As I sipped my Rye, the matter of discussion was: “What was the best age to be?” A variety of ages were floated to the surface, and I guess I could have argued “yea or nay” on any age proposed. One thing was clear — no one liked their present age. Everyone picked a younger age, save one.
He thought it would be great to be much older. “Just to be able to sit in a chair in a sunny room, oblivious to the world, lost in a dream & not have a care in the world.”
That did sound good. But then again, I was a third of the way thru Wild Turkey #2… and typically everything sounds good then.
I remained quiet to the group. Most of their choices had been “twenty-something”… or “thirty-something.” I filter those time periods thru my mind and decide that the journey would be better to an even younger age… much younger.
Have you ever noticed that when you get a new drink, it’s like getting a new set of downs?
I’m first and ten. Here it is… you have mastered walking, running & jumping. You can kick a ball. You know colours, shapes, letters, numbers and are in the early stages of reading. You can talk in complete sentences. Follow a TV show. Listen to a story. Feed yourself. Know the joy of an ice cream cone. You can do all this… and still shit in your pants.
Second and six. Now how good is this? “Dropping a deuce” barely interrupts your routine. There you are sitting at the table colouring… or playing with a truck in between the table legs of the dinning room table, you pause ever so slightly to take care of business and proceed on without a second thought. You know… what’s the big deal? Smell? Who cares about it? I mean it’s life, isn’t it?
Third and three. Besides, it’s a creative process… uniquely yours… just as much as the coloured scribble that your parents put on the refrig. And how long do they keep the art on the refrig? Days? Months? Seasons? And yet they insist on taking your dump right away? Maybe you don’t want to give it up yet! Maybe you have to go behind the club chair in the den so they can’t get at you… they think it’s embarrassment. It’s about taking away something that is rightfully yours!
Fourth and one… we’re going for it. Yeah, to be a little kid again. Do whatever you want… eat, sleep, play and shit in your pants. OK, kids have it good. You and I both know this. They cry some when they are tired or hurt; but they really are happy… it’s about the uninhibited creativity. We can learn much from little kids. And if you happen by one day… and I am sitting over at my post at Ash Creek with a small smile, a peaceful expression and look of contentment, you can rightfully assume that I have just completed the creative process.
First and ten.