Alive

Good ol' George Burns once was asked,”At 88, how do you feel when getting up in the morning?” “Amazed,” he answered. Dennis Wolfberg once said, “There's one advantage of being 102. No peer pressure.” Ted Nugent once said, “If its too loud, you're too old.”

Life is full of wit and wisdom, some better than others. At 83, I'm a cancer survivor, blessed with peripheral neuropathy as a result of the chemo, but the alternative is not a good one. It is great to be alive, whether 2 or 102. Now that we are facing 2011, this means that a lot of people have been alive since BC turned into AD. And we are a part of that great crowd.

Then there is Janet Anderson who said “I love being a grandparent, but what I hate is being the mother of a grandparent.” (quotes thanks to Uncle John's Bathroom Reader). Ah yes, Janet. We understand, and empathize, but maybe being a parent of a grandparent isn't too bad. Sure, age does its thing and we have little if any control over some of the wrinkles, aches and pains, cataracts, canes and calluses, viruses and bills.

When I was young and more innocent, I thought when I got old I wouldn't have to pay taxes or go to the dentist. I also dreamed of sitting on a rocking chair on my front porch watching the cars go by. Dreamer!

Here I am again. Penning Senior Moments when at one time I felt that there was really only one kind of senior moment: misplacing car keys. How naive. Now I have a zillion senior moments, some I don't even know exist, and some I dare not admit. But here we go, prompting our imagination for more columns, hoping for the best.

What are senior moments anyway? Only a senior really knows (and some aren't divulging their secrets). But some of us are a little less hesitant. If you use your imagination, read between the lines, these Senior Moments will keep coming your way as long as my fingers hit the right keys and my imagination doesn't get sidetracked.

For the moment, a current senior moment escapes me but it will return. Until then, have a wonderful year and lots of memorable, pleasurable senior moments.