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Just below the peak....on our way there.
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On our way......
It has been 45 years to the day that our crew of misfits and eccentrics were let loose onto the "big blue marble". The world was said to be our "oyster" - and I hate seafood. Nonetheless, off we went -wherever the road would take us. I know there were a few that had a plan and a few of them actually executed that plan. There were others that followed "the template" and met expectations. And then, there were the rest of us (probably most of us) that just made it up as we went along. For some reason we all walked out of the building in the comfortably warm evening at the Browning Center, believing we had accomplished something in our lives up to that point. Hats off to those who really did land prestigious appointments, or scholarships. Let's face it, I hadn't any idea until years later, what an accomplishment that actually was for them. The fact the some of our peers actually had it put together well enough as struggling teenagers to do something like that is remarkable. Approaching nearly five decades of dirt, luck, bruises, scar-tissue and eventually some level of success - it has been a fascinating trip indeed.
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| From a ride to the peak about ten-year ago. It never gets old. |
Not looking back, but remembering the important stuff
Living in the past is stupid - like dangerous stupid. Still, learning from our past is how we survive the future. Learning what will kill you and how to avoid it is a survival skill baked into our DNA. We develop a little muscle memory along the way - call it reflex, but it's something that keeps us from making the same mistake more than ... a few times. I am amazed at how often we do forget what was once important to us in our younger years and worse yet, how often we have been willing to throw away things we always considered to be of value. Sure, we change, but at what cost and end result? We think we know so much more as adults. After all, we have years of experience and hardship to show for it - right? But wait, we thought that same thing when we walked out of that building 45 years ago. To think we have all the answers now may not be as misguided as we were all those years ago, but we still don't have a corner on the market of absolute knowledge. Not being able to see over the horizon was always a bit uneasy, but given the advantage of age, there is less over the horizon than there was all those years ago. So, knowing that..... when you look back behind you and draw the continuous line through history and project it out forward, are you content with where the resulting path takes you? It's too easy to accept fate as something we can't change - we've done it all our lives to some degree anyway. Truth is, we are better and more capable today than we ever have been. It is a function of how well we have learned from our past and can project into the future.
Humility and all the trappings of learning about life
Perhaps the single most significant difference between now and 45 years ago would be the value of humility. Lets face it; at 18 years old, pretty much everyone feels invincible and has no idea what is out there that can really eat you. Getting knocked down isn't a big deal, as you could bounce back like a jack-rabbit. As you developed a career, perhaps obtained an education, it became apparent that setbacks are a daily part of life. At first you think it may be other people's bad luck and not your own. Soon it settles in, life can be hard - get over it. Sometimes life can be unfair - get over that as well. In the past 10 years we have lost far too many of our friends that walked across that stage 45 years ago. To that we can all agree; life is truly unfair and uncertain. As we absorb that humility, there is more of a sweetness to life and far less apprehension. The adults we used to seek out as "safe harbors" from life's storms - well they are all mostly gone. That leaves us to fill that void, that role - call it what you will. We are better for having been through all of our struggles - personal and otherwise. Maybe those struggles are still every bit as big as they were all those many years ago, but somehow we have all become our own versions of "Jack Arnold".
I wouldn't trade it for the world
Anyone who says they would do it all over exactly the same way (given the chance), is either a liar, or a fool. Fair enough. However, I wouldn't have traded my experiences getting to that day 45 years ago, for anything. Nor would I have substituted those with whom the adventure was shared. Time tends to mellow a lot of the sourness of life. At the same time, we tend to selectively remember things the way we want them to be in our own minds. The awkwardness of trying to figure out who we were is lost to the memories of time spent with our crew. That evening at "Big Buns". Long bus rides home from away games, or meets. Sluffing class to go skiing or to simply fly kites at the park. Gone are the memories of insecurity and the nervousness of being asked to dance by someone you really didn't know - but may have secretly thought was totally hot. The endless hours of practice and workouts, with sweat burning your eyes. Getting the crap kicked out of you at practice and showing up the next day like it never happened in the first place. All stored in back where it belongs. Remembering with fondness the cheerleaders all out on the of the road at the top of Sardine Canyon, doing their thing on our way to a rare Saturday game - we felt like Vikings! Gone is the sting of having lost a fellow Scot and friend only less than one week prior to that graduation day. Ingrained in my heart is the Baccalaureate service only a few days later, with a invocation by our class president - on the heels of that loss, as well as having to deal with potential litigation that threatened our very graduation (Andy was a stud and was made for that very moment in time). And finally, when it was all over, outside in that warm and very comfortable outdoor setting, running into each other knowing there was nothing holding us together anymore. Some things did not have to be said. The firm embrace....hell, the warm and overdue hugs - everything was conveyed without saying a single word. Some relationships were nearly a lifetime at that point, whereas others only three short years - in the end we are bound by that of which we together endured and conquered. I personally can't imagine it any other way.
Cheers
To you all - and I hope you all do get this message, life is short. Make the most of every single moment. Take nothing for granted. Be the hero you have always been meant to be. We have lost far too many and that will only continue at a faster rate. Live your individual lives looking forward - always. Be proud of what we all are, but don't be prideful. In those quiet moments alone, take inventory of what matters most. Age may have crept up, but we are far from done. Be strong and determined through the finish line - as you really never know where it may be. Perhaps someday we'll look back on this all and laugh at ourselves. Until then, laugh anyway. It's been one helluva ride and we were all darn lucky to have had each other to get us started. Cheers to you all!
Ride HARD!
