Letters from North America
by Peary Perry
I
hate the word …old. As
in ….”You’re getting
OLD…”
I’ve never thought of
myself as ever being
old. I just thought I
was ….lived in. When I
look in the mirror, I
see myself as I was
years ago…..obviously I
must be kidding myself,
since I notice a couple
of subtle changes which
have started happening.
Women and young men hold
the doors open for me as
I go to the store.
Secondly the sackers at
the grocery look at me
like I’ve lost my mind
when I refuse to accept
their help carrying my
stuff out to my car. I’m
getting a lot
more…”Sir….are you
sure?” questions in the
past few years.
Now, don’t get me wrong,
I’m not on death’s
doorstep….I still have
my health and aside from
needing to lose more
weight and exercise
more…don’t we all? I’m
still hanging in
here….The only time
someone has actually
called me old was a few
years ago in a bank
parking lot when this
doofus walked behind my
truck as I was backing
up to leave. He yelled
at me and called me a
blind old man. I might
have punched his lights
out, but he managed to
get in his car and drive
away before I could get
my seat belt unbuckled
and out of the truck to
go after him. The fact
that it took me several
minutes to get out of my
vehicle to catch him may
have had something to do
with his escaping my
wrath. He should count
himself lucky I wasn’t
able to catch him.
I‘ve found that I enjoy
naps more during the
week, not just on Sunday
afternoon. I read more
and watch television
less. I eat better foods
and now I’m starting to
buy things on sale at
the store. Something I
never did when I was
younger. Last weekend I
bought a pound of bacon
and walked out with a
loaf of bread, can of
hot sauce, package of
flour tortillas,
enchilada sauce, package
of sausage and some
coffee creamer…all free
just for buying the
bacon. What a deal. I
guess I could have been
doing this all along,
but was so busy working;
I never stopped to
sample the free stuff
being given away when I
went shopping. Now I can
just snack away to my
heart’s content while
buying what I need.
Now my old friends swap
recipes and jokes with
me everyday on the
internet. We used to
hang out in bars and
drink everyday and tell
jokes, but our livers
gave out and our wives
threatened to leave us
so we changed our rowdy
ways. I’d hate to think
what my life would be
like if I was single
again. Perish the
thought. The last time I
was up past midnight is
when some drunk dialed
the wrong number to wish
us a Happy New Year. No
one our age stays up
late on New Years
Eve…everyone we know
celebrates the change
according to New York
City time….I suppose
we’ll be looking at what
time it is in London in
a few more years. I
guess old folks in
London use China for
their time to celebrate.
I also find that I don’t
dress up like I used to
do. The only time I wear
a suit and tie is when
someone dies or we go to
a wedding. I’ve noticed
that we go to funerals
more than weddings since
most of our friends kids
have already gotten
married once and they
don’t seem to make a big
deal out of it when they
get married for the
second time around. I
read the obituaries more
than I used to do. I
realize that’s kind of
morbid, but I do it
anyway. Every time I see
a death notice on
someone my age, I just
say a silent prayer that
it wasn’t me or someone
I know.
I notice that I listen
more and talk less. This
has become more
noticeable to my family
since they often ask if
there is something wrong
or if I feel alright. I
feel fine, I just like
to hear others talk and
don’t feel the need to
dominate the
conversations like I
know I used to do when I
was younger.
I cherish my friends and
family more. It seems
the older you get, the
harder it is to make new
friends. You have to
start all over telling
your life history and
all of your little
quirks and funny
stories. Then you have
to listen as someone
else tells you about
their lives. I don’t
mind this, but sometimes
I get bored just
listening to me
answering questions
about my life. After
awhile you almost want
to erase everything and
start over……
But, I will say that all
in all getting older
isn’t really all that
bad….it beats the
alternative of not doing
so. As someone once told
me…birthdays are good
things to have.
I’ll agree with that.
