Now that I have outlined a little bit of my history — not only in writing, but more specifically with the Ashcroft Journal — it is time to give a bit of a glimpse into future offerings.
As the title suggests, we may go into the Outer Limits; visit the Twilight Zone; or dive into the world of Mr. Rogers and his impact on our children. “Rambling” suggests that the door is wide open. We may wander through a garden of “word salads” or get deadly serious about an important issue of urgency, like health care.
My hope is that the audience will not only make a comment — good, bad, or ugly — but also ask questions, or suggest a topic I might consider looking into. Just as you take an Oath of Office promising to represent the people, as a journalist it is also your duty to do just that. We can agree to disagree but we must be thoughtful, informed, and (most important) respectful.
On that note, I thought my first official offering would be one of thoughtfulness.
The other day I was missing the pure joy of coffee roasting in the Bean Barn with my ever present date, Alexa. She plays nicely, as long as I address her by her first name. She stops when asked, and resumes with a simple “Alexa, resume” command. And boy oh boy, can she sing!
But I digress! (ramble). Here’s the deal. Turning 70 last year made evident new limitations that had snuck up on me. I need the volume at 52 instead of 32 on the TV. Getting firewood was actually work. You get the idea.
So I started to think, and came up with a bucket list of wishes for things I miss. We all have things we miss that we use to really enjoy but we no longer do: maybe because of lack of time, or energy, or even money. We just flash on how much we miss them, then jump back on our everyday path of life until the next memory moment.
I came up with a “Top Ten” list of things I miss most as I bask in the decade of seventy-land. In no particular order:
- Having family dinner with no phones at the table.
- The kids calling me on the phone, and hearing their voices. Text works, but we need a social interaction fix once in a while as we get older.
- Playing futbol (soccer) with the boys. The game, and the beer and pizza after the game.
- Camping, hiking, fishing: they go together and I miss them all.
- The salt air, crashing waves, and tide pools while walking on the oceanside beach.
- A busy fruit stand, and sharing their stories and our stories with customers.
- Road trips with no return date (I had a few in my younger years).
- Riding a bike. We had a “bike gang” back in the day, and we could go anywhere.
- Sitting in a boat on a calm, beautiful lake, water sparkling in the sunshine, fishing pole in one hand, beer in the other. Catching a fish was just a bonus!
- Just what I am doing now: writing. Writing anything. I miss writing!
So, folks, here’s a thought. If you are 60, make yourself a Top Five list. If you are 70, make a Top Ten.
Looking at my list, it could change tomorrow. That said, there are a few things I still have the get up and giddy to do. Futbol would be tough, and a busy fruit stand is out of my control. However, camping, a road trip, the ocean . . . time to adjust my priority list. What about you?
