Ticking Away

  the moments that make up a dull day

You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way (Pink Floyd)

I have returned from a glorious trip up north and i have made a few observations. The trip was a grand success... but , as i grow older ; these reunions take on multiple meanings and spark so many different emotions. I chose the Floyd opening lyric because it is the best song i have ever heard about the changing outlooks that develop and advance with age. how seamless the transition can be from bored youth....to dying adult....we all know it, but we all fall into the same trap......from having nothing to do...the restless angst of youth...to being too busy to do anything...the pressures of work/adulthood....to praying for more time at the end......and so with each go around......i find myself being more appreciative of everyone i had a chance to see......to have a chat, share a beer or just shake hands......that unspoken crossover from worrying if you would ever see an old timer again...to reluctantly acquiesce that it is YOU that may never be seen again....I wasn't alone.....On the top of that Hill in Bliss Park there was a spoken and unspoken vibe ....nobody is guaranteed tomorrow....make the most of the moment.

I will add that rumors of the demise of New York City are premature....sure they have their problems....their politicians suck......taxes and cost of living are out of control and crimes is always a problem.....but the living , breathing spirit of the Greatest City the World has even known is still alive and well......the 5 boroughs tend to adjust and reinvent themselves as each wave that was supposed to drowned them recedes.....maybe a year away at this age was what i needed.....but it sure was exciting to be back in midtown and drinking on the banks of Redhook.....I fully see what the attraction is ...i get it why college grads are willing to live in a closet sixed apartment on the edges of the madness....just to say they were A PART of IT and some date in the future.

2+3=BEEER

Every year is getting shorter
Never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught
Or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone
The song is over
Thought I'd something more to say

Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
When I come home cold and tired
It's good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells