The Second Half

 

Life as I see it is a conundrum

mostly. You spend the first half

learning how to live it, and the

second half learning that you’re

no longer able to live the way

you used to.

That’s what memories are for

I suppose, remembering those

good and bad things you are

no longer able to do; missing

the people and places who no

longer visit you nor are you

able to visit them.

Now, this premise hypothetically

applies if you are fortunate enough

to have lived what is considered a

full life, you know around 60, 70

or 80 years. Anything past that is

generally considered to be a

burdensome and lonely waste

of time.

Oh sure, there are those rare birds who

go on with semi or quasi-productively

into their 90s and even up into the early

hundreds. And as I have witnessed,

even many of them, especially the

disabled will admit, life has dragged

on way past its time.

Let’s face it, there is only so much

the human body, mind and spirit

are capable of withstanding.

But then again, there are those who

never made it to the second half or

later stages of life. Their lives snuffed

out of the game way too early before

they even really got started.

Now I’m nearing 75-years old and

in my second half, before I become

incompetent or bedridden, before

I lose my mind to dementia, I still

have my thoughts and memories

of those who are gone.

                     -30-

Chris Hanch 3-9-2022