"Thirty Years!"

Visiting my friend M. at the home today we got talking about aging. While I sometimes struggle with the idea of growing older it occurred to me that M. was 30 years older than me and that still seemed like a lot of years. The first time I was ever in St Thomas was almost 30 years ago and yet I remember it well. I was working for a machinery dealer and we had sold a milling machine to a small shop in town here. The machine had malfunctioned and I was sent out to fix it. I remember it clearly because of the way the guy treated me while I was working on the repair. Service calls were not always a pleasant experience because invariably you were under pressure from the customer to solve the problem quckly. In this case the guy was simply a gentleman, in fact helping me out with the job. He left such an impression that I still remember his name to this day. And on this day, some thirty years later and for the first time since, I met him again....at the seniors home!!!

Suddenly 30 years just became the blink of an eye!

So while this guy has remained a a nice man for the last 30 years it seems like everything else has changed. The other day I caught myself standing at a door waiting for it to open itself upon my arrival. It turns out it was one of the old kind that necessitated pushing a button in order for it to open itself. If you think that's something, today I caught myself standing at a toilet waiting for it to flush itself!!! It turns out it was one of the old kind that necessitated pushing a lever in order for it to flush itself. It occurs to me however that the most significant change is in our expectations, or at least in mine.

A few other smiles I had today.

1) Staring me straight in the eye shortly after I arrived M told me that sometimes he gets visitors that he really doesn't care to see. After a brief pause he smiled and said, "but you're not one of them". Phew!!

2)I also met a lady in the hall who upon hearing her name I asked if was short for something? She said "No, I'm just short!". So far it seems like a common, and to me somewhat surprising aspect of the older guys and girls I've met... a subtle, sly sense of humour. Maybe Old John knew this all along?

3)The furnace was turned on within 5 minutes of my grandchildren complaining to Roo about the temperature!!

"The kind of humour I like is that which makes me laugh for five seconds and think for ten minutes."---William Davis

....and totally unrelated but good stuff in my opinion...

"If the results of your behaviour are not meeting your needs over time then there is an incorrect principle on your belief window"---Hyrum Smith

"Principles are what we believe to be true about ourselves, the world, and our place in it"---Hyrum Smith

love
peter