I wish I were eighteen again | Eastern North Carolina Now

February 2018- Updated to repair broken link.

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    There was a time when I never thought I would see my 23 birthday. That is okay because at the same time I was not sure I would see the next sunrise. Well I did see my 23 birthday and 49 more. I still go to a few local bars for happy hour now even thought I quit drinking a while back. There are always a few of us relics at the bar but mostly there are just the younger folks. They tolerate us if for no other reason than politeness, but I secretly think the real reason is to provide comic relief for those who have not topped the hill yet.

    I never offer advice unless solicited in these gatherings. I have found that the best way to learn something is to make mistakes. It is like the story of the cat that sat on a hot stove. He jumped off and never sat on a hot stove again. Of course, he never sat on a cold one either.

    Every now and then, someone would ask if we had it to do over again, would we do anything different. My reply is always the same. "If I had it to do over again, knowing now what I did not know then, I am pretty sure I could screw it up faster and better than I did".

    It brings to mind a quote from one of my favorite Automobile writers Peter Egan. He wrote for Road and Track for many years and had a definite way with words.

    "I sometimes think that if I'd not indulged in the excesses of life, I might have saved enough money to retire in a higher style than I am currently living. But then, of course, I wouldn't have the same diverse bank of vivid memories, both good and bad. And it's important, as we get older and hurl ourselves toward senility, to have stockpiled plenty of things worth forgetting. My work here is almost done".

    Just when I think I am nearing the last stop sign, I am reminded that I may have some 30 years left if I am as lucky as old George Burns.