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Age old advice. Or is it old age advice?

~ All the Right that's left ~ 1 Comment

I guess it is the simple things that make life sustainable. Food, shelter and health are all important. I like to add in things like living within your means, not on credit or gambling on the future. It doesn’t matter if it is the Bible or Hamlet, it was good advice, never forget stay out of debt.

I don’t really think that is what is being asked, so I’ll try again.

Recycling

I recycle golf balls, and such. More golf balls than that the other stuff. Whenever I find myself wondering through the weeds looking for the one that got away, I usually find other lost balls. I’m a snob and only play Pro V1’s and give the others away.

I also recycle books at the local used bookstores. I hate the idea of wasting them and I don’t have the space to keep them all. I try to recycle knowledge. I’ve taught a few people how to cook, fix cars or landscaping. I’m proudest of the ones who surpass me, especially leaders and fighters. They keep the rest of us safe.

Recycle, reuse, renew.

Even when I write, I recycle, reuse and renew. Every word ever written is recycled and used until they wear out. Nothing is really new.

We worship scientists, even when they aren’t really physicians or scientists. When they try to twist reality and corrupt language to mean different things. Renewed meaning. If we keep it up, no one will ever know what we mean. Maybe we need a different name for it, like True Speak?

As for the other stuff, driving electric cars is hideously damaging to the ecology and unsustainable. Our power grid can’t support it, and no one wants to build nuclear reactors to expand power production because they are afraid. Look into pebble bed reactors and remember that the Fukushima quake was a 9.0 on the Richter scale. It was so powerful it changed the axial tilt of the earth. The disaster was contained, and Godzilla hasn’t come out of the oceans yet, despite the dread predictions of scientists.

The circle of life.

We are insignificant. We can’t destroy our biosphere any more than we could stop the earth’s rotation by pushing against it. The worst we could do is make it hard for humans to survive for a little while. Evidence suggests that it took the Yucatan strike and massive volcanic eruptions to kill off the dinosaurs and the earth shook it off. Why do we think we are anymore significant.

If you really think you can make an impact, try growing your own food and hunting or fishing. It might keep you out of trouble. Even a small garden is hard work.

Daily writing prompt
Are there things you try to practice daily to live a more sustainable lifestyle?
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No time wasted.

~ All the Right that's left ~ 1 Comment

I start my day with an hour or two of coffee. Truth be told, I’m just waiting for my Adderall to kick in. I try to multitask by reading the news or skimming articles for ideas to research, get in some writing. Usually, I can be up and about by noon, finished with the to-do list and FREE!!! This is the most productive time of the day. Head out to the golf course to practice my profanity. If they made a true golf movie, it would have to be rated PG-13 for language alone. The smoking, drinking, gambling and emotional trauma are graded separately. After I’ll do something about dinner. I end the day with four or five hours of reading. So, I don’t really waste any time.

I’m retired. A master of efficiency.

Daily writing prompt
How do you waste the most time every day?
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Coconut butter and butt whippings.

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When I was growing up, my mother’s best friend was Miss Ollie-May. You don’t have to be southern to understand that that is the way she has always been addressed, Miss Ollie-May. Show respect or catch a fresh lesson in manners. I love that woman to this day. My brothers and sister and I spent a lot of time growing up in her house. To this day, if she calls, I go running.

This is about first crushes and Miss Ollie-May wasn’t it. It was her granddaughter. Of course she was beautiful. We were friends and spent a lot of time together. I remember that her hair always smelled like coconut butter. She was my first kiss. As kisses go, it was great for a first try. No plan or conversation, just looking in her eyes and meeting in the middle for a gentle kiss. My head was reeling, I felt like I was floating over the porch. When I landed my breath whooshed out.

Miss Ollie-May was standing on the spot I had just vacated. What followed ensured I would never forget that first kiss, that epic butt whipping. She didn’t even make me cut my own switch, with that walk of shame where you have to explain to everyone what happened. I was whacked with everything at hand until she found a belt.

Every now and then, we’ll see each other when I visit. She still looks in on her grandmother. I’ll give her a hug and shell her hair. She’s still beautiful, still smells of coconut butter. I hope I always remember that kiss. It was worth the whipping.

Daily writing prompt
Write about your first crush.
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My second childhood.

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To my daughters’ dismay, I have entered my second childhood. It began a couple years ago when I retired. Lived the dream and just walked away. It was an ugly downward spiral from there. I admit that there was little playing in the dirt with Tonka trucks or burning ants with a magnifying glass. I did play with the girl next door, but not with Barbie dolls. I went to summer camp and played golf, ate great food and swimming (scuba diving).

I guess I had a summer job. I was bored and felt a little useless. After a while it proved untenable. It interfered with my golf time. There were also calls from my girls to help with moving or working on a house. So, I freed myself from my summer job.

Retirement doesn’t mean not working at other things. It means working on the things that matter to you. Taking time for the family and personal interests, a reward for working hard for decades to provide for your family. Really, I want to go back to summer camp. I want to find that ball I lost last time.

Daily writing prompt
How do you want to retire?
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Isn’t it funny?

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My sense of humor, the oldest and most reliable thing I own and use it every day. It has carried me through so many dark days and lightened the good ones. Nights sitting around a campfire with friends laughing until we hurt and fell out of our chairs. Family get togethers where a group of us would sneak away and relive some of our best days and greatest follies.

Sometimes it is dark and I’m the man on the gallows, living only as long as I keep the crowd laughing. Poking fun at myself and laughing at my circumstance. How long can I laugh in the face of my own death? stick around and find out. I was recovering from some injuries and sent to a counseling group as part of my recovery. One man stands out in my memory because of a comment, “I would worry about you, but you laugh at everything. You’ll be fine.”

To be honest and fair, most of the time I only amuse myself. That’s okay by me. As long as I can laugh at the world, it’s all good. Boards are showing green. Perspective is clear.

As I age and my mind starts to slip, I may lose my sense of humor. That’s okay, too. Between brain injuries and Alzheimer’s, I probably won’t notice. I expect to be making inappropriate suggestions to my nurses and imagining that I can still deliver on my promises. I hope I don’t though, humor anyway may be the only thing I have left

Daily writing prompt
What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?
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What I said and she heard.

~ All the Right that's left ~ 1 Comment

My girlfriend and I went out to play golf and I learned something. She doesn’t understand me.

“Aim a little more left.” I suggested.

She listened and aimed left. Good hit, not great but she’s learning, down the left side of the fairway and a little short. I’m pleased. She’s pissed. “I aimed left like you said!”

Instead of reacting to how she said it, I asked, “What did you hear me say? I meant aim to the left of the flag, because of the way the green sloped.”

The back and forth revealed we speak two different languages. I say one thing she hears something completely different. It made me rethink every conversation we have ever had. I’m fairly taciturn and blunt, assuming everyone understands me and appreciates me not wasting words with lengthy explanations. It sounds condescending, mansplaining.

I can’t think and speak the way other people do. It’s unrealistic to expect others to adapt to their way of thinking and speaking. I don’t care if someone misinterprets what I say because they have adopted a new or radical understanding of a word. That’s your problem. Feel free to be insulted. If you don’t want to understand, I feel no obligation to console you or change to accommodate you.

But I’m trying to be a better boyfriend and I do care if she understands me. I started asking questions and building a new vocabulary. There was a lot of back and forth with me trying to expand on what my words meant and trying to understand what words she would understand. The whole communication loop on repeat.

Her golf game didn’t get any better, but our communication did.

Daily writing prompt
What notable things happened today?
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Scotch Whiskey

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Old, smokey, just a touch of sweet from a sherry cask and tint of red, caramel and fire sliding down the back of my throat. Let’s put on British airs and insist on Speyside. Only barbarians insist on ice or watering down the flavor. Of course, a class of spring water, to cleanse the pallet between sips. Sipping is the only way to savor the bouquet exploding across your tongue. If you must, just a few drops of water to cut the alcohol. If you can, skip the 12-year-old., even the sherry cask is a little rough but tolerable if starved for choices. This isn’t shooting Taquila and trying to hide the flavor with salt and lime or margaritas with the girls. This is Scotch.

My personal vise is The Macallan. I’ve been drinking it for thirty years, well before it became popular. It was my first experience with whiskey that left me breathless rather that gasping for breath. For years Cutty Sark and Chevas Regal passed for a decent drink. Then in London, at an Irish Pub no less, a bottle caught my eye. The words said. The lingering taste on my lips. There is no going back.

This advice not intended for children or people serious about saving money and paying their bills. Drinking good whiskey can become habit forming and involve equally expensive cigars and expensive collections of both. Following my advice, in general is a very bad idea. If you find yourself saying phrases like, “Hey, guys! Watch this!” or “I bet I can do that.” seek help immediately.

Daily writing prompt
What’s the one luxury you can’t live without?
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