Make it Like It Was

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqwdcemkHgc

 Since I’ve been laid up for over a week and this pain won’t let me rest I decided to take a walk down memory lane as inspired by the photo of me at around age five or six.

 

Age 5 – I was eating Rice Krispies

Age 50+ My body sounds like Rice Krispies. “Snap, Krackle, Pop!” Every muscle, tendon and joint aches and if I tried to do that Pop and Lock dance from the 70s I’d stay that way!

Age 5: I could eat anything I wanted and as much of it as my little tummy could hold.

Age 50+ My various doctors tell me constantly what I can and cannot eat.

Age 5: Never knew what sickness was. I do remember having Chicken Pox and the Measles but a visit to the doctor, a little calamine lotion, plus extra love from Mommy and Daddy and I was up on my feet in a few days.

Age 50+ I estimate I’ve been in some doctor’s office, sick at home or in the hospital every other month for the last two years.

Age 5: Penny candies.

Age 50+ Advil, Tylenol, Ambien, High Blood Pressure pills, etc…

Age 5: I was very inquisitive, creative and innovative. My parents encouraged and supported me in all my endeavors. Of course as a child I also had endless amounts of playtime. Even when my baby brother couldn’t or wouldn’t play with me I had imaginary friends plus I loved playing with ants. Probably from the ants point of view I was a sadistic child torturing them and they were glad when my Mom called me in for lunch or dinner!

Age 50+ The institution discourages creativity or thinking of any kind. I’m now paid to be a drone, a wage slave, a mindless robot. In fact I’ve been warned by a certain supervisor that any deviation from the expected will result in disciplinary action. So I hide my intelligence and let everyone think that I’m stupid. Makes life easier.

However during the little free time I have when I’m not ill or an inmate of the asylum,  I enjoy being outdoors watching people and exploring. I especially enjoy the Botanic Gardens. Any of them, in any borough. I’m not particular. If I could get to the zoo I’d go there also.

One good difference between ages five and fifty-one is that now I hate television. Got rid of the TV back in January and don’t miss it. My vision has diminished so it’s very difficult for me to watch television. Gives me headaches. Plus there is nothing of value on TV anymore. Growing up in the 1960s was the golden age of television; mind you I was watching Felix the Cat and other old time cartoons, a few game shows, Romper Room, Batman, the Green Hornet, etc….

Also unlike today’s parents my mother and father restricted my TV viewing. I did not have a TV in my bedroom.  We had that one Black & White RCA Victor vacuum tube television in the living room which my father controlled. To this day I still hate Lawrence Welk and Mitch Miller! My parents were old-fashioned and expected me to spend most of my free time if not playing, then reading or drawing. As a result I could read by the time I was four and was a pretty good artist ages seven to seventeen.

Well enough walking down memory lane. Time for lunch with a side of Advils. Oh yes, the glories of getting older.