Now I’m 64:
Four years ago, on my 60th Birthday, I commented that “in ten years I’d be 70”. I am now 4 years into the 10 years to my 70th birthday, something that seemed so far off at that time.
Today it is July 5, 2010 and, as I sit outside and listen to the thousands (if not millions) of tree frogs coming in waves over me as I nap, I thought about what it means (or will mean) to be 64.
Tree frogs, as cicadas, are almost a comfort noise for me. I feel a sense of well being when I hear the sound of numerous tree frogs or cicadas (just one or several would drive me nuts, but the sound of the many is comforting and almost a nostalgic feeling.
In a month, August 6, 2011, I’ll be 64 years old. Just a number in a lot of ways, I really don’t dread it or even really have any major feelings about it, except it is a signpost I am passing on my way through life.
I recently read that “age destroys what it creates” and I instantly grasped the truth of it. I see it in the faces of people I have known most, if not all of my life, and I especially notice it in people I haven’t seen for awhile.
As I grow older, I realize how fast life is, and I see it most in the growth of children. That is one of the most amazing things, to see a child turn into an adult and I realize how short of a time it really is.
This will probably be too long, most of you will probably never read the entire note, since this is only the first day (I know better than to say I will write “every day”, but I will write periodically and post this on my 64th Birthday on August 6.
Since the Courter Family Reunion is in July, I expect to especially notice the passage of time. For the past 30 or so years, the annual Family Reunion has been a marker and an important part of my life, as my brothers and sisters and I move from the “youngsters” to the “Senior Generation’.
30 years ago, I wondered how I would feel when my Dad and Mom were gone. It seemed impossible that it would happen. Now I know how I feel and I know it does happen.
I even notice it in minor possessions. I look in disbelief at hats that are 30 years old, my cowboy boots that are at least 32 years old, t-shirts that I got for running/walking in “runs/walks” since 1988 etc. Where did the time go?
I listen to the tree frogs and cicadas and wish this moment would last longer. Perhaps by writing about it, I feel I will make the moment last longer. Not forever, winter will will come, but longer.
July 6, 2011: In one month, I will be 64 years old. No real thoughts on it today, probably because it was one of “those” days part of the day, when I just wish the day would get over. One thing about the City Manager profession, while of course there will always be cities who consider an applicant “too old”, generally, age (and experience) is respected in many cities and I have known City Managers in their 80’s get a job as City Manager.
One thing I have found as I grow older, time becomes more valuable than almost anything. Many activities I did in the past, I have stopped doing since I don’t want to take the time to do it.
July 31, 2011: Received a card today from my insurance agent. It is worth noting the following items were invented/started in 1947 (64 years ago)
-Ajax Cleanser
-Transistor (by Bell Labs)
-Tape recorder for home
-Almond Joy candy bar
-Zoom lens
-Network news
-Radar for commercial and private planes
-First U.S. ballistic missile was fired
What would really surprise me I expect is to see what has been invented since my youngest granddaughter was born in 2002, and certainly since my daughter was born in 1979!
I can remember buying one of the first transistor radios (for $20-I put .50 on it in “layaway”) and my first computer (a Vic 20) in 1981 or so and my first “real” computer (a PC clone without a hard drive!) in 1986. The advancements since then never fail to amaze (and please) me as I wonder how I ever got along without a computer, iphone, ipad, GPS etc.!
One area I am disappointed in is that when I was young, I never thought I would be driving the same basic car (yes, much advanced, but still the same basic car) and not using “jet packs” or “transporting” myself to get places! Even airplanes haven’t changed much. I remember attending a meeting over 12 years ago where I was advised the technology exists to walk out to your airplane, and, completely through computer control, fly to your destination. I wonder why the advancements are so slow in that area?
August 6, 2011: Today I am now officially 64 years old. (I believe as of about 5:28 a.m. this morning!)
Soon I will stop thinking (or at least responding, I don’t think of myself as being in my sixties!) of myself as “63” and now I will be saying “64” with the same sense of disbelief that “Now I’m 64!”
