Cast my memory back there...

I've had several instances the past couple of days that have made me flashback to past times. The other night at APPLEBEES, "All Around the World" by Lisa Stansfield was playing. As long as we live, certain songs will always remind us of a very specific time and place. And crazy as it sounds, that song for me will always be 10th grade bowling field trip. Weird, huh?

Instance #2: I took a "back" way from Decatur to Hartselle yesterday. The first time I was ever on that road was when I was dating CAROL, like back in 1993-94. She was driving and we went that way one night. So I flashbacked to that.

Instance #3: I ran into Jacqueline at the mall last night (Friday). She and I "dated" like in 9th grade. It wasn't so much dating as going places with her and her parents, sitting together at ballgames, talking on the phone every night. That was weird, too.

So all night after that, I have been pondering the passing of time. What do all these occurences mean? Do they hold any significance? Am I supposed to be "getting" something from this? And if so, what? Even at my age, I can see time has flown by, and it's only getting faster. Days disappear. Months seem like days. And I look back on the past five, ten, fifteen years, and wonder how they went so quickly. I mean, can I take any given year and recall just five worthwhile things I did that year? They're reduced to just a memory, just a page, a second.

When you're a kid and you're waiting for Christmas, a week seems to take a month. And a year is like infinity. It seems like forever. And thinking of life as 70 or 80 or 90 years seems like a long, long time. But ask someone who is 70, or 80, or 90, and I'll bet they say it went by just like that.

So what are you saying, Bone? I guess the same thing I always say. Cherish each moment. You can't save time. It's not like money. All you can do is spend it. Every hour, every minute, every second... you can never relive. And it's not so much what you do, and it's definitely not what you have. It's who is in your life, the people you touch, and the people who touch you. Spending a few hours with a good friend, or a family member, talking, laughing, reminiscing. That's time well-spent, isn't it?

Well, I'll leave you with that. Take some time to enjoy, or at least experience, all aspects of life, even those things that seem tedious. Chances are, there'll come a time when you wish you were back there. I remember someone complaining about their job one day in front of my uncle. He's passed on now, but at the time, he was pretty much bedridden and very sick. And he said, "Don't ever say that. I'd give anything if I could get up everyday and go to work."

OK, I'll recap the night's activities later. Thanks for reading.

"Remember yesterday, walking hand in hand. Love letters in the sand. I remember you. Through all the sleepless nights, and every endless day, I'd wanna hear you say, I remember you..."