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OUT THERE AGAIN STILL
Friday July 10, 2015
Change, Robert Gallagher said, is inevitable except from a vending machine …
Times passes.
Times change.
People, not so much.
So far, I haven’t found someone who thrills my core, who in turn is thrilled to theirs.
Getting older, doesn’t mean we have less to offer. I think there is more, better, all the time.
Some say I’m ‘liking the chase’ too much.
But, I’m only looking for one!
Not giving up …
Not unlike Monday-morning quarterbacking – reviewing game films, figuring out what really happened … tactics, offence, where strategy failed. Morning-after date analysis – not done this much publicly since being scolded for too often typing: “Next”.
Critics were right. I WAS doing that too much.
I’ve not found many ‘next’ opportunities lately, but they are inevitable by-products of try-outs, try them, meet them, see them in action.
My date last night engendered ‘When Harry Met Sally’ joke-justification shortly after she arrived just by how she ordered her drink – what went in it, what was on the side. Our server, being both young and unfamiliar with that movie, found little amusement in my amusement.
Side-bar: that couple, one table over. They’d just met. I witnessed their introductory handshake. Later, as I was leaving, I spoke with them. They’d connected through an online dating service, just as I’d met my date. They were surprised I’d figured that out. They were in my line of sight all evening. I’d not overheard a single word, but I’d been watching. That scene and body language, so familiar … story-swapping – entertains, enlightens, informs. Someone’s stories. Hearing our own spoken aloud. Laughter, sure.
I believe something happens to observation powers as we grow older – more insightful, analytical. And judgmental. While softer, kinder and more forgiving my own litany of mistakes littering landscapes-past, self-observing this trait may contribute to me remaining alone. Or to change.
Powers of observation. We see. We listen. What do we learn? Are we entertained, enlightened or oblivious to the obvious?
More good than bad, people who are nice, tend to stay nice.
People who are friendly rarely become grouches.
People aren’t generally radical. They are likely to go about living their lives as they’ve been living their lives – not much change.
I believe, older we get, with more and more certainly these become more likely, more rigid, more predictable.
Minor seismic life-events, change, re-designing my life while refusing notions about easing into retirement-mode unsettles, confuses. And pleases few.
“Next” …
Mark Kolke
written / published from Calgary, AB
morning walk: 19C/66F, some clouds and strong warm breeze, steady walk on sore toes – Gusta happy but cranky now because I didn’t feed her before I drafted this column … but she’s now kibble-munched and having a post-breakfast nap/snore-fest …
Reader feedback:
I SHORTENED MY MUST DO LIST
Morning Walk Ah, that silence that exists between close companions who have been through life's ups and downs and still truly like each other. Gusta must be on your 'must do' list as she deserves the #1 spot. She is loyal, faithful to a 'tee', doesn't care how you look, feel, or smell (in fact, for a dog, the smellier the better), takes you as you are; good, bad, and ugly. In fact I might venture to say "she is the perfect woman". Except for one thing; she is a dog. That really isn't all that bad when you think about the fact that she isn't telling you what to do all the time. The perfect companion. GW, Bon Wier, Tx.
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