DO SOMETHING! DO IT NOW!
Last week, the new lamp for the 65" Football Watching Device came in, and Ethel was able to change it before I got home.
(Note to any DLP TV owners out there - do NOT pay a service charge, or buy the extended warranty, in order to cover your exposure on the lamp replacement; our bulb cost less than $100, and Ethel changed it out in about five minutes. Further statement: at least for the Mitsubishi models, if you buy the bulb, don't purchase the case that it comes in, either; that would have cost us an additional hundred bucks, and save Ethel maybe three of those minutes :)
But, at any rate, for a whole week, Ethel and I were plunged into the Stone Age of football viewing; we had to watch it on a regular screen.
So we pulled my big leather chairmonster into the bedroom, and Ethel pulled her rocker over beside me, and we watched the games that way. It was sort of quaint; just to stay in character, we made sure that we didn't wear any clothing that had anything more complex than buttons (zippers were right out) and we cooked our meals on rocks heated by the sun.
(Yes, Ethel is using her laptop, but some things are indispensable).
Now, while this was Stone-Age living, I could only find out about it by research; I'm not actually THAT old. I am, however, of quite an age, indeed - as of today, I am FIFTY YEARS OLD.
Lemme say that again....I am FIFTY YEARS OLD.
Nope. Saying it twice didn't make it real.
"It may not have been a happy childhood, but at least it's been a long one" - you know what it feels like? It feels like my life is over. What it sorta feels like is a shame - doggone it, already a candidate for the coffin, and I didn't get anything DONE! I shoulda done something - I should have tried harder! I should have accomplished SOMETHING!
...And the Universe stands still and quiet for a moment, before answering, quietly and calmly - "...well, you didn't."
Okay, then. My life was a waste. I can accept that.
But that doesn't mean that I can't contribute something to this world before I'm gone.
Remember how Jacob Marley came back from the grame to tell Scrooge that he was living his life wrong, that he'd wind up regretting his actions?
That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make it my new calling - yell at people to do something with their lives, before it's too late!
I'm gonna stand on the street corner with a big sign that says "YOU'RE GONNA DIE SOON - WHAT WILL YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED?"...I'm thinking that maybe I could hang around coffee shops and cafes, and casually start conversations by saying "So, have you done anything with your life, or have you just wasted it?"
I think I'll grab my kids by the short hairs at the nape of their necks and yell at them - "DO SOMETHING!"
hmmm.....there's a problem here. The problem is that I suspect that none of this will work; all it will do is irrtate people. Robert Heinlein wrote, "Never try to teach a pig to sing - it wastes your time, and it annoys the pig" - I don't think that there's anything that can convince slackers like me to do anything with their lives until it's too LATE to do anything with their lives; the folks that have that sort of drive don't need my help to get into gear anyway.
Wow. There's another ten minutes wasted, just coming up with that idea and abandoning it...
Now what.? My clock is ticking....
Happy birthday, JimP....you're a witty, eloquent guy.
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Happy (Belly Button) Birthday, Jim!
I'll loan you my "50 is the new 30" t-shirt when I see you in February -
now that I've had it for a couple of years.
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Who was it that said (to paraphrase: It's difficult to reason with people who didn't reach there by reason?
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Who was it that said (to paraphrase): It's difficult to reason with people who didn't reach there by reason?
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Jim,
Happy belated birthday.
I've got 3 years yet until I turn 50, so my opinion may change, but more and more, I just don't care that I haven't "done anything". I think I do a good job being nice to the people in my life, I take care of my obligations, I find ways to have fun, and I don't feel that I need to prove anything to anyone other than myself.
I'm not saying that you are feeling that need to prove yourself, but success, as defined by some global "societal norms" just doesn't interest me that much.
My wife and I have our 25th college reunion this year. She wants to go and I don't. The place will be full of rich people who will want to know what I "do". When I tell them I run and I ski and I have fun, they'll interrupt and say "No, I meant what do you do for a living?" I'll want to tell them that what I "do for a living" is not who I am, and they'll look at me funny. Then, they'll start to blather about being VP of this or senior partner of that or C-something-O of something, and my eyes will glaze over. I'll want to suggest to them to go for a run or a hike or to go skiing and live a little bit. I don't care if they run or ride a bicycle or drive a race car or climb mountains or just go for walks with their spouses or their dogs. The best moments in my life are a by-product of "what I do for a living" rather than defined by it. I know that some people have careers about which they are very passionate and I think that's great. I have one job that I love passionately, but even that part-time job is not "who I am." But, I think too many people forget to actually live life and have fun. If I died tomorrow, I'd be unhappy because I want to ski on Sunday, but I'd have very few regrets.
I'm not ready for anybody to pigeonhole me by what I've accomplished in their view of the world. I get by and I have a great life. I'm sure that despite your protests here, you feel the same way about your life.
I hope that rambling made some sort of sense.
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Yes, Damon, it made sense : )
But let's be clear about one thing - I'm not talking here about determining my having "done anything" purely by a measure of career success.
I'm talking about having DONE ANYTHING. I mean, actually having really tried to do something, and done it. I'm talking here about generating a sense of accomplishment.
There's a scene in "Fight Club" where Tyler Durden asks two of his protoges - "What do you want to do before you die?" One of them said "Build a house", and the other said "Paint a self-portrait". In other words, have an accumulation of skills and use them in a way that you actually do something of which you are proud.
I've skiied a few days, and run a few miles, and climbed a few routes, and lifted a few weights, and other such stuff - but that's all just recreation, and none of it has given me a sense of *accomplishment*.
It was Teddy Roosevelt who said:
I'm definitely one who "lived in a grey twilight that knows not victory or defeat" because I never actually TRIED anything, really.
I've got a friend back in Utah who has recently been laid off, and he's been wondering about starting his own business. Of course, I have no idea whether he should do so or not - but I'm aware that I'm the type of guy who never did that, and never would have done that.
"No, I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two...
Deferential, glad to be of use
Politic, cautious, and meticulous
Full of high sentence, but at times obtuse
At times, almost, indeed, ridiculous
At times, almost, the fool..."
-- TS Eliot, "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock"
It speaks volumes about me that I can remember this bit of verse without having read it in many, many years - because it's my own self-image.
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So, maybe I should put a gun to your head and get you to admit that you always wanted to be a veterinarian (or whatever) and then if you aren't doing it next week, I'm coming back to kill you.
I still disagree that you've done nothing, but I understand your points. I just see that a well-lived life, with great friends and family, is just fine in terms of doing something. Maybe my happiness threshold is too low???
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I'm with Damon. Course I'm not 50 yet either. I've got 3 weeks to go.
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