The Fish Pond

  Is life at 60, as I imagined? Nope..not at all. My imagination was based on those who were old when I was young...my life is nothing like theirs!
  See, I have mentioned on more than one occasion, I grew up in a very small town However, I don't think I might have mentioned some of the history of that small town..I will fill in one or two spaces, and perhaps..my old, and the old of those back in the day.have reason to be just a wee bit different.
  My home town still has it's reputation as a "Boom" or "Bust" town. It began booming with mining. Now, keep in mind, this was way back in the day..the days of wooden sidewalks, and horse drawn wagons, and rough tough folks who were out to make their fortunes, no matter what. It was..the "Mild Wild West". I say mild, because it wasn't Gunsmoke, but pretty damn close.
  When you have a large group of men, stuck in the middle of no where, making some pretty damn good coin...you have all sorts of business out to get a piece of that coin. The oldest profession showed up pretty quickly. You all know what that is..that business that begins with a product, sells it, and still has the product...The Red-Light district business!
  O.K. when I was a kid, the business was long gone. I didn't even know about it until I grew up and read a book by a past member of the NorthWest Police, and boy was I shocked! You see, I was shocked, because...I knew a whole whack of the folks mentioned in this book. I was shocked, because, all I saw were old people, but, now I was privy to some of their past, and boy..it was juicy!!
  One in particular, a lady I seldom saw..her hubby was the Mayor, and they lived on the street behind my house. I think I only saw her two of three times, and that was when we pressed her husband to allow us into their yard to see their fish pond. A fish pond in my town was rare, in fact, I might be wrong, but I believe they had the only one. They also had an amazing yard, filled with beautiful flowers, and a well maintained home. The Mayor would drive his little green car about, with a fresh flower in a vase placed on his dash.I honestly believed this couple was snobby, and filthy rich. Yep..back when you are so young, you decide folks are rich by the things they have, and a fish pond..well that was really wealthy!!! Imagine my shock, when I grew up, and found this lady, who seemed like the biggest snob in the world..had at one time worked in the Brothels.
  I learned of other women I knew, and loved, who had spent their younger days in this profession. Honest to goodness..perhaps that is when I realized it was not as horrid as I imagined. These women did pretty damn good for themselves, and...although the whole community knew their past, they settled in, and lived their lives as up-standing citizens. The white haired women, who had beautiful gardens, and immaculate homes, and doting husbands..had lived a sordid life for awhile, and then..retired! They had families, they had grandchildren, and they had businesses. But when they reached the age I am at right now, most of them lived a quiet life, gardening, and enjoying the companionship of the men they married, or if single/widowed, they enjoyed their family..
  I have to think they were far smarter than me!! They were always dressed nicely, their hair was always done, and from all appearances, except for those who drank like fish, life moved slowly and quietly. Oh, I could possibly be totally out to lunch on all of this, I am certainly not dumb enough to believe life is what one views, but..as I reach that age in my life, I am positive my life is far more hectic, and full of turmoil than those of the "old" ladies of my childhood.
  Those boring old ladies, pruning their roses, and plumping their peonies, seemed so sad, when I was young. They didn't go anywhere, they didn't do anything exciting..geez who the heck wanted to be that age? Again, life lesson learned. Something happens as you pass the 1/2 century point in life. Things that once seemed so important, material things, suddenly lose their shine. You realize that all the hurry and scurry gets you no where, it only makes you tired. You understand, time does have an end, the future is not "To infinity and beyond", it is 10-20-30 years down the road, and the distance is closing in far faster than the first 1/2 century moved.
  I have come to a point where the pruning and plumping suddenly seems very appealing. Oh, I have other things that require a bit more travel, such as Pine picking, and to drive out into the middle of the bush, and sit for weeks in a travel trailer would certainly be listed in my top 3 pleasures of life, but..those pleasures seem so far out of reach, and I am quickly growing old.
  I actually attempted to put in a fish pond! I had the hole dug, and then life decided to take a turn, and we had to "dig" around to find enough dirt to fill the damn thing in (dirt in these parts is hard to find). I think that might be the moment I realized those old ladies were smarter than me! My fish pond awaits grass seed...See, I had friends here who had a fish pond, I thought maybe that was why I was so gung ho to get one as well..but..really..in the back of my mind, the Mayor's fish pond has always been the sure sign of what old age is suppose to be like. A flower on my dash, a yard full of beautiful blooms, and a bloody fish pond!
  Stay tuned..Right now I am making a slight turn in life, and heading backwards. I have a short list of requirements I want/need, and after letting these words out, I realize that Fish pond has been added to the list..along with the peonies, because I don't really like roses....