On Getting Old - 7

My wife and I attend a 7:30 AM mass on Easter. We’ve been doing this for years. Attendance was normally low, but the church has been crowded over the last couple of years. Hopefully the trend is towards more people coming back to the church.

Easter morning was quite cold. As we sat in the pew, Rosemary slid closer to me, and we pressed our shoulders together and held hands. Her warmth and support bolstered my spirits. A smile spread over my face.

What better candy can there be early this day.

Ciao

On Getting Old - 6

Saturday of Holy week was a special day for our family. My Aunt Liz packed a basket with Polish sausage, ham, bread, butter and the eggs we colored the day before. A walk to the church culminated in the blessing of the basket of food and the colored-cellophane wrapped basket of marshmallow eggs and chocolate bunnies given to us kids from Grandma.

We hurried back home with blessed food to prepare for the feast. Twelve noon on Saturday represented the end of Lent for us. A pot of borscht soup simmered on the stove. The food was spread out on the kitchen table, and feasting began.

My little brother, Gus, would be goaded into trying some horseradish on the hard boiled eggs. I can’t remember how many years it took for him to realize that we teased him about the horseradish not being hot.

We have continued the tradition in our family. However, the number of people at our repast has dwindled to only my wife, our son and myself. However, today I found my piece of candy in the aromas and tastes of our Holy Saturday feast.

The wafting scents of Polish sausage and bacon filling the kitchen along with the tastes of pierogis and of hard boiled eggs slathered with horseradish took me back to that gentler time.

Ciao

On Getting Old - 5

I love to color Easter eggs and this year was no exception. I enjoyed the ritual even more because it was my piece of candy.

How much we are like these eggs. We start off the same – all white, all pure, all alike. A different environment is created as a colored tablet dissolves in a cup. Each egg is gently lowered into its own environment. Depending on how long the egg rests in the solution affects the color. Eggs of blue, green, red, yellow, purple, and orange are obtained with different hues of the various colors. How different is each egg as they rest alongside one another.

As the shell of the egg is cracked, we discover how much alike the eggs are inside.

An apt metaphor for life is this simple process. We must remember that we are all alike as we begin life – a clean pure being. The people and conditions around us affect our outward appearance, but yet under the skin we are all alike.

I hope you enjoyed today’s candy as much as I did.

Ciao

On Getting Old - 4

We tried out for a part in a community theatre play at Devonshire Cultural Center and got them. It’s been a couple of years since we were on stage. Like falling off a log, we got into the swing easily. After concentrating on memorization and blocking, the next aspect included finding a costume.

My role as a conductor on a train demanded an appropriate costume. Several attempts at raiding my closet yielded nothing suitable, nor did wandering around some resale stores. Finally, I located a shop, the Chicago Costume Store, which the owner indicated he might have something available.

After a trip to the near North side, we located the shop in the DePaul University area. Upon entering, the owner cheerfully greeted us and sent us to the basement where the costumes were kept. Racks were jam packed with costumes of all types. One more outfit on the rack would have exploded the walls. Oversize animal’s heads dangled atop faux furs, Betty Boop peeked from the racks, gladiators and Roman togas hung from metal bars. The area was like traveling through a looking glass.

The young lady greeted us as warmly as the owner did. After explaining my needs to her, she pulled up some computer pictures from the internet and then scurried off to a back room, while we wandered around the stuffed racks and occasionally popped a weird looking hat on our head. Soon she returned with a costume and told us this was the only conductor’s outfit she found.

I donned the wool trousers, vest, and coat. I plopped the hat on my head and was transformed into my character from the Orient Express. The entire suit looked as if it were made for me. I thanked her for her help and for providing me with my candy for the day. Remember to look for your candy wherever you are.
Ciao

On Getting Old - 3

This day started at a frenetic pace. The daily stint at the health club got us going. Then it was one task after another – grocery shopping, a trek to the health food store, take my 91 year old mother to her doctor’s appointment, and so it went until mid afternoon.

Rosemary, I said, we need a break. We’ve wanted to stop at the new tea shop in town. So, I looked forward to my daily piece of candy--a date with my friend, my confidant, my wife – Rosemary. After forty-two years of marriage we still get a thrill out of going out together, especially when it is unplanned.

We sat at the small counter at Tea Lulu, the new teahouse. Shoulder-to-shoulder we sat mesmerized at the ritual going on before us. We opted to sample some different teas. The young lady carefully measured out four different teas. She placed each measurement into its own little pot, poured in hot water, and set a small timer. Must not steep the tea for more than four minutes we were mildly admonished.

After sipping the mixtures, we were asked if we would like some different teas. Since our taste buds reached max overload, we said no and chosen the first tea we tried, a China Ceylon blended black tea with Bourbon vanilla pieces from Madagascar.

Today turned out to be a great one, I was treated to a second piece of candy.

We mustn’t overlook those pieces of daily candy that are oh so close to us.

Ciao

Getting Old - 2

Four days into March and the weather is still crappy. The forty-five minute drive was under an overcast sky. Slight drizzle kept the windshield wipers intermittently moving road sludge from one side to the other. The rain couldn’t keep the driving crazies from slipping and sliding all over the road. Even the soft trumpet tones of Till Bronner on the jazz station didn’t lighten the dreariness.

After being cooped up in the office, I walked to the parking lot. The day turned beautiful. Across the street I found my “candy” for the day.

A golden hue from the sun glowed off the rows of remnant cornstalks in the open field. In foreground a huge oak tree spread its dark naked arms like stretching from a long winter’s sleep. At the far end of the field bare treetops formed a black spiny, undulating hillside. Puffs of white, snowy clouds drifted in the high azure sky. A scene worthy of a Monet canvas.

Candy was never sweeter.

Ciao

On Getting Old

Although I've been think about blogging since the meteorlogical first day of spring, my new blog begins today.

Through the decades since my birth, no particular year has caused me as much mental anguish as this one. In 1960 I looked forward to 21 as did all young people coming of age. At 30 no longer being "trusted" had no meaning. The 40's were busied with trying to establish myself. 50 had no significant meaning, only another marker along the path. Although I did feel I reached the west side of the mountain. 65, the next major milestone, brought semi-retirement with more time to do different things -- travel, write...there was no time to get old.

2009 is not like any of the other years. I am reaching to that marker where my mind tells me old age begins.

I know I am not old. After all my bathroom mirror reflects the image of that rakish, slim man who whispers how well I look. Unfortunately, some time the snap and crackle of the joints obliterates his complements.

I think I may need help passing this up-coming milestone. So I've decided to present my thoughts this year. You need to forgive the ramblings of this soon-to-be old man. I've never blogged before and may not always do things properly.

To sweeten my way along the tenuous path laid out before me in this year, I've decided to present myself and to you also a piece of candy. As Ms. Poppin says, "a little bit of sugar makes the medicine go down". With your help I may pass into that age of oldness without any wrinkles.

Here we go.

My wife, Rosemary, and I drove together to the health center for our workout. The day was cold and grey -- the start of another typical Chicago springtime. The blustery winds swirled, what I hoped to be, only a few flakes of snow. The white, crystalline flecks struggled through the morning stillness. While stopped at a traffic light, one of the flakes gently alit on the front windshield. The sun chose that minute to peek from behind a cloud and illuminate the tiny, starry wonder. The symmetry and uniqueness burst forth. This creation shone like a beacon in a difficult world.

How much are we like this tiny point of light. Each of us different but bringing our own special attribute to light the lives of those around us. Yet we are all the same -- trying to make the journey interesting and beneficia.

Till the next time -- Ciao.