Old Age Is A Gift

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.

I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)

MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART! MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER!

FRIENDS FOREVER!

Burton Fletcher
www.USAMonuments.com
www.ValdostaMemorials.com
Burton@USAMonuments.com

Bad Bosses I Have Known....

What is the worst boss you have ever had? I have had several bad bosses and from time to time I have been a less than perfect boss too. Over the years, I learned how to be a very good but sometimes imperfect boss.

I worked for a boss once who would look at his watch when he saw me arrive to work and then he would look up at me. He was so enemy centered that the ultimately was forced out of a high-paying position when his life fragmented.

He could talk the talk, but I'll be damned if he could walk the walk. He was forced out of his employment due to a wide variety of abuses.

This man wore a racial chip on his shoulder. He saw all criticism as racial bias and he acted in often bizarre ways.

When meetings were run, long periods of time would be spent just arguing over the minutes of the previous meeting as the minutes were often manipulated to distort the reality of the process of the management style of this individual.

He was mean and malicious, wasting government resources to constantly spy on his enemies. Without fail, this bad boss sent his secretary by my office 5 minutes before my scheduled departure to make certain I was in my office.

Bad bosses should not hire individuals for the government payroll with whom they are having an affair. A big bussomed woman may make a man happy, but she shouldn't make him stupid.

You too have probably had a bad boss; however, it is my hope that your experiences were less wayward than my own observations.

Burton Fletcher
www.USAMonuments.com
www.ValdostaMemorials.com
Burton@USAMonuments.com

Folk Wisdom Before Dale Carnegie

Here's a quote worth remembering, right up there with The Golden Rule and probably expressed before Dale Carnegie ever thought of writing a book.

"As we all know, it's easy to bristle and argue, but you will usually catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."

Your thoughts or wisdom?

Burton Fletcher
Burton@USAMonuments.com
www.USAMonuments.com