The world changed right before my very eyes and I did nothing to help it get where it is but I harbour no guilt whatsoever, I am just an old man that took advantage of what was here while it lasted! I worked when I needed to and I played as hard as I worked when I wanted to and now I am just some old guy whose taking up space and living on handouts. Call it a pension, retirement pay or whatever term works best to describe it but the truth is I am not contributing much to my fellow man and still I am without shame or much of a conscience about that.
Even if I wanted a job the pickings for a man my age are pretty slim; I mean they are out there and if I would only get up off of my butt and do something to sell my qualifications to someone in a position to put me back to work, who knows, maybe I could be the person knocking on your door and bringing that pizza you ordered, or I could be the friendly face that greets you when you need to make a trip to Wal Mart. I might be able to pull it off because I can still walk and drive and I can still be courteous to others if the pay is right. Hell, I don't need to be paid to be nice, but since I have to pay for everything I want why shouldn't I receive a generous allowance for any effort I put forth to others? Being compensated for effort, regardless of what it is shouldn't be too much to expect.
I'm not sure when it happens, I mean when we become just some old person in a fast changing world that no longer needs anything we are willing to offer but it happens to all of us eventually. It wasn't that long ago that everything in my head could have made a positive difference for someone and in fact I would like to believe that it did from time-to-time, but we are only as viable to someone else as our most recent endeavors and contributions to those that are running the world now. It is a reality we have no choice but to accept but we shouldn't complain because we were warned years ago that it would be this way; it has been for centuries!
An old axiom; "What have you done for me lately" is the way of the world and I guess it always has been but I am on a mission to laugh at anyone that expects me do anything for them because like another old axiom; I gave at the office! Now I am home, for good, and I am making the most of it and part of that is watching other people spin their wheels trying to stay ahead of me and everyone else around them. I say to them: you are winning, keep going forward as fast as you can, don't worry about us old folks because we had our time in the warmth of the sun, now it is your turn to be bigger, better and have more than everyone that helped you get into the lead. They seem to like it that way so who am I to wonder if there is anything left for me than to just admire them and hope that my eventual complete withdrawal from their world is peaceful and free of pain or chaos. So far so good!
I'm not dead yet, so as long as I can still dress myself and navigate my own fork when I eat what more could I want? From all indications my mind is as sharp as it ever was, I mean, as far as I can tell. In mid-summer I will find out the answers to a few questions I have wondered about for fifty years or so. They were asked by Paul McCartney in a song by the Beatles called "When I'm 64" and although I was never in a hurry to know one way or the other I am curious.
(Listen)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs2aMiyT6es
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ReplyDeletePerfect Chief.
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