Over the Hill

You always told me to be careful on the downhill
it was easier to loose your footing and slip, you said

take your time
take it easy
enjoy the view
don't be in such a hurry
its not a race

On the way up it was harder and slower
but I thought I was so strong and so tough

It made me proud
each step of the climb
I was accomplishing something

and I felt confident and safe, with you on ahead

but I was impatient
I couldn't wait to get to the top
I wanted to get to see what you could see

but when we peaked
you kept on walking
no time to stop and bask at the zenith

I lost sight of you for a minute
you below the crest on the downward slope,
me on the upward, still climbing, catching up and catching my breath

Now,
instead of seeing the dirt and rocks
and my own knees and boots,
I can see the panorama just like you promised
but I can also see you on ahead
descending descending
up where I can't be yet
but where I know I have to go

I can't enjoy the big picture
because I want to keep my eyes on you
and not lose you again
and because I see all the chasms and cliffs and crags
around you, behind you, beyond you
and right in front of you
things neither of us could see on the way up.

On the way up, I wanted to stop and rest because it was such a strain
now I want to stop and wait
because this feeling is so weak and worn and vulnerable
exhausted after so much strain on the way up,
but now we need our strength even more
we need our balance and agility more
so that we won't stumble and plummet to the bottom before we can reach it gently
but there's no stopping gravity and momentum
and time

I can see you far ahead
too far ahead
I want you up here by my side
I liked it better when you were here to catch me and to steady me
and to encourage me to keep going
to assure me that I could do this

I'd rather still be walking with you
but I can't just gallop and catch up to you
even though I want to be there to catch you and steady you

I wish you'd just stop and wait while I gradually catch up with you
but I'm scared to travel where you are

Downhill is definitely faster than uphill
but I'm not sure its as fun
the trail seems to keep slipping out from under me.

I know that the pastures and waters you're headed for offer rest and reward
but between this mountainside and there seems so hard
and while the vista seems clear, twilight is falling
and I'm losing sight of you

Just promise you'll be there waiting at home
once I finally catch up

Grey Hair

No man "comes of age"
Age comes on man

Born in Spring
Summer is rank and hot
filled with hopes
of Autumn
But all of Spring
is just a false thaw
and Winter
too often
strikes at Halloween
Because
Adam rushed the Fall

You know you’re not a kid anymore…

Well, it’s official. I'm old. Last week a student asked me for help filling out a scholarship application. I was happy to oblige, thinking they needed help writing an essay, or maybe just my recommendation. That wasn’t it. They needed more practical help than that. Their entire life, they'd never had to use an electric typewriter!

I have a cousin who once told me that he didn’t take anything I said too seriously because no one in their twenties knows what they’re talking about anyway. Three years ago I passed into my thirties and he may take me more seriously now, but for some reason, I can no longer get anyone under thirty to even listen to me anymore.

It is for this reason, that I am pleased to present you with this week’s column, sort of an homage to Jeff Foxworthy’s “You Know You’re a Red-Neck If…” routine, if you will. It’s dedicated to those of you born after the baby boom, but before Star Wars.

You know you’re not a kid anymore if…

…some kid asks you how to use a typewriter.

…if ANY music that teenagers play is too loud.

…if all the music YOU listened to in school can now only be found on radio stations with names like “Lite, Mix, Star, or Classic.”

…if you listen to more and more Country music and less and less of the music you used to listen to.

…Country music sounds more like the music you USED to listen to than what kids call Rock and Pop these days.

…if two of your favorite Country music songs are "Nineteen something" by Mark Wills or “My next thirty years” by Tim McGraw.

…if more of your hair is in your brush than on your head.

…if more of your hair is on your back than on you head.

…if your what hair you have comes in more than one shad, and you didn’t put anything on it to make it that way.

…you tape Leno, Letterman, or Saturday Night Live because you just can’t stay up that late.

…you really do drink Diet Coke “just for the taste of it.”

…you remember that ad campaign.

…you don’t want to sleep on the floor or the couch because you won’t be able to walk the next day if you do.

…you don’t get excited about buying alcohol, tobacco, or adult materials.

…you don’t bother buying alcohol, tobacco, or adult materials because you can’t afford them.

…instead of fantasizing about the sports cars, clothes and stereo equipment you’d buy if you won the lottery, you fantasize about paying off your debts, getting a mini-van, and doing some repair work on your house.

You know you’re not a kid anymore when…

…the one time you stay up late enough to watch Letterman, you realize that “Ferris Bueller” has more grey hair than you do.

…you accept the fact that you’ll never be as thin as any of the members of the cast of “Friends,” and you’ll also never see as much money in ten years as each of them make per episode.

…and you can live with that.

…you remember when you had to go to an arcade and pay a quarter to play a video game.

…you probably won’t have to worry about being drafted if the Iraq and Korea things turn into WWIII.

…you remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his “two” plastic surgeries.

…you remember the FIRST Space Shuttle launch.

You know you’re not a kid anymore when…

…your class reunions are into double-digits.

…you’ve noticed that the styles of clothing you wore in school are coming back!