Axe's Asylum

It seems like just yesterday. I can remember racing through the cornfields to beat the bus home. The sun was shining bright but I was never looking up. I was navigating through the cornstalks. Weaving in and out, jump over a fallen stalk, duck under a tall leaning one. In and out, up and down. Quick as quick could be. The crisp air keeping me cool, on I ran until I reached my home. Slip the key into the door, fly up the small set of stars and flop onto the couch, breathing deeply and fast. Let the adrenaline flow out and happiness flow in. Happy in the knowledge that I always beat the bus home…always.

That was me at 12 years old. The third fastest runner and the best high jumper in my school. It was the running through those cornfields that got me there. I look back at that time and smile. Whatever happened to the moments like that? Where did they go?

Today as I turn 59, those questions and many more come to mind. Why must we, every year, face our mortality? I mean really, does it even matter? I got news for you young ones out there. It does not get any easier as you get older. In fact, as we get older we just find more and more unanswered questions. In fact, at my age I could fill a library with unanswered questions.

Sadly, the world does not make things any easier. But, it was supposed to, right? Weren’t we told to respect our elders, so that we would receive that same respect, when we got older? So we listened to their stories, we helped them up, we opened the doors, we cooked, cleaned, did whatever we were asked. Sure, we might have complained sometimes, but we still did it. It now looks like we were lied to.

People in their fifties (and above)have become the first, of probably many generations to come, the throw away people. Companies don’t want us, our kids don’t want us, and even our grandchildren have no room for us. They want us gone so bad, they tried to eliminate us with Covid. A disease, designed in a lab, to kill the elderly. Yeah, I know tinfoil hat stuff, but you really should do the research, before writing off words.

But I won’t go down the rabbit hole. It is far too deep these days and there ain’t no coming back either. We have enough to worry about these times. Everywhere you look is another enemy or so the government wants you to believe. Nobody trusts anybody. It is a very far cry from when I grew up. When you could leave your doors unlocked and play outside all day long.

I know you ain’t asking, but if you did ask what went wrong, I could give you an answer to that. Oh yeah, I could give you an answer to that question and it would even be the right answer. But I won’t! Oh heck no! If I learned anything in 59 years, it’s that people will only believe what they want to. So I won’t be wasting your time with any of my answers today, tyvm.

Maybe, just maybe if you ask me when I am 590 years old, I might give you an answer. But for today, my birthday, I will just say thank you. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life. Well, it seems I did just give you an answer after all…

Axe(JB)