Reflection

Reflection

It's getting' on to that time o' year again. I imagine it's a ritual for many people at this time o' year to reflect on the year that's passed, on their accomplishments, their failures, mistakes and other experiences. It's a good thing too. That way it's possible to figure out where you've been an' what you done in order to have some idea of where you're goin' next. Then, by the time the New Year comes around, yer ready to go at it hammer an' tong again.

Well, that's the theory anyways. That's the way I used to do it all the time an' I never run outa steam until about Easter. These days though it's a little different. When ya can't remember what day o' the week it is or whether ya actually had yer breakfast, rememberin' what happened throughout the year becomes a little bit befuddlin'. Actually I got that aced too. I use my skills as a storyteller to fill in the details o' what I done last year until it seems reasonable an' go from there. Of course, that leaves the future world to yer imagination. There's no tellin' what plans you can make for the New Year ahead. Mind you, it's better to pull the reins in a little bit when you're plannin' for the future.

Our friend John in the "Over the Hill Gang" had bought a ticket to go skydivin' on his eightieth birthday a few years back. We was all excited an' some of us was even willin' to join him. Talk about yer over-optomistic forecast. In the meantime, John has had a coupla strokes, an' fell in the bathtub an' broke his hip. So when his eightieth birthday rolled around, he was in physiotherapy instead of in a perfectly good airplane an' learnin' how to maneuver that walker contraption instead of a parachute. So you can see how skydivin' would complicate things in his future. Holy crackers! He fell down in the bathtub an' broke his hip. What would happen if he fell outta a airplane an' landed on his keyster in a field somewheres? He'd be nothin' but splinters by the time the dust had settled. Can you imagine the field full o' bone splinters if we'd all a joined him? Not somethin' I'd like to think about.

The long an' the short of it is that we should probably curb our enthusiasm about the future with a bit o' realism, but what the heck, we never get to do it anyways so it don't really matter one way or another. At least that's how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just Sayin'.