[Rhodes22-list] A Pirate Looks at 50

[Peter Thorn]

Jim,

You articulate old salt!  It does seem to me that you have a very good
handle on the important things.  So congratulations and have a very happy
birthday.

PT


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim White" <jdwhite at utpa.edu>
To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 9:56 AM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] A Pirate Looks at 50


> I woke up this morning staring 50 full in the face. I know it's a monument
> birthday, a milestone, but somehow it doesn't seem a whole lot different
> than turning over 50 miles on the odometer of my bike after I turn it back
> to zero....only this time I can't turn it back to zero. So, I think it's
> more like 50 miles an hour, just a gentle cruise with the wind in your
> face.... Or maybe like sailing my boat single handed, an inevitable
> slipping along to new or familiar places. Now it's simply the journey that
> matters.
>
>   When I was young(er) I always had in the back of my mind the notion that
> "when I'm young again.....", but in the past couple of years this notion
> has faded, replaced by a sense of just traveling along on the water,
trying
> to avoid the shallows and sandbars, but learning nonetheless if you get
> hung on one.
>
> There was no revelation following the tolling of the bells of my birth
> hour, or enhancement of insight, I don't even think any of my hair went
> grey(er), or I acquired any new wrinkles.
>
> No, today I don't feel maudlin or especially reflective, just thankful to
> be here. All the cliches, like, "if I'd have known I was gonna live this
> long, I would've taken better care of myself", just go out the window, and
> I keep riding down the path. Although I'm certainly not going to score
> highly on the list of "he who dies with the most toys wins" mentality, I
do
> have friends and family who've made this trip more than worthwhile, so the
> material things take a distant back seat. And living here is like living
in
> the pages of a Steinbeck novel. I think that's the way it is with most
> coastal communities, and I guess I'm just another character.
>
> So what's next? Well, just because I turned fifty doesn't mean any dreams
> went out the window too. I still want to circumnavigate the Gulf and near
> Caribbean, I want to take a monumental road trip or two, maybe visit some
> places I've never been. But for right now, I plan on continuing sailing,
> surfing, riding, diving, fishing,  taking care of business, exploring the
> islands in my life, eating at D' Pizza Joint, drinking a little beer
(maybe
> a little rum too...), enjoying days like today, when the air smells like
> the sea, and you can hear the waves crashing on the shoreline and all of
> the other things that make up this crazy patchwork collage that I call my
> life. Mostly I plan on enjoying the journey with my family and friends....
>
> Although I have never spoken to any of you personally, after having
> interacted with many of you via this list, you all have been included, by
> proxy in that collage.... .
>
> Cheers to you my fellow waterpeople
> jw
>
>
> Jim White
> Le Menagerie
> www.lemenagerie.blogspot.com
>
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