Well, thought it might be time to write about this…might say the truth is I need to get it off my chest. Many times in the past I have alluded to the fact that it might be best for the old dogs to stay on the porch and let the young dogs run the rabbits. I have suddenly come to the realization that as Pogo once said “we have found the enemy…and it is us.” …that the term old dogs applies to me now. I am in the process of rearranging my daily routines to accommodate my growing lack of mobility. My favorite stops for coffee and pondering and writing are becoming fewer by the day. My Mac Air is no longer light as air and there is no lightness to my step…matter of fact I don’t step much anymore…just kinda stumble along as best as I can and if I may, I prefer to call it a Southern Shuffle, meaning with a style all of its own. Look at the picture to the left…three things to take note of. The cane is always in the way and reduces me to the use of only one hand, the hat I always forget and have to go back and get  most of the time. The bench well, it is symbolic of the fact that I can’t stand for long periods of time. Oh yes, that look of despair is my concern about the location of a bathroom…distance and accessibility. I am very fortunate that I have been blessed with the ability to provide myself with a number of ways to get around. I have three walkers, all with wheels that I can use for different terrain. A cane If it is for short distances or balance and one of those GoGo Elite three wheel scooters when the event allows for such. May I insert here a word of wisdom for our current leadership. The scooter is of course battery powered…it is in fact what you may call an EV. Limited in distance and lacking in power. Now all this is great but the fact is the porch works best for old dogs. When I do get off the porch I get in the way. People are nice enough but the fact is in crowds, canes, walkers and even scooters are objects that get in the way of the flow. I was at a sporting event the other night with my daughter…used my scooter to get to the ADA seating and I found myself trying to stay out of the way of people the whole way. Remember on my scooter I am only about knee high and hard to see in a crowd. I have been told to run over them but they are all bigger than me and I can’t walk away or run for that matter. So where is all this taking us?

Lot of discussion these day about age concerning our governmental leadership. I will go out on the limb here and beg to differ with some of the assessments about this age issue. First of all stupidity has no specific age levels. Wisdom is not an attribute of age and is not a product of longevity. Our Congress and other government positions are an example of that. It is not so much about being in the way as it is about clutter. You can figure that out on your own. Sitting on the porch is not all that great but I would like to think that I left the ground the young dogs are running in better shape than I found it.

jk