One Man's Advice

Thinking about infants again

after watching them on Facebook

postings. I have discussed them

before flailing about, arms and

legs, fingers and toes exercising

for the birthright to know.

To know what? How to function

in order to grow into life and do

what they need to do to survive.

They smile and cry not knowing

why. They have no vocabulary

to describe happiness and pain.

It will take months for them

to grasp the reality of their

precarious situation. It will

take years of learning to

negotiate on their own

the long and arduous road

life offers to the living.

Many, including myself, who

have managed to plow through

the obstacles along the way

to arrive at the Season of

Ripe Old Age look back

amazed and wonder how

we came to make it through

by-and-large unscathed.

I watch the videos of you,

little ones, and say, it is hard

for me to believe I too was in

your tenuous place of vulner-

ability.

I grew, nonetheless, to learn

from those who through profes-

sion and example taught me

right and wrong. I was molded

and impressed by the best and

worst of our kind.

The cat taught me cunning and

guile; the dog taught me un-

questioned loyalty. I learned

kindness and love from those

who are kind and who love;

I learned anger and hate from

the angry and hateful.

I amassed a vocabulary of

words along the way to describe

on my own what it means to

be alive. You can have free

of charge or pay dearly from

me and others about the facts

of life.

Some advice I will pass along

which may help when life gets

to be burdensome and over-

whelming—get yourself a dog,

take good care of it, and it will

teach you how to love uncon-

ditionally. Cook your poultry

well; salmonella and unsavory

dinner guests can be unhealthy if not

fatal. Take it from me, life is not easy,

but can be rewarding if you take care

of yourself, respect others and help

those in need. (Of course, a measure

of good luck always helps.)

I was once helpless like you. And to

my surprise, even to spite myself at

times, I somehow managed to make

it to age seventy-five. So, relax, take

a deep breath and continue to breathe!

Even screaming can sometimes be healthy.

                                -30-

Chris Hanch 6-12-2022