Thought:
The age of , has now visited me a few years back and I look back with fondness over most of my life. At least I learned a few things:
1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."
3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them
5. You should not confuse your career with your life.
6. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
7. Never lick a steak knife.
8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.
9. You will never find anybody who can give you a compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.
10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.
12. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.
13. A person, who is nice to you, but rude to a waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)
14. Your friends love you anyway.
15. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
16. Thought for the day:? Men are like fine wine. They start out as grapes, and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with
There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2030, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.
Some times you just have to ask yourself " Will I live to be 80?"
I recently chose a new primary care physician.
After two visits and exhaustive lab tests, he said I was doing
"fairly well" for my age.
A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him,
"Do you think I'll live to be 80?"
He asked, "Do you smoke tobacco or drink alcoholic beverages?"
"No," I replied. "I don't do drugs, either."
Then he asked, "Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?"
I said, "No, my other doctor said that all red meat is unhealthy!"
"Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, boating,
fishing or relaxing at the beach?"
"No, I don't," I said.
He asked, "Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex?"
"No," I said. "I don't do any of those things."
He then looked at me and asked,
"Then why do you give a shit?"
Growing up in the 1950s was a unique experience which I hope to share with my children and grandchildren.
It is probably boring as heck right now but one day you too will look back and wonder what happened. You will wonder what life was like four your grandfather and grandmother... just like we do now!
My father grew up in the early 1900's and had no electric, gas, nor running water as a kid in Arkansas. No radio, TV, cars, movies... only his imagination and good friends and hard work to pass the time! How would you survive without these things?
Mom grew up in Oklahoma and was the oldest of five providing guidance and love to the others. She also grew up without all the amazing wonders we had in the 1950's and noting like today's children.
It was my good luck to marry a wonderful person who enjoyed me looking back and inquiring into my families past when we visited with them. Sue was always interested in the older generation because they are, in essence, what we are today. The values taught by Mom and Dad were passed on to me and I hope I represent them well.
Some of the stories, you will see, would have never come out and be shared if it were just me asking the questions.
So, off we go into a set of random memories. Random because I am getting old and I do not remember so this is being built kind of ad hoc... I think of something and write about it!
Let's see where it leads.
On a serious note when my parents passed, I knew precious little about them except what I could glean out of their relatives and friends so a lot was lost. Why didn't I know more? Because I was a kid whose world was wrapped around me! As I head down the path we will all take, I decided to write about the things I remember, people I knew, and perhaps sometime in the distant future, my kids or grandkids might be as interested in me as I because about my parents. Maybe yes, maybe no. It yes, great... it will be here! If no, great... I will have enjoyed retrieving old memories from the old grey matter.