No one says to me, “Don, your toenails are really getting ugly.” Not to my face anyway. However, with aging from my 50s to my 60s and then on to my 70s, my toenails appear to be taking a beating. I’ll spare you the details, but they are not pretty. I’ve never been the …
My brother, Eddie, died on Christmas Day of 2010. My fondest memories of him go way back to when I was in fifth grade and Eddie was in eighth. We played football on Curtiss Street with our neighborhood buddies. Eddie could rifle a football faster and more accurately than …
I can’t find my house slippers. I didn’t leave them at the grocery store or Dairy Queen because, by definition, they don’t leave the house. I’ve checked under the bed and behind the back door with no success. How silly of me to look on my closet floor for the 10th time …
I’m so sorry, but I’m sending you a poem. Very few people really read and enjoy poems, but this one I wrote many years ago helped me age out of my stupidity. Showdown Rigorous Honesty dressed in white, sun at his back, rode into town. My gang took cover in the wasted …
I have a woman friend who is bright and witty, but there is this little sliver of her brain that retains and polishes up grudges like other people collect salt and pepper shakers. Her name is Shelly and I really like her. She has a Ph.D. in psychology and an MBA from …
I believe I should continue a lifelong habit well into my 70s: failure. Failure has been my pathway to success and happiness over my many years. As a kid, I failed at being the starting quarterback. Several girls I wished to date, politely informed me of their lack of …
He’s driving me nuts! This personal trainer named Johnny who got into my wife’s head. My wife, Sherry, is 72 years of age and, on a good day, 103 pounds. Johnny has her training for a powerlifting competition in Reno this month. She will do a dead lift, a squat and a bench …
I grew up fast in sixth grade in the dark confessional box at Saint Cecilia Church. I read my prepared list of safe sins in the dim light: “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been three weeks since my last confession. Since then I have lied three times to my …
All the books about aging inform me of how wonderful it is that I have so much time on my hands. It’s as if I’m a 5-year-old kid in an old-fashioned candy store, and my extra minutes and days are being displayed in giant glass jars for me to just stick my hand in and …
Based on hanging around myself for a long time, I know the harm that comes from projection. I’m not a psychologist or therapist, but as an older man who likes people, I see the harm that comes from projecting my own problems onto others on almost a weekly basis. This is how …