If you knew me, you would agree that I am not the typical old retired man. My wife says I am versatile or flexible in my life. A friend tell me I am active and detail orientated. Maybe it was about thirty years ago when I was in my mid thirties and teaching at the local high school a student came into class one day and informed me that her mother told her I was crazy. After agreeing with her and telling her to thank her mom for the compliment, I asked why she had said that about me. The mom had seen me downtown riding my ten speed bike. Today that would seem perfectly normal. At the time is seemed normal to me also. Obviously to that mom, it was inappropriate for a teacher to ride a bike in public wearing shorts and a t-shirt. I told the student that being normal is boring and if riding a bike made me crazy, then so be it. So I have established that I am versatile, active, detail orientated, and crazy...to me not a bad combination. I am happy with myself.
Today I was sitting in an easy chair at the mall with a young friend of mine. We were commenting on some of the people walking past us. People watching is a favorite past time of mine. We were in agreement with one common thing we saw in the older couples there. I am referring to what appeared to be husband and wife couples from age 60 and above. None of them looked happy. While husbands and wives walked together, they were not together. With about half the couples the husband would be walking about ten feet in front of the wife. With the others there would be several feet between them as they walked.. None were talking. None were even looking at each other. Every single one looked as if they had forgotten how to smile. Scowls and frowns were all they knew.
Tonight at dinner I relayed my interpretation of what I had observed to my wife. She agreed with my possible assessment of what I had seen. It looked as if they all felt trapped; possibly in a way of life that was not "fitted" to them. So many people act or behave as they feel society expects them to do regardless of what would make them happy and fulfilled as individuals. Simply, they had forgotten how to be "crazy" and to enjoy life. They may have been thankful to be alive, but appeared not to appreciate anything else life has to offer. Living in their "cookie-cutter" life style to be like everyone else had, in effect, killed them; and all that remained were mall walking zombies.
Yeah I am still crazy. No I do not still ride my bike downtown or anywhere, but I listen to my heart and follow what I feel makes life meaningful to me and to my friends and family. I may be an old man by physical standards, but I am a young soul with a youthful spirit. I have almost, maybe no friends near my own age. My friends are people thirty to forty years younger than me. Crazy? Yes. Happy? Absolutely!
Something good happened to me at the mall today. As I sat there in that chair next to my friend, I looked up toward the top of the mall. The sunlight was coming through the line of windows around the top of the walls. The Carolina blue sky was totally unblemished. Not a cloud was to be seen. I realized that, even though our lives are not perfect, our lives are good. We have a good life. We have what we need materialistically. We have friends and family whom we can love and who love us.
Life is good. I am happy!
I will close this post with a note of thanks to two people today. First, to my wife for understanding and sharing with me in the ability to not only appreciate the importance of staying crazy, but the ability to be crazy along side of me. Secondly to my freind for being with me today. I use the term "friend" because technically he is our friend. Today he introduced me to one of his friends as his grandfather. Now I ask you, is he my friend or my grandson. Does it matter? Labels serve no useful purpose beyond just labeling things and people.
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