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WISDOM
By: Richard L. King
From the book Memories & Time

All those who hear shall one day listen
all those who listen shall one day hear.

The questions all have answers,
though the answers often bring more questions.

Never stop trying until everything has been tried,
…then seek something else to try.

Mistakes are great teachers
and often,
your very best lessons
come from your most memorable mistakes.

And yet,  …generally
the smarter we get,
the dumber we feel.

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Gramps use’ta say
©R.L.King2012 #330

About: Competition

“No matter what yer a doin,
if ya ain’t improvin, yer fallin behind.

You know what I’m talking about. You’re in a nice restaurant when the server says, “Are you ready to order, Dear?” “Would you like a refill on your soda, Honey?” At my last dental visit I became ‘Baby Girl’.  Talk about setting my teeth on edge! I momentarily wondered   what the penalty would be if I bit down on those fingers in my mouth.

When did it become good customer service to call you customer, client, patient, endearing names?

I am pushing hard at 70 years old and I do not appreciate the young server or the dental hygienist, both who are still wet behind the ears calling me Honey or Sweetie. My parents gave me a perfectly good name and if a stranger wants to add personal service, call me by my name.

The familiarity of using ‘pet names’ that your sweetheart might use, to me, is neither respectful nor professional.

(I’m just sayin’)

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Gram use’ta say

“I’m from Kentucky,
land of beautiful horses and fast women.”

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AGING
By: Richard L. King

 It is the common belief that wine improves with aging. Tis so with life, as it is with wine, is it not? Might this not also be true of other things as well?

Kentucky Bourbon is at its best, only after the proper aging has occurred. Jack Daniels, Knob Creek, Makers Mark, Jim Beam, they all enjoy reputations as fine Kentucky Bourbons and I’m led to believe that they all go through an aging process. As I am not an expert in this area, I’ll not testify, but I have been told aging makes the difference.

Music? Can it be classic if it hasn’t been around for a while? Me thinks not. Segar, Springsteen, Billy Joel, Elton John, to name just a very few who have become better with age. Not to say that they weren’t great from the beginning, but they are now CLASSIC. And, to a lesser degree, on the female side we might add Gloria Estefan and several others. They have all stood the test of time and, in retrospect, have become better.

Movies? Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, The African Queen, Citizen Kane, The Godfather, The Graduate and of course The Wizard of Oz have all stood that test of time. We can’t say that they have gotten better because they haven’t changed and technology has. But the story hasn’t changed. The way the story is told and displayed has changed, but in the grand scheme of things these movies are still holding their own.

Cheese? I’m told that the best cheese has been aged, but don’t quote me on that. I’m not much of a cheese connoisseur. I like a good strong cheese on my cheeseburger, but that’s about the extent of my expertise. I’ve come to understand that some cheeses are best consumed young, but there are many more that benefit from aging. Suffice it to say that different cheeses require different treatments.

Aging? And now for the meat behind all this: It is said that 50 is the new 40. Don’t you believe it, 60 is the new 40. The miracles of modern medicine have made it so. Pacemakers, stints, transplants, replacement joints, the list goes on and on. What is common place today was unheard of in my grandfather’s time. On top of that, new technology allows doctors to perform these miracles in a fraction of the time, through ever smaller incisions, making the recovery time miniscule as compared to earlier days.

I’m 74, my oldest brother is 84 and we’re both still going strong. Although we’ve lost a sister and a brother to heart problems, we have another brother who is 77 and a sister who is 72. The two who have passed both made it into their 80’s whereas both of our parents died at age 64. Obviously, the medicines of my parent’s day wouldn’t compare to those of today, but perhaps that is not the true secret to our longevity. Today’s senior, as a general rule, eats healthier and doctors more frequently. Likely those are key factors, but that only partially accounts for todays added longevity. Both of my parents smoked right up until the day they died. My brothers, my sister and I have all been reformed smokers for years now. Trust me; it makes a big difference not only in the way you feel, but from a longevity standpoint as well.

Although I won’t be running any marathons anytime soon, I have aged well and I am truly a happy camper.

…and I repeat, as it is with wine, so too it is with life, aging often adds to the luster, to the intrigue, to the joy.

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Gramps use’ta say
©R.L.King2012 #410

About: Hard Times

There’s a difference between
‘Rock Bottom’ & ‘on the rocks,’
but often it’s hard to distinguish.

 

My family had just moved into our new home. The neighborhood had plenty of little boys for our 5 year-old son to play with and one little girl. The boys were always leaving her out of their games. I had no idea why this cute little child was so avoided, not only by the gang of boys, but also the adults. It didn’t take me long to learn though, and soon I was as guilty as everyone else.

This small child had the eyes of an eagle. She would spot me every single time I went into my backyard to hang the laundry out. In a flash, she would be by my side chattering away. She could talk faster and ask more questions than any living being. She would trail right along behind me, taking non-stop. By the time the clothes were hung and I had gotten myself back indoors my head was splitting and I was exhausted just from listening to the constant chatter.

We had moved to this bigger home in hopes of having a second child. After each encounter with Little Miss Chatterbox, I would think, “I can’t imagine how that mother stays sane. If I had a child like that I’d be sitting in the corner of a padded cell, weaving baskets, before the first week was up.”

I DID finally get pregnant and God decided that it would be absolutely hilarious to present me with a baby girl who would put Little Miss Chatterbox to shame. Of course, in the beginning I hadn’t yet realized that such a joke had been played.
Our tiny little girl was the perfect baby. She ate, slept, never fussed and seldom cried. THEN she learned to talk! Actually our daughter didn’t learn to talk, she learned to debate, lecture, and ask questions.

I remember one day in particular that she was tagging along behind my every step. We had dinner, the dishes were cleaned up and a nice, relaxing bubble bath was sounding awfully good to me. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, I made my escape to the bathroom.

I had no sooner eased my tired body down into the warm water, when she materialized, as if by magic. I interrupted the story she had launched into and said, “Heather, I’m awfully tired. I’d like to have a few minutes of quiet to relax. Whatever you need to tell me can wait until I’ve finished with my bath.”
That brought about several minutes of discussion because she felt that what she had to say could NOT wait. It was IMPORTANT and must be said right then. But I stood, or rather sat, firm and insisted that she leave the bathroom and I would talk with her when I finished.

I made my bath last as long as possible. The water got cold, my skin got wrinkly and I knew I had to go face the music, or rather the chatter. When I was wrapped in my warm robe and opened the bathroom door, there she was, sitting in the floor as close to the door as she could get.

With a sigh I said, “Ok, Heather, what was so important that you needed to tell me?”

She looked at me with a serious expression on her face and said, “Oh I don’t remember —- but I’m telling you right now, I’m not growing hair down there when I get old!”

She was so serious. I tried not to laugh and just said, “I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to stop it. It’s part of growing up.”

She drew herself up, clinched her little fists and announced, “Well, you just wait and see. THAT is not going to happen to me” and she stomped off to her room to sulk.

Right then and there I realized that the baby making gods had given me exactly the right Little Miss Chatterbox.

(The complete story of Little Miss Chatterbox can be found in Life Happens (My Story).  See our Books page.)

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Gram use’ta say

“Never talk to someone through a closed bathroom door.
They’re busy!!!”

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MYSTIFICATION

© By: Richard L. King
From my book Memories & Time

Night time merges with morning,
or perhaps, the great beyond.
It’s midnight at the ball…

You’re at the crossroads,
betwixt the between.

…in that netherworld
where what is and what isn’t
seem to challenge what was,

…or even worse, what might have been.

Success is fleeting       … reality fades.
Time stands still   …and yet, somehow tomorrow is now yesterday.

Memories encompass you as common sense evades you
and recognition escapes,
yet,,,, realization is judicious.

Lessons and memories, things left unsaid,
…taunt you and haunt you, as they pass through your head.

Mystification prevails.

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Gramps use’ta say
©R.L.King2012 #409

About: Stupid Comments

 “Sometimes his mouth starts
before his brain does.”

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