A Sober Comment on Aging

Getting Old

One of my favorite authors, James Lee Burke, in his recent Dave Robiecheaux tale entitled “The Glass Rainbow” wrote a beautiful piece of dialogue regarding the pain of men endure as they grow old. Now many women will just roll their eyes at this revelation, but the truth is that if they listen they will understand the sudden sadness some men feel when they face up to the limitations age puts on us with little or no time for preparation.

Dave, in his role in law enforcement in New Iberia, Louisiana, is interviewing an old patriarch, a left over remnant of the anti-bellum southern aristocracy. Dave has no respect for this man and his kind, who, Dave believes, has acquired his power and fortune by trampling on those less fortunate. He also believes this man might have something to do with the cruel and horrible murders of two young women, probably not by his own hand, but possibly with his permission or at the very least knowledge.

They are on the patio of this gentlemanʼs mansion next to the Bayou Teche. The mansion is rapidly becoming a shadow of itʼs original glory and grandeur, and as such serves as a metaphor for the pain and inevitability of growing old. The old man asks his nurse to sneak him a cigarette before his son comes back. Probably embarrassed by the skullduggery required to enjoy such a simple pleasure, he addresses Dave.

“Donʼt get old, Mr Robiecheaux. Age is an Insatiable thief. It steals the pleasure of your youth, then locks you inside your own body with your desires still glowing. Worse, it makes you dependent on people, who are a half a century younger than you. Donʼt let anyone tell you that it brings peace, either, because thatʼs the biggest lie of all.”

Observation by Jeff Jordan 03/11/2011

Comments

Ring The Bell

It appears there is a tradition in the radiology department at Ascension Hospital that patients, upon completing their course of treatment, ring a bell. ( We know not for whom this bell tolls.) Ring the Bell with My Sweetheart Jeanne. Jeanne drove me to all but two of the appointments. Pam Frautchi took me to the other two. Today, after being zapped thirty-two times, I rang the bell. This begins a roughly one-month recovery period where the effects of the radiation abate and, I'm assured, a return to normalcy occurs. In my case, I anticipate more energy and greater awareness. Books, Books, & More Books I am simultaneously celebrating the end of the third year of volunteering for the All Saints Hunger Book Sale. Next week, we will wrap up the preparation for the sale and open our doors on August 3 for the public. I ran into this humourous but quite accurate cartoon on a T-Shirt that shows most of the volunteer's sentiments at this point. If you think the printed and bound p...

It's time again.

It started in 2004 when we moved to our condo off Downer in Milwaukee. Then we mover to the Westside of Milwaukee when we rented from Ken Karr, the former landlord, now a current friend on Highland and 29th St. Then we moved to Mandeville Louisiana for a little less than a year. Returning to The Fox River Valley, we rented a home in Fox Crossing, formerly The Town of Menasha. When the tree fell on the roof, and the landlord felt no urgency to fix it, we moved to W. Commercial in Appleton. Here is a shocker. Are you sitting down? We are moving. No, I don't mean off the couch and out to the patio. There are too many damn mosquitoes for that to happen. No, we are packing our stuff, or at least the stuff we unpacked from the last move and moving to a home Maria purchased on Mason and Glendale in Appleton. Let me unpack that last sentence (pun planned for). We are moving at approximately the end of September to a house. The house has been in t...

Latest News From The City On The Inland Sea

Many of us in Milwaukee have put away the black armbands recognizing our grief for the Brewer's early exit from the playoffs. The Packers are going through their season, letting Jordan Love grow into the vacancy left by the departure of Aaron Rodgers. The Milwaukee Bucks are daring anyone to try and take this year's championship away from them. Marquette, UWM, and the Badgers have an abundance of hope. Marquette, however, has the talent. My Treatments We are at a checkpoint. Along with my immunotherapy next Monday, I'm having a scan. It's felt that my body has shed enough radiation so we can get a look at the infected area and evaluate the progress. Watch this space. I am feeling well. I had little reaction to the second round of the Keytruda and don't anticipate any from the next injection. I went to Walgreens to get my Flu shot and my COVID booster. Remember when we used to go to the drugstore because they had a soda fountain. Wanderings Jeanne and I decided to g...

Point Made

Search This Blog