Calvert, St. Mary's and Charles County
Columnist Home
Pete Hurrey's Dog Day Afternoons by Pete Hurrey
Where's the Warning Label?08/21/2008Viewed 0 times I just celebrated my 57th birthday this past weekend. First thing that popped into my mind was, “Where the hell did the last 41 years go?” The time before turning 16 doesn’t count. Well, actually the time we spend incubating as human beings really doesn’t cook us well done until we hit 30. As I was lounging around on my couch wondering how the hell I actually managed to live this long, it occurred to me that something was drastically wrong! You see, even though I look old (older, oldest, ancient – pick a descriptor) on those infrequent occasions when I look in the mirror, my brain feels exactly the same as it did when I was 30. What’s up with that? I don’t know. So, I spent sometime reflecting about the way I used to see the world when I was a young adult, just beginning to seek my way in this world with a wife and a couple of kids and comparing it to the way I view that world today. You know what? It hasn’t changed very much, not much at all. When I was 30 I was an opinionated SOB to be sure, these days I still am, but I have learned to keep my opinions to myself for the most part. Back then I figured that the next global conflict would begin in the Middle East and I still think that to be true. Unfortunately, I think we’re a bit closer to that reality than I consider comfortable. Back then I figured out that I’d have to actually work for a living and no one would hand me fame and fortune on a silver platter. Now I know that to be the case. Back then I thought conservatively about politics – mostly because I come from a diehard Republican family. Today I am still conservative – I mean let the government take someone else’s money, not mine. However, as I approach social security, I might be reconsidering that – just a bit, a wee tiny little bit. Back then I eschewed religion because I didn’t believe we mere humans were qualified to actually understand the way of the supreme being and that no one residing on the planet was qualified to put that master plan into a book, much less preach it to me on Sundays. I still feel that way. I know there is something out there more powerful and grand than we are – I choose to call it Mother Nature, but you couldn’t drag me into a church under threat of deadly force – still don’t believe in it. I continued this meandering contemplation and realized that having a body get old and a brain that doesn’t, is kind of an unwritten joke played on us humans. No wonder people fear death. We understand what is happening to us, however, if the brain got as old as our bodies, we wouldn’t have a problem. |
Tell a Friend about this Article! |
|
|
|
Be The First To Comment On This Article! |
- The Bay Net Home |
- Copyright |
- Privacy |
- Links |
- Contact Us