What the HECK is going on here?? I mean, the day before yesterday it was Memorial Day; and now it’s almost October awreddy and I’m just now getting ready to put garlic in the garden!! I’m sorry but time seems to be flying faster than ever, and I really don’t think it’s fair!\u00a0 I’m thinking there must be some type of time warp going on…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our daughter will be 48 this year!! And our son is already 43!!\u00a0 Sheesh!! And our daughter and her awesome husband have two boys who are 16 and 12 years old. They were babies just a few weeks ago!! WHAT IS GOING ON??? Very soon after our daughter and son-in-law had their first kid, I warned them that they will soon notice something very strange: time will vanish much more quickly with each passing day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or at least it sure seems to go fast. As a friend of mine once told me, \u201cYou know what the frogs say… ‘time’s fun when you’re having flies!!’ \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well this time zooming stuff is exactly what happening to me these days. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I know I’m getting older; and for that very reason I treasure each day I am on the planet. I kinda like it here! I’m not worried about what comes next; I’m pretty much convinced that cool stuff awaits us in the Great Beyond. But hey, let\u2019s not rush things. I’m here now and loving life. And Holy Cow, I’m a grandparent!! I mean, hey, my wife and I were just dating a couple years ago!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OK, it’s like this, awright?? I remember vividly when the Beatles first came to America on the Mayflower like 5 or 6 years ago! Or something\u2026 Anyway, I really do remember sitting in my grandparents\u2019 apartment in Brooklyn, NY when I was just short of 10 years old. My 8 transistor radio was glued to my ear while the Fab Four disembarked at JFK airport; with all the media of the day interviewing them every step of the way through the crowd of screaming fans. I even jokingly mentioned, \u201cHey Dad!! The Beatles just landed at JFK! We could go over there to see \u2018em!!\u201d \u201cYeah right!!\u201d he retorted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’m not 10 anymore. I’m 71 !! How is this possible?? I remember not to long ago I was lusting to retire at age 66. When you were a kid, do you ever remember wanting <\/i><\/strong>to be 66? Well I’ve been there, man!! So glad to be done with this working stuff. Yes, money is smaller now. But being an old fart isn’t so bad… I get to be a grandpa!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One cool thing about being a grandpa is that you get to reflect on all the changes that have happened over the years. Any of you who are old like me understand that life is exactly the same as when we were younger, only completely different. With technology alone, things have changed just a wee bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Picture this, kiddies. When I was born in 1954, commercial TV had only been rockin\u2019 for about 13 years. Most stuff on TV was live broadcasts. If you had the TV on too early, you\u2019d see a test pattern. If you had it on too late, you\u2019d see a flag waving in the breeze while the national anthem was playing just prior to the station shutting down for the night. Although TV was on the rise, there were still dramas and comedies being made for and played on the radio. And when you turned on either a radio or a TV, you had to wait a few minutes for them to warm up. That’s because the tubes and their associated circuits had to stabilize. Tubes?? Say what?? Yes, tubes. And even after the radio or TV warmed up you often had to mess with the fine tuning to keep your signals coming in clearly. When you dialed a phone, you literally <\/i><\/strong>used a dial on the phone. None of the phones took batteries in those days. No fancy ring tones, just a bell. I know that some of you readers out there can outdo me on the dinosaur technology memories; but you get my drift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although I’m retired now, I do remember those “good old days” of work I also remember some \u201cblack holes\u201d where a time warp knocked me in the head when I least expected it. For example: I’d scurry to get ready for work in the morning. Most of this zaniness was self inflicted, because I’d sleep till the last minute and then play fireman to get ready for the ride to work. We heat with sticks (we have wood heat), so in the colder months it\u2019s my job to get the fires going. One is downstairs in the old part of the house, one upstairs in the addition. I’d start the furnace downstairs and then grab an armload of wood to feed the wood eater upstairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, I’d yank open the fridge and grab my lunch; shove it into the fancy Igloo cooler my friend Jeff got me for two bucks at a yard sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pour the coffee into the travel mug, grab the cell phone, and head for the garage at precisely 6:54 a.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Situate my lunch on the passenger seat, stick my coffee mug into the cup holder, come around to the driver\u2019s seat and turn on the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE CLOCK NOW SAYS 7:03 A.M. FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!! There is NO WAY it takes me 9 minutes to walk from my back door to the garage. And yes, the car\u2019s clock is correct; just like the clock inside. I\u2019m pretty anal about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Time warp I tell ya!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are old enough to remember the Rocky Horror Picture Show… I mean really remember<\/i>, <\/strong>meaning you were old enough to enjoy it when it first came on the scene… well then you and I really are in a time warp. Aren’t we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t believe any of this time warp nonsense? Well all I can say is: I bet you don\u2019t have kids. Even if you don’t, you’re gonna get old like me some day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll see\u2026
<\/p>\n\n\n\n