This week I turned 80. I actually considered myself at that milestone in May, when in 1942, my mother was three months \u201cwith child\u201d and my kicking had begun, letting her know I was anxious to get going. In my mind I was six months old when I emerged on Nov. 15. Thus, this past May I started thinking of myself as an octogenarian, which was delightfully reinforced on Father\u2019s Day when my wife, kids and grandkids executed a total surprise birthday at the Belva Lockwood Inn in the Village of Owego, N.Y., where I reside in a 217-year-old house \u2013 as creaky and cranky as myself. <\/p>\n
At any rate, in May, infused with that reinforcement in July, I adopted an 80-year-old attitude \u2013 a trump card that I can play in fun and seriousness. It gains entry to many things \u2013 \u201cOops, I\u2019m sorry, I\u2019m eighty,\u201d when I\u2019ve stumbled into and knock over a display of mechanical toys in an antique store. That sort of thing. Along with special orders in restaurants and access to the children\u2019s menu, where prices and portions are more suited to an octogenarian. (\u201cI\u2019m 80 and more like 8,\u201d when it comes to dining out.) <\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t do that stuff when I was in my 60\u2019s or 70\u2019s. Not even at 79. But now that the calendar matches my mental state, a new world has unfolded for me on my journey through time. I loved it when I submitted this article, # 1,001. I started writing as the Old Coot in 2002. My goal was to see if I could come up with an article every week, for a year. Look mom! I outdid myself! <\/p>\n
I start an article with a \u201cgerm\u201d of an idea, sit down with pen and paper and let my subconscious brain take over, often surprising myself with what it drags out. The process digs deep into the psyche and dregs up opinions I didn\u2019t know I had. (A lot cheaper than lying on a couch in a psychiatrist\u2019s office.)<\/p>\n
So, now that I really am 80, and look back on all the stumbles it took to acquire a small source of wisdom, I\u2019m just happy to still be in the game, in spite of traveling in a high mileage vehicle with over 27,000 days on the odometer. Mine, as everyone\u2019s life, is a journey from ignorance to wisdom, if we only just get it when it stares us in the face instead of waiting until it slaps us up side the head. Thank you for reading.<\/p>\n