Just a little more than usual
Certainly not a dog- they’re too laid back. I try to be laid back, but can’t pull that off for very long.
I dream about being a bird, if for no other reason than the ability to go airborne.
Probably a house cat. A creature of habit, a bit finicky, sometimes playful, sometimes affectionate, with instincts and movements that might occasionally remind one of a bigger relative in the wild.
Greetings from here in the past.
Congratulations on reaching the century mark! And you thought you might not see 80…
This is a letter from your 72-year-old self, written in early 2026, when seismic changes continue to be the order of the day and many of us are still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Since you’re 100, you obviously survived whatever upheaval ensued, but I have to wonder how things are going for you, and everyone else. Are you cared for, are your needs being met? Does America still exist? Does society still function? How’s the weather?
Listen to me. I’m getting ahead of myself. My job is to report and convey current conditions. I’ll refrain from asking more questions and offering advice. Hell, you managed to make it to 100– there’s nothing I can offer on that front!
Anyway, it’s a mixed bag here in 2026– more foreboding than promise. We’re still in the hands of an idiot and an equally unqualified cast around him. That you’ve reached 100 says something, I guess, considering what’s happening now. We’re at war with Iran, gas prices are going through the roof. Lots of self-inflicted wounds, on the part of so-called leaders, that are affecting us all.
Sorry I can’t be more upbeat. I guess it says something hopeful, though– that you’re still hanging in there. I didn’t think I had it in me.
If I was using my own money, nowhere exciting. My definition of a shopping spree is heading to Boscov’s and getting some new t-shirts and socks, and, depending on the season, maybe a new, toasty U.S Polo Association hoodie or a new short-sleeved shirt.
If it was a five-minute shopping spree I had won, then maybe a place where I could pick out a wood lathe and all necessary extras. Or how about a Toyota dealership, so I could pick out a new Tacoma extended cab?
I think it might have been something about the function of a kitchen appliance or tool that I have been using for years, but I can’t remember which one it was.
I’m usually learning something new from one news feed or another– some scientific discovery or fact, some new detail about a country or a law, or when the pilot episode of a new show will premier.
And of course there’s always the new-to-me and often dramatic terminology meteorologists use to describe the weather.
Good question. My father used to ask me, periodically, “So, do you think you’ll ever amount to anything?” I never really hated the question. Maybe I was more confused by it, though I remember usually taking it with a grain of salt, assuming that he was being playful and asking the same thing of my siblings.
I always said Yes, even though I had no plan or little reason for confidence. Besides, whether or not I ever amounted to anything wouldn’t be my question to answer. I came to see this as a reflection of what Dad thought of himself, because of what he perceived as a lack of societally sanctioned “achievements” in his life. He could get down on himself pretty easily, even though to my brothers and sisters and I, he was always the best dad in the world, and loved and respected by everyone around him.
I guess the question I hate most, whether asked outright or insinuated with body language or a glance, is “What are we gonna do today?”– as if every day must have an agenda and a To Do list, as in “Time to get your ass in gear.” I really am annoyed by that, for some reason. The days of being concerned with purposeful busyness have been over for a while.
I’m having trouble zeroing in on an example of this– not that there haven’t been failures along the way– but nothing specific is coming to mind where failure led to success. I guess in a more generic sense, from the perspective of an institutional failure, the closure of a place where I worked and the subsequent need to engage in further training so I could stay employed and earn a paycheck led to the best job I ever had and a growing feeling that I was ready to take on more responsibility, which in turn led to leaving town for seminary and 26 years as an ordained minister.
Apart from that whole process, I have failed from time to time to interpret signals and listen to my wife, and that is a lesson I sadly continue to learn. It’s always been unclear what success looks like, in this case. As Winston Churchill once put it– in a different context– it’s been more of a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
Central Massachusetts wasn’t a bad place to grow up… or Being the oldest of five was a mixed blessing… or It’s been a non-descript life, but at least it was mine… or I was born on a Sunday... or I don’t consider my life to be autobiographically worthy… or It’s been a long, mostly unremarkable ride…
I don’t plan on writing an autobiography.
I suppose, when push comes to shove, I could live without a lot of things. But in broad terms and for the sake of this prompt, I’d find it difficult to part with food, clothing, and shelter. A fine-tuned version might include my watch, my iPad, and comfortable footwear.
Boy Scouts comes to mind, since we spent so much time learning what we’d now consider life skills, and were availed of so many different opportunities and enriching experiences that made us better equipped and more aware.
I learned important things from my Mom and Dad and grandparents– how to behave, how to treat people. The college years gave me exposure to a bigger, more diverse world. Marriage and parenthood opened my eyes to real responsibilities and commitment. And spending twenty-six years as a pastor exposed me to the myriad joys and travails of being human, living without all the answers.
Not really. I have a bit of trouble with the concept. It makes for good drama and self-talk, maybe even a book or two, but I have my doubts about this. I can see how people think it fits into their story, heightens the human interest, but it usually takes some molding and shaping along the way.
It’s only a movie, but Lieutenant Dan was supposed to die on the field of battle with his men, and then Forrest interrupted that flow. Doesn’t it ever make one wonder about the self-fulfilling prophecy aspect of this? Like destiny pigeon-holes someone, restricts them because they feel they need to be on some prescribed track from which they must never stray?
Romance is rife with this talk, but then we get into the whole concept of soulmates, and that’s a discussion for another day.
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