.  Or, we get into our car, and turn it on, then begin driving. And we barely notice that we steer so as to remain on the proper side of the highway, and we apply brakes when needed to avoid crunching into the car in front.  And then life goes on without our noticing it.  Every once in a while, someone inquires how old I am. And I tell them, with as much humor as I can muster, and then we all laugh.  But then I realize that, HEY, none of my relatives made it this long. Huh!

And then LIFE goes on. But then something new. I notice now that our weather notices are changing. We generally check our weather by turning to the Weather App on our phone. And it says, No rain is expected for the next four hours.  Or maybe it forecasts a storm approaching and informs us what to expect. But I am noticing lately, maybe since I have become really conscious of Climate Change, that the weather seems different. It used to be either clear, or cloudy and then maybe some rain would fall out of the sky.  But lately, it never just rains. Instead, the sky opens up and pours this heavy downpour, sometimes with great noise and wind.

And if we stumble across the TV newscaster, he doesn’t just tell us whether we should expect rain. No, instead, he forecasts the probability that a severe storm will come across our property and destroy it. “There is a 75% chance that a storm will cross your county and tear up the houses therein,” Yeah, it doesn’t just rain anymore. Now, it is either calm, or a tornado may be on the way.

So, this is Life in the 21^st Century?  Yeah, it’s different. Now to be fair, folks around the world are still killing one another, just because they can. Yeah, the Russians continue to shoot up, or blow up anything that moves in the Ukraine. And the Israeli’s continue to blow up anything that smells of HAMAS. To be fair, HAMAS keeps on killing Israeli’s so as to provoke them continuously. Apparently, the world of humans has never tired of killing one another.  I’ve been around here since 1934, and the killing machines have simply never stopped except ever so briefly.

And now, The Donald and his MAGAHeads are promising another “Bloodbath” (his term not mine) should we the people decide to re-elect Joe Biden. And yet, Americans continue to support him.  Really America?? You are seriously thinking of voting for him again in November??  So we really have re-entered 1936 Germany, but somehow, I don’t see the Canadians or the British coming to save us from him. Nope, it’s all on us, and we will have to live out the consequences. Yeah, America, Life has Consequences.

And so my aging continues. But who will end sooner –Me , or America?  Wait and see. Let the Games Begin.