The Age Contrast

So after a weekend spent with young, vital college kids, today I get to spend the day with Ancient Mom. I'll take her to lunch, within her comfortable 5 mile range of her condo, King's Point (God's Waiting Room) and then come back in to check her mail and deal with any of the issues of daily life that she can't handle...

Whenever I leave, I wish we could convince her to move to an ALF, where at least she'd be around other people, but it's her hard and clear choice to stay put.

After I drop her, I get to pay messenger man. A settlement check on the big case we settled is available in a defense lawyer's office in North Broward, and I'm going to pick it up, take it back to my office, and deposit into our Trust Account.

Or maybe I'll cash it and go to Argentina...

Back in '92, my boss Ed handed me a HUGE check, following the settlement of a major products liability case I brought into the firm. I was 32, and it felt like winning the lottery, because it was. He gave me the check in the afternoon, and it was too late to deposit it.

I drove home, on the Dolphin Expressway, in my blue Mazda 626, the check sitting on the passenger seat like an honored guest. I remember passing by MIA, and, out on the tarmac was an Aerolineas Argentinas 747, probably leaving for Buenos Aires that night. I glanced at the check, and then glanced at the jetliner.

I imagined pulling into the MIA lot, buying a ticket South, and then starting a new life, wearing white suits and a Panama hat, drinking in bars, and seeking adventure. I'm such a Walter Mitty...

D1 was about 4, and D2 was probably just past 1. Oh, I wouldn't ABANDON them -- I would have sent back some money, of course...

Nah! I kept driving, to Kendall, and our nice suburban home. The next day I deposited the check and got on with my real life...

But now my Ds are grown, and Wifey has plenty of money, so you never know if I'll make it back to the office with the check...

I will, of course.

And I'll note the contrast between the young and vital part of life, and the fading and old...