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| With Debbie in Idaho in 2012 |
I turn 64 today. It was suggested to me that I create a “bucket
list.” I politely told the person that I didn’t need a bucket list. I’ve done
just about everything I could desire to do in life.
No, it hasn’t been perfect. Whether alone or with Debbie, my
wonderful wife of almost forty years, I have spent the last six plus decades
walking the challenging path we call life. We have known success, failure, and
success again. We have endured challenges, painful loss, and bittersweet times,
but through it all we have endured with a philosophy of never giving up on life
or each other.
I don’t need a bucket list. I am indeed proud to say that I managed to graduate from
college, become an Army paratrooper and Ranger, serve in two wars, survive the bullets, mortars, or rockets directed at me, climb tall mountains, cross raging rivers, walk through jungles in Asia filled with both men and
animals that could kill me, traverse deserts in the Middle East also filled
with both men and animals that could kill me, jump out of perfectly good
airplanes, ride a surfboard at dawn, scuba-dive in the ocean with sharks and in freshwater springs with alligators, survive the crash landing of an airplane, own a business, put a lot of bad guys in jail as
a cop (and help a few good guys along the way), start a scholarship fund to
honor a fellow police officer’s memory, write a book, live in the best country on earth, have the greatest parents and sister anyone could ask for, marry the finest
woman in the world, father four beautiful children, and live to see my
wonderful grandchildren. I didn't do everything right, but I hope the pluses are more than the minuses.
I have no right to ask for more than God has given me so
far. I only wish to spend as much quality time with Debbie as I can. We have
been blessed to retire together.
I received the following email from a good friend. We
both grew up in Orlando in the fifties and sixties, and we now find ourselves
on the far side of the hill of life. We don’t plan to cash in our chips any
time soon, but it is easier to see the end of the game somewhere down the road:
****
“Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't
done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy
to have done. It's all in a lifetime.
If you're not in your winter yet, let me remind you that it
will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish
in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long! Life goes by
quickly. Do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your
winter or not!
You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of
your life, so live for today and say all the things that you want your loved
ones to remember, and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things
that you have done for them in all the years past!
'Life' is a gift to you. The way you live your
life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one. Live it
well, enjoy today, do something fun, be happy, travel everywhere, and have a
great day. Remember that it is health that is real wealth and not pieces of
gold and silver. Live happy in 2013!
Lastly, consider the following:
- Today is the oldest you’ve
ever been, yet the youngest you’ll ever be, so enjoy this day while it
lasts.
- Your kids are becoming you,
but your grandchildren are perfect!
- Going out is good; coming
home is better!
- You forget names.... But
it's okay because other people forgot they even knew you!
- You realize you're never
going to be really good at things like golf.
- The things you used to
care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't
care to do them anymore.
- You sleep better on a
lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed. It's called 'pre-sleep.'
- You miss the days when
everything worked with just an 'ON' and 'OFF' switch.
- You tend to use more 4
letter words ... 'what?'...'when?'...
- Now that you can afford
expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.
- You notice everything they
sell in stores is 'sleeveless.'
- What used to be freckles
are now liver spots.
- Everybody whispers.
- You have 3 sizes of
clothes in your closet, two of which you will never wear.
- But old is good in some things: old songs, old movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS!
Stay well, 'OLD FRIEND!' Send this on to other 'Old Friends!' and let them laugh in AGREEMENT!
It's not what you gather, but what
you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.”
****
Thanks to my friend for his wisdom.
Thanks to my family and friends for their support and love. Thanks to you for
taking the time to read an old man’s musings.
Thanks to God for this life....
Charles M. Grist
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