The Emerald Rose

OK, as you know I’m 74.5 years young,…..but the volume on that clock is most definitely getting louder.

First let me take umbrage with that statement that “only the good die young”, These days when we hear about a “famous” or “notable” person dying young the vast percentage of the question “WHY???” Ends up being drugs, or stupidity. That said there are people who do die a way lot younger than they should that legitimately die before “their time”.

But this article is not about them, it’s about those who DON’t die young and go on to spend their entire life trying to “contribute” to this country, and all they want is the inner sense of personal pride that they were able to make a difference in their country, and the lives of it’s people, or the people of the world!

This has been a pretty “bad” timeframe, in terms of those kind of folks, drawing their final breath. I think it’s worth the time, ink and voice to pay the proper respect to them. AND none of them died of “drug overdoses”, and did indeed contribute to the world at large, our society, and the future of the world!

But what about “The ordinary folk”? They are the ones who simply wake up, take their shower, shave, (or not) and get on with their life, doing whatever it is that they do,wherever they do it, and however they do it, until the end of the day! Sometimes they stop for a “decompression beer” on the way home, others just come home, and reflexively hit the pop top, then decompress. Still others pour a nice chilled Chardonnay, or a smoky red, or a Scotch on the rocks, or whatever their “drink of choice is at the time or relative to the conditions of that instant in time where they find themselves.

Is life really that simple? Or are we being drawn into that “big sucking hole” we call life? In. My 20’s it seemed very simple, one foot ahead of the other, and just keep working hard, and moving forward at a goal, either for yourself or your family.

In your 30’s there are rays of daylight within your vision, the marriage is going good, taxes are still as outrageous as they were when your parents were around, the kids are growing, and sometimes you might even have been able to afford to send them to private, or BETTER schools! (Maybe another day I’lll talk about the “Education” in this country,….and it ain’t good!! For example just this morning some School Board in San Francisco “in their wisdom” voted to spend $600,000 to paint over 16 murals of Times in the life of George Washington that have been on the walls of “George Washington High School” since 1934 when the school was built!! Why you ask? Well silly because it is “offensive” because it depicts “SLAVES” working on his plantation and he was a “slave owner”. My God folks, get over it. That was a normal custom, and as YOU AND I became more enlightened it changed! That is called PROGRESS!!!

Anyway, on to out 40’s The kids aren’t kids anymore, they’re going on to college, going in the military services, OR “living in our basement” with two degrees and no job, no money, and not a clue what to do about it. The wife and I tend to sleep a lot more, and continue to support the kids and try and encourage them to do SOMETHING!!

In our 50’s we become terribly aware we can’t keep on keeping on this way. We saved, but it’s dwindled, we invested, but it too dwindled, but we can still pay our bills,….but what about “retirement”? It ain’t gonna work for most of us! When the “gold watch”, the mahogany stained plaque, and the first retirement check , and Social Security check come,…..well we are more stressed than our kids, and trying to bandaid a retirement together. We (the wife and I) don’t need a five bedroom, four bath home with a big in ground pool a lovely garden, and a pool house for overflow guests, (But it should pretty much be paid off by now right? After two degrees per kid, all three of them, (and now one is a Barrister at Starbucks, the other is a part-time real estate agent, and the third one is a “e-bay mogul” for “Pokémon” toys. We gotta sell the house, in the next five years and tell the kids to go find their own place to live!!

Then there is the 60’s, the gold watch comes, the mahogany stained plaque, and your first day of “RETIREMENT” arrives. You get up, you shower, get dressed, iron a shirt, and grab breakfast and heard for the local Supermarket! Not to buy some food, but to follow up on an ad you read that they were looking for part time employees.

Forget the 70’s. 80’s and God help you, the 90’s. Between trying to hold down a 30 hour a week part-time job, all the Doctor visits, the miscellaneous surgeries, and recoveries, and the monthly yard sales to try and sell off the remaining stuff from the “big house” which you finally sold and made only $50,000 profit after taxes, the new septic system and the $80,000 “updates” it took to make it marketable, in “todays market”!!!

Sound facetious, you bet it is ,…..but the good news is you are positioned to live another 10 years in your two bedroom, one bath , 1/3 acre lot ranch in “Happy Trails, a 55+ community.

That is if you don’t have a serious medical “pop up” for either one of you. And by the way There is only one way out of here,…….End of Life!!

Sorry partner,….that’s life! Even the rich get sick, but they will “blow” every penny trying to beat the system,…….but it ain’t ever going to happen,….maybe for a year or two,….but the “Grim Reaper” is the best bet in the House to win,….hand’s down!

Sorry,…..but that’s life!

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July 11,2019