Once you reach the upper years like me, you begin to look back at all that you have seen or done or said. You can also count the number of loved ones you have lost. When you lose someone, you always have that one person who says "at least you will have memories".

In a way I hate that phrase. Not because it's true but to me I would rather have that person than a memory.

I realized then that my memories are just a list of what I have lost. Sometimes I can bring up a memory from by mind and remember the person, how they sounded, even how I felt when around that person.

Sometimes it is not a person in my memory banks, but an event that occured in my life. Like when I was inducted into the Army. I remember the nervousness I felt and how those drill instructors did everything they could to get rid of that nervous feeling and replace it with confidence. I remember how I felt after a 10-mile hike, wearing 40pounds of gear on my back. How I couldn't wait to lie on my bunk and finally rest, only to be shaken off by the DI just a few moments later.

Life seems to be like that no matter where or at what age you are. You get to know someone then in the blink of an eye they are gone. You barely have time to decide whether you like them or not. To some people it is like that when they get a new job. They are hired, then trained to do whatever is asked of them, then they get so proficient that they train others, then it's over. They are replaced by someone younger or smarter, or by the boss's nephew. After 20 years of service, they get replaced by a high school graduate who doesn't even know how to drive. Such is life.

I worked for many years then when I turned 62, I wanted to find out what the retirement life was all about. At age 63, I was ready to go back to work.

Many have told me to enjoy retirement, go places, see the world. Well, it takes money to see the world and I have just enough money to see the world if it involved going from my living room to my bedroom. With a lay-over in my bathroom for a little while.

 Today is March 18, 2022 and in Sept of this year I will be turning 72. The years are creeping up on me but I don't feel like an old man. I still have energy and my mind is well, somewhat sharp. Like a dinner knife, you know the one you use to spread butter on your toast. Works good if the butter is soft.

I tried to do this blog thing before but with life getting in the way, I let it slip by. In 2020, the world was inflicted with a virus which caused a pandemic. Thousands died and to this day, the effects are still being felt.

During the pandemic many of us were in lockdown. That means we were not allowed to go anywhere. They called it social distancing. So we stayed home and did what we could to survive. Things are slowly getting back to normal, well, as normal as it could be with a war going on.

As for me, I finally got back into writing. I enjoyed the time I spent creating and writing stories and poetry. I did not put myself into one genre as I read everything that's out there. So I wrote the stories, mystery, drama, and comedy and put them into a book. Publishing it was a pure excitement. I had been a success merely by publishing my first book. It is titled Its A Family Tradition. I wanted people to read it but if they didn't, I still considered it a success.

I didn't stop there. I compiled all of my poetry into another book. I called it A Spirit of Humanity. Then I began to think of what the other seniors were doing while cooped up in their homes. Where I live, many of my neighbors loved doing the crossword puzzles in the newspaper. I also knew there were so many different kinds of puzzles so...I created my own puzzles and put them in a book. I called it the Baby Boomers Big Book of Brain Bafflers. Inside I also put a new kind of puzzle I call Ponder Puzzles. They take a weird mind to solve. Hey, it took a weird mind to create them.

The for the ladies, men too if they feel so inclined, a journal. It asks the important questions you might need to answer or want to question. Cue in soft music and a smooth glass of wine.

In keeping with the population, I wrote a mystery. Set in the area where I once lived, it tells how a death affects a family. It's titled The Sadness of Bridge Morgan.

I keep writing, as you might have noticed. I will add to this blog as the days progress. Keep you up to date on my authorship and maybe include an excerpt or two from my books. I call them excerpts but you might refer to them as cheap advertising.

So in the end, the book you read, is equal to the love you give. Salute'