How young do you act

Mom and Dad were looking at getting a new car so we drove to Alliance, Nebraska, and they bought a new Rambler which had an E shifter in it. You shifted it just like a normal three-speed, but it also had an overdrive, so virtually four-speed. But there was no clutch. All you had to do was let off on the gas and shift. Worked pretty good most of the time but now and then it kind of got stuck in between gears.

Mom and I were just over a mile west of home when it stuck in between gears. It was cold so I pretty much ran back home to get Dad and have him help us. He came and fixed the problem. Later on I noticed that I had lost my class ring on the run home. My hands had gotten cold and off went the ring.

But I ran home. Wouldn't even consider it today. No way. Ain't going to happen. But back in '67 to run 1 1/2 miles was no big deal. Now don't get me wrong I was no long-distance runner. I was more like a slow quarter horse. Decent for a short race and I'd be done. But to jog 1 ½ miles was pretty easy.

Back when our grandson was little he'd come up and visit and he'd get bored so we'd tell him we'd time him running down to the cattle stock tank and back up to the house. Away he would run. He didn't jog but he'd really run. That was then. 15 to 20 years later he doesn't run like this. He'll run but now it's to hunt ducks and things he enjoys. He doesn't run just for the fun of it.

I've sat and watched baby calves walk around exploring their new world. They just look and explore and then they'll get a wild hair and away they will run. They will run and buck and kick and just have a blast. And they might stop for a breath of fresh air and then away they go again. Running for the sake of running. Now and then an old cow will run and buck and kick but not very often. They might get this feeling inside but they are too big and many times too overweight and sometimes crippled enough they just can't go it. But those babies enjoy running. Inside the old cows may want to but age has taken a toll.

Now that I'm on the north side of 70 I don't run and buck and kick just for the fun of it. There are times when I feel good and feel like acting out but it's just a feeling. I know better than to act out. I'll end up so sore the next day it'll be hard to even walk. Or even worse, I'll end up hurting myself. At times I feel like I'm 20, and my mind says well maybe 50, but my body reminds me I'm 70 for darn sure.

I'm not sure when this all happened. It just kind of crept up on me. If my Mom was still alive she would have been 109 years old this past week. And on that same day my sister would have been married 64 years. She commented that it sure didn't seem like that long ago and honestly it doesn't seem real. But facts don't lie. It was 64 years ago that Mick and I were in her wedding.

Back when we lived in Nebraska, I'd put on some winter clothes and head out hunting. I'd drive to certain spots and take advantage of the direction of the wind and how cold it was and how much snow was on the ground. If there was just a trace of wind and about 6 inches or more of snow and the temp was down around zero it was a fantastic day. I'd find a good spot and lie down in the snow and try to call up a coyote. At times it worked, and then at times it didn't. My "want to" to do this again is there, but don't think I will. My brain says I'd end up with pneumonia.

Some say I act like an old man. Fact is at times I feel like an old man. I have some aches and pains especially when I get up in the morning. It takes a few minutes to get everything moving along with a couple cups of coffee. But all in all, I feel pretty fortunate. No real aches or pains that I have to take meds for.

Most of us can't run and buck and kick like we could when we were 10 or 20 or 30 or 40. But we can experience that same excitement in different ways. We have a green mower, and it went down a couple weeks ago. After some looking I decided the drive belt was shot so it needed a new drive belt. The electric clutch was having trouble, so it needed some attention. Now that I knew what was needed now comes the follow through.

I took the deck off and used a motor lift to raise the front of the mower up. Crawled under and figured out what was needed and went to unscrewing bolts. One at a time till the old belt came off and the new one could go on. Got the piece for the electric clutch and fixed that. Be darned if it didn't work. There was a sense of satisfaction that I could still get it done, even if it took twice as long and probably 10 times as many grunts.

Kick up my heels? No way. But that good feeling was still there.