dontravis.com
blog post #308
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| Courtesy of Commons. Wikimedia |
This past week has not been a good one around here. A good
friend who lives in the same apartment complex I do, faced a serious and disturbing
health issue, which got me to thinking about human frailties and the
inevitability of new and frightening things lying ahead on this
path through life. My thoughts resulted in the following rant against fate.
*****
I’M
NOT CONTAGEOUS
Do not snatch your hand away
like I’m unclean, untouchable. My condition is not contagious; it’s
debilitating… to me, not to you. You can touch me, huff my breath, sit where I
sat, all without harm to yourself.
This thing may have robbed me of my strength, depleted my vitality, put
a walking cane in my hand, made uncertain my determination, and sapped my will,
but you will not catch it from me.
Old friends understand this
and offer a hand in friendship, touch me in affection, and throw an arm across
my shoulders in camaraderie. But new acquaintances, especially those with peach
fuzz on their cheeks, shy away, sometimes cringe. Although I see no willful
intention to cause distress, barbs that sting are not always purposeful.
My condition will neither mend nor
heal itself. Indeed, it will weigh heavier with the passage of each day. No
pill, no serum will halt its inevitable march. There are ways to battle the
ogre, slow its relentless progress… a bit. Diet. Exercise. But those are merely
fingers in a dike that is near to overflowing.
I do not surrender. I go about
my life as always—as nearly as that is possible, that is—feeding myself and keeping
me and my surrounding clean. I take comfort in old allies and in seeking new
ones, something that becomes more difficult with the passage of time. Strangers
shrink from my condition, you see. But if converted into friends, they would share novel experiences, generate fresh excitement, open heretofore closed
doors, and expand my universe, no matter how minuscule.
But alas, they find my
condition off-putting, fearing, I suppose, contamination. Make no mistake, they
will become infected in time, but not from me. This thing I have lies nascent
in their genes, passive in their cells, silently growing stronger with the elapse
of each and every hour. Short of meeting with a fatal accident or a deadly
disease, they will deal with my condition just as surely as I do this day.
You see, regardless of what
fancy term you assign it, my condition is simply the onslaught of old age.
*****
Do
you ever consider the March of Time? I do, more and more every day, especially
as things happen to those close to you. Things like illness and debilitation
and even death. Each one is a marker in our own journey along The Road.
Please
get a copy of my latest book, The Lovely
Pines, and provide feedback on
the novel. If you do read the book, please post a review on Amazon. Each one
helps.
By the way, The Bisti Business was named as a finalist in the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in two categories: Best Mystery and Best Gay Book. Winners will be named in November.
Now
my mantra: Keep on reading. Keep on
writing. You have something to say… so say it.
If
you would like to drop me a line, my personal links follow:
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/donald.travis.982
Twitter:
@dontravis3
Here
are some buy links to the Lovely Pines,
which (as noted) was released on August 28:
Abaddon’s
Locusts is scheduled for release on January 22, 2019, and the first draft of The Voxlightner Scandal is about 90
percent completed.
See
you next week.
Don
New Posts are
published at 6:00 a.m. each Thursday.
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