65!
Okay..now this is serious.
I sort of tip-toed into my sixties; not thinking too much about it because I’d long since gotten over the shock of being eligible for AARP membership..plus I was blinded by the excitement and apprehension of retiring from a job I had loved for over 30 years.
Now, I’ve reached the age that my very first life insurance agent told me I needed to be prepared for way back in 1966. I remember him saying if I sign-up for the whole-life policy he was proposing, by the time I reached 65, it would be worth 250 thousand dollars. The thought of ever having a nest egg like that was as remote to me then as the possibility that I’d ever reach 65. Yet here I am and there’s no getting around it. I don’t have that promised quarter million dollars tucked away in the bank. The policy went dormant long ago when I wasn’t making enough to come up with food and rent money much less pay an insurance premium that offered nothing in return unless I died or survived to old age..which was eons away.
I don’t mind telling you, I’m a little scared..especially when reading through the obituaries and I see lots of people in there who were younger than me when the grim reaper came calling. The real sad part is they were old enough that no obit explanation was necessary as to what caused their untimely passing. I can hear many of you saying, “Why should you be scared, aren’t you a Christian?” Well, yes I am but I’m also a sinner who struggles with the concept of salvation by grace and biblical passages that warn of a judgment day when we’ll all be held accountable for our conduct in life. Uffdah!
One day last summer, my elder brother and his wife stopped over to the house. He not so subtly suggested I might want to consider adjusting my lifestyle a tad because, based on his own experience, things can really start to go haywire after 65. He bases that on his own episodes with a fluttering heart, a mild stroke and a touch of Parkinson’s that have stopped by to say hello since his 65th four years ago. He’s right, of course, and I don’t want my health to go south just yet so I will make an effort to shape up..so to speak. But I also take comfort in the words of those who regularly remind me that age is just a number..rejoice and be glad in it. As the great Hollywood philosopher, Doris Day, once sang; “Kay sa ra sa ra” (whatever will be will be) the future’s not ours to see. I’ve been a very very lucky man.. undeservedly blessed with a wife and children and family who’ve managed to look PAST my dubious past and love me anyway. I have delighted in a challenging and fulfilling career in broadcasting and music. I have an abundance of friends and acquaintances… yet I know there are many whom I’ve wronged over the years and wish now to beg your forgiveness.
I do plan to be around for a long time yet..but, while I have the luxury of a forum like this, let me just say thank you to all who’ve touched my life and enriched my memories over these three score and five years.
“My cup runneth over.” (DD aka Capt.11)
