20160313 (seniority)

Senior bicyclists should always be wary of highway trucking.

Mens sana in corpore sano. Yes

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

But as we enter the golden years

We notice a definite trade-off of

Physical and mental prowess for

Every additional golden day of

Every additional golden week.

An old joke about getting old:

“Memory is the second thing to

Go. What’s the first? I don’t

Remember.” Well I do remember

And for the sake of gentility, I

Hope not to mention it in this

Essay. I’ll give you a hint: it

Made Pfizer Pharmaceuticals

A solid investment. Until that

Happens, aging is a relatively

Harmless event. Sure, crossword

Devotees notice the increasing 

Difficulty in finding the word 

They know exists. They can see

It in their minds, but not in

Focus. What was that melody?

It was a favorite. Other losses

Occur—teeth especially—and

They’re not replaced except

Under the most painful of 

Procedures. Parts have to be

Replaced. Knees for one, but

Why only the left one? It wasn’t

Hurt any more frequently or 

Severely than the right one.

I didn’t take two steps with the

Left for every one of the right.

Some get to replace both at the

Same time—saving the costs

Of an additional procedure but

Paying for it with a modicum 

Of additional excruciating pain.

One day the pancreas gets sloppy

With producing insulin when 

Required and that complicates

Your life. Or your heart which 

Has thumped reliably for seven

Decades decides to skip a beat

Every once in a while. You may

Even feel it under some conditions.

Some of us get taken for a ride

By Lumosity—as if brain function

Were something one could take 

To a gym for a workout. Puzzles

Might do the same. Some flex 

Their cortices with Sudoku. 

Doesn’t your brain get exercised

Enough trying to figure out which

Politician is lying more than the

Others? What about reading novels

Or history? Or writing novels or

History? That makes your brain

Throw sparks again, if you don’t

Fall asleep. Composing music can

Be your salvation if you have the

Ability. But if you have the ability

You know you haven’t lost it on

That front, despite missing teeth

And artificial hips and knees and

A cardiac bypass graft. Best if we

Think these parts are preceding us

Into the next life where they await

Physical sublimation into our new

Being. Is that the silver lining on

The cloud of our accelerating

Dysfunction? Who knows? There

Are always some lucky few who

Stay absolutely undeteriorated

Until they try to occupy the same

Space as an eighteen-wheeler

Doing seventy loaded with 

Prostheses, walkers, catheters.

And colostomy bags.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016