I have always dreaded old age. I cannot imagine anything worse than
being old, maybe infirm, perhaps alone. How awful it must be to have
nothing to do all day long but stare at the walls or watch TV. So when
it was suggested we all celebrate Senior Citizen Week by cheering up a
senior citizen, I was dtermined to do just that. i would call on my new
neighbor, an elderly retired gentleman, recently widowed, who, I
presumed, had moved in with his married daughter because he was too old
to take care of himself. I baked a batch of cookies and, without
bothering to call (some old people cannot hear the phone), I went off to
brighten this guy's day. When I rang the doorbell, the "old guy" came
to the door dressed in tennis shorts and a polo shirt, looking about as
ancient and decrepit as Donny Osmond. I'm sorry I can't invite you
in," he said when I introduced myself, "but I'm due at the Racquet Club
at two. I'm playing in the semi-finals today." "Oh, that's all right,"
I said. "I baked you some cookies...." "Great!" he interrupted,
snatching the box. "Just what I need for bridge club tomorrow! Thanks so
much!" "......and just thought we'd visit awhile. But that's o.k.!
I'll just trot across the street and call on Granny Grady." (Now, Granny
Grady is not really my grandmother; she is just an old lady who has
lived in our neighborhood forever, and everybody calls her "Granny".
"Don't bother," he said. "Gran's not home: I know, I just called to
remind her of our date to go dancing tonight. She may be at the beauty
shop. She mentioned at breakfast that she had an appointment for a tint
job." I wished him luck with his tennis game (though I was much more
interested in his game with Granny) and bade him good-day. But I am
not easily discouraged, I had set aside that afternoon to call on
somebody old, and by golly, I was going to find somebody old to call on!
I called my mother's cousin (age 83); she was in the hospital...working
in the gift shop. I called my Aunt (age74); she was on vacation in
China. I called my husband's uncle (age 79). I forgot he was on his
honeymoon. And then I remembered old
sister Margaret, a nun who had been my teacher in grade school. She
lived in a retirement home for nuns, and it had been several years since
I had seen her. I wondered if the old dear was too senile to remember
me. The "old dear" wasn't there. "Whom did you want?" the
receptionist had asked when I had inquired if it would be convenient for
me to visit. "Sister Margaret," I repeated. "Sister Magaret...." mused
the receptionist. "Oh! You mean Mercedes! he's away on tour this week."
"Mercedes?" I asked. "On tour?" "Mercedes is Sister Marsret's stage
name," said the receptionist. "When she became an actress, she took the
name Mercedes because she had always admired Mercedes McCambridge and
because she thought Mercedes sounded more seductive than Margaret."
"She...uh...became an actress?" I asked, too stunned to wonder when
Sister had learned the meaning of the word "seductive." "Actually,
she's more of a producer-director," the receptionist explained. "A
couple of years ago she organized a senior citizens' drama club, and
eventually it evolved into a caravan theater. They go all over the state
putting on plays. She'll be back Thursday, but she leaves again that
evening for Washington, D.C. She's on the White House Commision on
Aging, you know." No, I didn't know, and I can't imagine how she got
on such a commission, since she obviously knows nothing about aging!
And I don't want to know about it either! I still dread old age, now
more than ever. I just don't think I'm up to it!!!!!

NE Ne NE Ne Ne LOL No truer words spoken D. Well put.

I must conquer my loneliness alone. I must be happy with myself, or I
have nothing to offer. Two halves have little choice but to join; and
yes, they do make a whole. But two wholes when they coincide....That is
beauty. That is love.

"That was good Michael. Write one for me.

Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger.- Learn the wisdom of
compromise, for it is better to bend a little than to break. -Believe
the best rather than the worst. - People have a way of living up or down
to your opinion of them. -Remember that true friendship is the basis for
any lasting relationship. the person you choose to marry is deserving of
the courtesies and kindnesses you bestow on your friends.- Please hand
this down to your children and your children's children: The more things
change the more they are the same. J.W.

I was always told, "Have a relationship with someone you like, not
someone love".

As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch a local
Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my
home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-baseline, I asked one
of the boy's what the score was. "We"re behind 14 to nothing," he
answered with a smile. "Really," I said. "I have to say that you don't
look very discouraged." "Discouraged?" the boy asked with a puzzled look
on his face. "Why should we be discouraged? We haven't been up to bat
yet." J.C.

Now you will feel no rain, For each of you willbe shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold, For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness for you. For each of you will be
companion to the other. Now you are two bodies, But there is only one
life before you. Go now to your dwelling place, To enter into the days
of your togetherness. And may your days be good, and lond upon the
earth.

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone
in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and
the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw
the precious stone in the wise woman's bag, admired it, and asked the
wise woman to give it to him. The wise woman did without hesitation. The
traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the jewel was
worth enough to give him security for the rest of his life. But a few
days later he came back, searching for the wise woman. When he found
her, he returned the stone and said, "I have been thinking. I know how
valuable this stone is, but I give it back to you in hope that you can
give me something much more precious.If you can, GIVE ME what you have
within you that enabled you to give me the stone".

What's the difference between a therapist and a sponsor? The only time a
sponsor uses the word "closure" is before the word mouth. lol

When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say: "Look at the
trees: maimed, stark, and misshapen, but ferociously tenacious."
Edna O'Brian

The Gods created whiskey so that the Irish would not conquer the world.

In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in
friendship and never in want.

I tend to agree with LAMom. I lost my husband last March and I think it
would be a little easier to communicate a little more clearly on loving
and losing, Whether it be by death or divorce. Someone who hasn't made a
commitment by marriage could not really know what it was like to lose
that commitment. If I were to meet someone who hadn't been married and
we hit it off then that would be great, but he couldn't fully understand
something he has not experienced. But then again not everyone goes
through the same life experiences. That's what makes sharing special.

May God have Mercy on his soul...........if he had one.

Being a working woman can be tough, but holding a job and having
children is even tougher. There's a story about a mother with three
active boys who were playing cops and robbers in the back yard after
dinner one summer evening. One of the boys "shot" his mother and
yelled, "Bang, you're dead." She slumped to the ground and when she
didn't get up right away, a neighbor came runnung over to see if she had
been hurt in the fall. When the neighbor bent over, the overworked
mother opened one eye and said, "Shhh. Don't give me away. It's the only
chance I get to rest."

Hello, New here but don't have a picture. Imagine Jamie Lee Curtis and
Reba McEntire, now combine them and you got me, without the money or
glory. Hope to meet some good, sincere people here. Happy New Year.

Imagine that! A man who really knows what he feels. That was great
Michael. I do know a song writer. His name is Steve Clark, he wrote
"Better Off In A Pine Box", the song Doug Stone sang. He lives in KY. If
you don't mind I'll ask him how he got his song put to a recording.
Great jod Michael.