If You want to know, you had better ask now

That is a cryptic statement, but it occured to me the other day that it is an important statement which I probably should share with anyone who will listen.

How did this thought spring into the muddled musings of my aged brain? Well, my mind had slipped back into the days when I was 19 and living in Ft Worth during the early days of WW2. I was remembering the guys I had dated and what might have happened to them, and one young man in particular came into my mind.

I can't remember his name at all, but I had met him through my sister and an older lady whom my sister knew and ran around with some. My sister and this woman went to what we called "honkey-tonks" in those days (now called bars) with the men they happened to be dating at the time, and occasionally I would go "stag" with them.

ANyhow, one night the older lady brought her nephew along; he was 21 and very handsome and we started dating. And befoe long, he was sent overseas to Italy as a bombardier in a B17. He flew several missions and on one of them was shot down ------ and I couldn't remember what had happened to him. I was thinking that maybe he made it back home after the war, but I wasn't sure.

Now here is the point I'm trying (not very effectively) to make.
FOR JUST A NANOSECOND, I THOUGHT, "WELL, I'LL JUST CALL MY SISTER AND ASK HER!"

Now my sister has been dead for over thirteen years and I knew that! I was not going to be able to ask her anything about anybody and that knowledge brought tears to my eyes.

And there are a lot of things I wish I had asked her over the years. And I didn't. I'd like to know more about how my family lived before I was born, who my grandparents were, where did they come from, what life was really like during the Great Depression when I was just a child, how did they find strength to cope with what life threw at them while they were growing up.

Now I will never know.

So this truth: If you really want to know something, you had better ask now.

An Octogenarian Orgy

Ever wonder what really old people do to celebrate the coming in of a brand new year? Well, they have octogenarian orgies; that's what they do! We had one on New Year's Eve, 2008, at our humble abode in Grapevine.

Our friends, the Cleavers, came down from OKC on New Years Eve to help us celebrate. They arrived about 2 p.m. and we talked until about 5 p.m. about "the olden days", and all the fun we had as young people and young adults. Then Bill Cleaver(better known as B.C.) suggested to Bill Saunders (a.k.a.B.S.) that we have a glass of wine. Of Course, Jenny and I were all for that, but I reasoned with B.S. that he couldn't drink wine because he was on drugs!! He agreed; didn't want to get "too high" and spoil the party!!

After our glasses of wine, we (Jenny and I) agreed we needed to eat out, so as to make the evening more enjoyable. We did. Chose a rather grand dining place. i.e., Jason's Deli, where each couple ordered a soup and salad to split. I ate chili in lieu of soup; B.S. had the salad. B.C. had soup, Jenny ate his salad. Our tab was pretty formidable: 5 bucks for each couple!!!

Then back to 1517 Briarcrest where we regaled each other with marvelous tales of The Great Depression days, how we worked for a dollar a day, how we never dreamed, any of us, of attending college, how World War II changed everything, and how spectacular, remarkable, and absolutely unbelievable were the things we accomplished by pure luck, hard work, and gritty determination. B.C. got a medical degree, Jenny a college degree with music major; B.S. became a Preacher with an M.Div, and holy cow, I managed to end up with a Ph.D.in English.

We ate a snack about 10:30, drank coffee and/or cokes, talked some more, yawned a lot, and finally gave up and headed for the bed at 11:00 --- who cares about seeing a stupid ball fall in NYC???

Off to bed with the same guy/gal we had slept with for 50/60 years, still in love and still grateful for the happinesses we have shared as couples and as friends.

It don't get much better than that.

Octogenarian Orgies are fun. Hope you all live to celebrate your very own special one. In the meantime, Have a Happy New year in 2009.