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 …
During certain years of my life, I spent many hours in traffic gridlocks in major cities like Boston, Seattle, Chicago and Dallas. My impatience and frustration reached great heights. Washington, D.C. drove me nuts. One summer rush hour (actually many hours), it dawned on me …
One little thing that bugs me is when I’m in a coffee shop and a young, often attractive, waitress calls me “honey” or “sweetie.” I don’t translate those words to anything other than “old man.” A guy in his thirties or forties sits down in the stool next to me and the same …
Did you know Mark Twain used to hang out in Carson City with his brother, Orion? He’d drop down from his home in Virginia City and walk along the same sidewalks I currently stroll. It’s only natural then, on sleepy winter afternoons, for me to slip into conversations with …
When people say there will be nothing but smooth sailing ahead, I’m convinced they’re a little loco. The more years I put into living, the more certain I am that everyone has rough patches. However, as I age, my own life is getting smoother by practicing two personality …
For many years I had an exaggerated opinion of my contributions to the world of work. As a young man, I worked long hours managing a Ramada Inn in Iowa City, Iowa. As needed, I checked people in and out, served as the cook and dishwasher, bartended, made up rooms, completed …
George Bernard Shaw said, “You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.” Brilliant people often get confused. I understand what Shaw is trying to say, but he makes it sound like old is what people don’t want to become. I’m convinced old is …
I put glue on Bob Thompson’s side of the ping-pong table during our last contest. The ball just stuck there, and I did a victory dance around his living room. It was two weeks before he died of congestive heart failure. Years earlier, I worked for Bob when he headed a …
