I’m almost half a century, three hundred days till then
The kids would think that I was born, a way-way-way back when!
A lot has passed under the bridge, the time it has flown by
Seems like so many moons ago, I heard my babies cry!
Like it was only yesterday I was riding on my bike
Building jumps in the field next door, the neighbor did not like
With his big old tractor, he plowed them down so flat
But never could he crush our will, our spirits or our cat!
She was the one who had nine lives or was it even ten?
She loved her kittens and us kids just like a mother hen
The carousel of time did turn and next the scene was east
Thirty miles to Riverside where urban sprawl had ceased
Living with the scent of oranges and my lovely bride
We worked like dogs and lived like mice, and still enjoyed the ride
Next the ride had turned again and home was Bakersfield
College gowns and sporting crowns were but the latest yield
Now I sit almost empty nested, staring at my wife
Wondering how we got so fast to the halfway point of life?
Maybe I’m wishful thinking like I’ll finally reach the day
A hundred candles burning bright will warmly have to say…
You best had enjoy your birthday cake…
before the fire burns it away!
David Kettler
June 2010
I wrote this almost a year before turning 50! Brenda says that I have issues with turning fifty but I like to think it is just another number. Just another milestone on the ride that is called life. Do I think about getting older? Absolutely! I was writing poems on aging and mortality probably in my twenties! I guess it’s kind of like my Brother Mark’s philosophy…think about and plan for the worst and you are always pleasantly surprised by how much better things turn out than you anticipated! I like to think of life kind of like a football game. Here you have Brett Favre who is old as dirt and still playing! From all of his wisdom and time in the league he knows that the linebacker is blitzing, and he knows to step to the right at just the right time…but his forty something old legs just won’t move quite fast enough so he gets sacked anyway by the twenty something three-hundred pound, no experience, brain-dead youngster! After the game though, Favre has a smile on his face and an “awe-shucks” we’ll get em next time attitude! Maybe fifty is actually the beginning? We are now equipped with enough smarts and experience that we can actually begin this crazy journey? I’ll tell you the people who give me great hope. They are the eighty something’s that have a great attitude, a smile on their face and lots of hope for a great future! Fifty is not halfway to the end…fifty is just partway through spring training with all the wonder and glory of the real game still ahead!
The kids would think that I was born, a way-way-way back when!
A lot has passed under the bridge, the time it has flown by
Seems like so many moons ago, I heard my babies cry!
Like it was only yesterday I was riding on my bike
Building jumps in the field next door, the neighbor did not like
With his big old tractor, he plowed them down so flat
But never could he crush our will, our spirits or our cat!
She was the one who had nine lives or was it even ten?
She loved her kittens and us kids just like a mother hen
The carousel of time did turn and next the scene was east
Thirty miles to Riverside where urban sprawl had ceased
Living with the scent of oranges and my lovely bride
We worked like dogs and lived like mice, and still enjoyed the ride
Next the ride had turned again and home was Bakersfield
College gowns and sporting crowns were but the latest yield
Now I sit almost empty nested, staring at my wife
Wondering how we got so fast to the halfway point of life?
Maybe I’m wishful thinking like I’ll finally reach the day
A hundred candles burning bright will warmly have to say…
You best had enjoy your birthday cake…
before the fire burns it away!
David Kettler
June 2010
I wrote this almost a year before turning 50! Brenda says that I have issues with turning fifty but I like to think it is just another number. Just another milestone on the ride that is called life. Do I think about getting older? Absolutely! I was writing poems on aging and mortality probably in my twenties! I guess it’s kind of like my Brother Mark’s philosophy…think about and plan for the worst and you are always pleasantly surprised by how much better things turn out than you anticipated! I like to think of life kind of like a football game. Here you have Brett Favre who is old as dirt and still playing! From all of his wisdom and time in the league he knows that the linebacker is blitzing, and he knows to step to the right at just the right time…but his forty something old legs just won’t move quite fast enough so he gets sacked anyway by the twenty something three-hundred pound, no experience, brain-dead youngster! After the game though, Favre has a smile on his face and an “awe-shucks” we’ll get em next time attitude! Maybe fifty is actually the beginning? We are now equipped with enough smarts and experience that we can actually begin this crazy journey? I’ll tell you the people who give me great hope. They are the eighty something’s that have a great attitude, a smile on their face and lots of hope for a great future! Fifty is not halfway to the end…fifty is just partway through spring training with all the wonder and glory of the real game still ahead!
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