Blinkers

by Bradley Davidson

I don’t like to criticize, at least out loud. It leads to hurt feelings and can result in legal tribulations I just don’t want to get into especially if I say something contrary about a particular group of which I am not a member. So, my apologies in advance if I am about to inadvertently say anything which you may find offensive. But I’ve recently come to realize I’ve been studying and thinking about certain people who seem to appear more and more in my daily life like apparitions, haunting and teasing. You see… I see old people.

I mean I’ve always seen old people. My grandparents were old the minute I laid eyes on them. I’d always marvel at the brown spots on my grandpa’s hands resembling silhouettes of world countries, and the fact they could both take their teeth out and put them in a glass each night amazed me. But I realize now I SEE old people, and this is probably a result of the fact I am slowly sliding into that group. And I am trying to figure out what kind of old person I want to be.

Oh sure, there are different kinds. There are, of course, the bitter old and grouchy kind, the demanding whiny ones, the darling cute ones, especially old couples still in love, the happy smiling ones, the sage and wise and the eccentrics. It’s understandable how people end up the way they are. Life can be hard and tragic and wear people down, or it can be full of love and friendship and good things. It all depends on how people handle the decades preceding their old age. I think a person’s character and personality just become amplified in old age. But like an amplified rock and roll band, there are some things one can control to make good music.

For instance, what’s up with the hair, especially the guys? So many old guys look like they’ve just gotten up, rolled out of bed or ARE actually homeless. A little combing could help. Shaved heads are popular these days, too. And the driving. One used to be able to tell if an old person was approaching by the geologic speed they drove, but now it could just be a millennial texting. And the blinkers. New and expensive cars are sold now with broken or inoperative blinkers while old people’s cars have blinkers stuck on. I get that one, the hearing thing. Well, I’m going to install a blaring alarm in my car so I can hear when the turn light is blinking.

But I am sure old age is more than that with the failing body and faltering mind, troublesome adult children and the miscalculation of retirement funds. But it is a time to enjoy, probably the last, and I see some people doing that and wonder how that is so. I also see some not having a good time and wonder the same thing. So, advice to myself as the years go on is amplify my good traits, don’t reinvent, don’t forget the past, just ignore the bad stuff, cherish the good, listen to all those that have left pieces of friendship and love in me, be creative, forge ahead, comb my hair and mind my blinkers.

# # #