On The Brink Of Seventy

In just a few days, I will have completed my 70th revolution around the sun. In these times when humans are routinely reaching into their 80’s and 90’s, it may seem like a fairly routine accomplishment, but in so many ways, in my case, it’s almost a miracle that I am still here to mark the day.

I have been near death a number of times through a variety of accidents and catastrophic choices that nearly ended my life years ago. I have never intentionally placed myself into what I knew was a dangerous circumstance, although anyone who joins the U.S. military cannot reasonably be certain that they won’t be sent into danger at some point, even if you aren’t a combat specialist.

As a cryptologic traffic analyst who deciphered encrypted transmissions and analyzed them for intelligence purposes, I would mostly have been located beyond the front lines but would also have been a much sought after target of enemy fire, should we be discovered.

In high school, I fell off a thirty-foot scaffold while decorating the gymnasium for a class dance and somehow escaped permanent injury, although I did suffer greatly for several weeks afterwards. While stationed in California in the military, I had a dreadful car accident where I was somehow miraculously rescued by an off-duty emergency medical technician who pulled me out of my car, which had been upside-down on the road for almost an hour. I suffered a severe concussion, but was again not permanently injured, although I ended up unconscious for several days before regaining my wits.

When I think back on my efforts raising six children to adulthood, and all the near misses, and the times I barely escaped with my body intact, it’s enough to make you wonder and ponder and be truly grateful to reach this point with a fairly functional body and brain!

As a gift to all my subscribers and visitors, I penned a celebratory poem which I entitled, “There’s No Time To Lose,” and recorded myself reciting it for my birthday blogpost. It is a bit philosophical and a bit playful, with a few hints at acknowledging my age, but generally light-hearted and I enjoyed writing it.

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=DE7BF189930200B0&id=DE7BF189930200B0%214808&parId=DE7BF189930200B0%21206&o=OneUp

Enjoy!

There’s No Time To Lose by JJHIII24

Summer is here and I’m in the tub.

It’s so hot outdoors, and aye, there’s the rub.

I cannot cool down quite as much as I wish,

And out of the water, I’m just like a fish.

I could have just written or put all this down,

One look at my face and you’d see how I frown;

I’m always struggling to find the right rhyme,

Because of the poems I write all the time.

It’s not the fault of the poets, it’s true,

When struggling happens, there’s little to do;

If you want to start rhyming you have to do work,

Keep talking it through, and don’t let it lurk.

We rise and we fall, we succeed and we fail,

We garner some praise, and the critics may hail,

But sometimes a poem might really fall flat,

And there’s rarely a thing we can do about that.

There’s no certain fault, you cannot now say,

“I’ve hardly made it worthwhile on this day;”

I just keep on working, and ponder within,

I look at my legs and my arms—they’re so thin.

But the section below my chest seems to grow,

My extra consumptions are starting to show;

I probably could do some more now to shrink it,

It just doesn’t stay in my mind when I think it.

The time’s running short to decide what I need,

I’m not even sure just where it will lead;

There’s less and less time now before I must go,

But how much is left, I really don’t know.

But just like Paul Simon sang true in his song,

It’s “terribly strange” to have lived quite this long;

Hardly a single new day now goes by,

When I don’t stop to wonder or end with a sigh.

There’s only one thing you can realistically do,

To put out your best—to just see it through;

Even though you are clearly, well past your prime,

You’re over the hill, so you don’t have to climb.

All that we saw and all that we knew,

With all that our brain has allowed us to do,

With all of that stuff that gummed up the works,

 We now realize they’re explained by our quirks.

You can let them come in or just let them go,

You can push them all off or run to and fro;

But one day you’ll see you can set it aside,

And simply move forward—start hitting your stride.

There’s no time to lose, all that’s left now awaits,

It could be that victory is there by the gates;

The struggle continues, but there’s lots more to be,

Here’s hoping more poems are waiting for me!