Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Lunch Question
Before I moved to the South West this year I had weekly luncheons with a good friend at a local restaurant in Easton. One day my friend asked, "Your getting up there in years Joe. How does it feel to know you are coming to the end of your journey?" My response was as glib as I could make it. I wanted to talk about politics or town gossip or any thing that looked more pleasant as a topic to discuss over lunch. Now, living out here on the prairie, I've had a whole lot more "alone time" so I've had some opportunities to consider my friend's question. I remembered a quote I read years ago, "If you have no adventures in your youth you will have no wonderful memories in your dotage." True. My observations now have led me to the conclusion that the thing to do is to continue the adventures as long as possible and to avoid depending on the memories. Not an easy task. It gets harder to find the adventures and easier to turn to the memories as a way of getting through the days. So, I've decided to ask myself this question at the end of each day, "Have I used this day to create something of value, have I challenged myself intellectually and physically and have I shared my love with family, friends and those with whom I have crossed paths. Stay tuned.
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A nice posting, Joe. If I am the friend you are referring to -- a fair assumption, given the hundreds of lunches we shared together -- I'm feeling a bit guilty. As I recall, however, I merely suggested that both you and I are "inside the twenty," as they say in football, and that it's a good time to reflect upon how we should be spending the remainder of our lives. Frankly, I don't think you had any more doubt about the question then than you do now. Being an adventurer, in thought as well as art, has always been a hallmark of your character, and I, for one, do not expect that to change. Onward and upward, my friend.
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