#23 The UP Side of Retirement
NOT SO MUCH ABOUT OLD AGE, AS IT IS ABOUT PROGRESS
I was sitting on the porch the other day, living the dream. A couple of elderly gentlemen (about my age) walked by, having a discussion that went like this:
“When those Yankees won the World Series back in 1955…”
The other man interrupted.
“The Yankees weren’t in the World Series in 1955. It was the Sox.”
“Are you sure?” the other man asked.
Both men stopped right in front of my front porch. I thought there was going to be a fight between the two old farts.
The other man had a very serious, prolonged thought about the situation, giving me time to respond.
“It was the Yankees,” I replied. “But, they didn’t win. The Dodgers beat them 4 games to 3.”
“That ain’t true,” the one man replied. “The Dodgers were in L.A. by then.”
“Wait a minute,” the other man responded. “I’ll bet you twenty bucks that the Yankees beat the Dodgers in 1955.”
“You’re on,” said the other man.
“Can I get in on this?” I asked.
“Sure, Mister, if you want to lose 20 bucks. But, it don’t really matter much,” the old geezer said, “because my record book is back at the house. Unless, of course, you’re willing to wait for me to get back.”
“I’ll wait,” said the other man.
“No need,” I said.
Little did they know that, during their little argument, I had pulled up on my cell phone the World Series winners dating back to 1903 when the Boston Americans (before they became the Red Sox) beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3.
“Hey!” the second man responded, after hearing the answer to their argument. “I’ve heard of that new thing you got there. I hear tell that you can even find your way home on one of those things, if’n you get lost.”
“Yes, you can, sir,” I replied, with a smile. “I can even take a picture of a 20 dollar check and it goes right into my back account, immediately. So….”
He didn’t write me a check, just walked away with a huff.
But, the other gave me a high-five, and, that was payment enough.
Ain’t technology wonderful!
You see, I’m not one of those old fogies who thinks that technology is sending us to hell in a handbasket.
But, I am one of those who knows that the miracle of a handheld bank depository is just a flash in the pan.
I hope I live long enough to see what wonderful piece of technology I will be able to use when it’s time for me to go, because now, the previously hard-to-believe promise “to absent from the body is to be present with the Lord,” seems plausible.
The more advanced we become technologically, the more my mind is willing to accept ‘any’ possibility.
When I was 12, I could not possibly imagine that I could talk into a machine the size of my hand and command it to “Show me the 1964 World Series winner.”
Well, in 1964 I didn’t have to, because I was 12 and I knew who won the World Series that year.
Now, I am just waiting for that machine that will tell me next year’s winner.
e.
Oh, BTW, about that 1964 World Series: The 1964 World Series pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees, with the Cardinals prevailing in seven games. St. Louis won their seventh world championship, while the Yankees, who had appeared in 14 of 16 World Series since 1949, did not play in the Series again until 1976.
And, if I recall, I attended one of those games because our Little League Team won our pennant that year. But, I don’t think you will find that information on the Internet.