I'm not sure when it happened and I never saw it coming...I'm 53 years old, I'm married to the most amazing woman in the world, and I have 3 lovely grandchildren..You see? That's exactly what I'm talking about man! I just used the word "lovely" in a sentence describing my grandchildren...I am "That old man"...I'm not sure when it happened and I never saw it coming...My grand kids call me Pepa...We live over 2000 miles away from our grand kids...When we're with them, which is NEVER long enough, we play and laugh and I'll pretend to be a monster until I have to sit down and rest...I am "That old man"...I'm not sure when it happened and I never saw it coming...When we're home and far away from our family, we miss everyone terribly! Just the other day, my wife and I decided to treat ourselves to a hot dog...A hot dog is a "treat" for me now because of my health...There was a young family of tourist there by the hot dog stand...The dad had his hands full carrying a baby and shopping bags filled with souvenir t-shirts and grass skirts, and my favorite, coconut bra's, while mom was trying hard to keep her 3 year old son (I'm guessing) out of a small pool of water that accumulated from a recent rain storm...I, rather spontaneously, said something silly to the young boy like "Ahhhh, you havin' fun in the water young man?"...The boy moved quickly to mom and grabbed her leg as if he saw that same monster that was chasing my grand kids...The mom and dad both looked at me with caution in their eyes and offered polite half smiles...I am "That old man"...I'm not sure when it happened and I never saw it coming...
When I'm at home working on a project or just relaxing a bit, I'll listen to my favorite music...There's nothing better than listening to a live version of Voodoo Child, by the late great Jimi Hendrix, while separating my meds and putting them in a little plastic container labeled with each day of the week and AM and PM...I am "That old man"...I'm not sure when it happened and I never saw it coming...I drive the most far out 1968 VW bus...There is no power steering or power brakes or air conditioning or power windows, so it's getting a little tougher to drive...I live across the street from one of the grooviest beaches on the island of Maui, so of course we have young, beautiful (never as beautiful as my wife!), scantly clad women everywhere you look...In the day, it wasn't uncommon to get sexy glances and flirty eyes from chics while cruising around...The looks I get now from the chics are as if they are concerned that I'm still driving at all, and the closest I get now to flirty eyes are comments I overhear like "Awwww isn't that cute" or "I wonder if he's lost?"...I blame it on my looks, not my age! I'm always told that I look older than I am...I have long white hair and some wrinkles and those weird looking red marks when I bump into things and I'm fat...Or maybe, I am "That old man"...I'm not sure when it happened and I never saw it coming...
I remember when I was younger and making dumb-ass comments about the old people, the old timers, the geezers...At the time, in my eyes and mind, I completely bought in to what Jack Weinberger said at one of the many Berkeley protests in the 60's...He said "Never trust anyone over 30"...That simple phrase became very popular with my piers and most of the anti-establishment crowd including Bob Dylan, Abbie Hoffman, and The Beatles...30 was old man! That is 33 years younger than I am now...I am "That old man"...I'm not sure when it happened and I never saw it coming...
This is all part of life man...Dig this, I'm realizing I'm in a funky sort of transition, and it's not a bad thing man...This doesn't change anything...I'm not going to act different or look different or walk different or speak different...This is only one of many far out transitions...Someday all of us will transition from life to death...This is all part of the deal man...When that time comes for me, I want to say or write or sign or type that I really dug the ride man...Checkin' out with Hendrix playing in the background while I'm sortin' my meds in a little container with the days of the week on it, doesn't sound so bad! I am "That old man"...I'm not sure when it happened and I never saw it coming...
The perception of young or old, is just that, a perception...My mother, whom I adore, will be 78 years old next month...I don't see her as an old lady when I visit, I see her as a miracle woman! She not only endured my rebellious, sometimes disrespectful youth, she endured the diverse characters and attitudes and expenses and sibling rivalries of five others, my equally grateful brothers and sisters...It's all perception man...I used to see 30 year old cats and wonder to myself "What will I be doing when I'm that old?"...Now I see 30 year old cats and wonder to myself "Ahhhhh to be 30 again, sooooo young...What would I do differently?" I can't really think of much I'd do differently, but I'm pretty sure my mother could come up with a pretty solid list of things!
I'm proud to be a Pepa and a husband and a brother and a uncle and a son, but dig this, I am "That old man"...I'm not sure when it happened and I never saw it coming...but I'm proud of that too!
Peace
