Have you ever heard a person refer to their Salad Days? Days where they were at the peak of their abilities and health and often carefree and full of fun. Idealism is a marker of our Salad Days. I have been thinking about salad a lot of late since our dear friends Laura and Jim put us on to the health benefits of a salad a day to keep the doctor away.

Throughout my life I have discovered there are many moments of Salad Days…if you just seek them out. At this time of year when I was but a lad I relished going to Pounds Hollow to swim and stop for Moo and Cackle Hamburgers on the way back to Eldorado. When I was swimming I was in my element…not a care in the world and at peace. Being with Neva J. and Chet and Cousin Brenda was a delight and I wished each day would never end. Then there were movies at the Orpheum Theatre on Sunday…all day Sunday…as well as often on Friday nights. What a magical and mystical world of exploration of thought and ideas they were!

The years of Aaron and Jonathon growing us were indeed Salad Days! I became a kid again with them and most days felt like Christmas. Their inquisitive natures and original thoughts stirred my mind and lifted my spirits! MJ and I and Aaron and Jonathon would take out on family vacations to the west coast and to the east coast and to the South with adventure and discovery on our minds. They grew so fast it made my head spin. On more than one occasion their little eyes were peering at me as I endeavoured to sleep during the day due to working the night shift. They could barely see above the height of the bed. I heard one of them say to the other, ‘Do you think he is sleeping.’

My Career at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale was truly Good Salad! People seemed to like me and support me and appreciate my endeavors. I obtained promotions that I would have never dreamed would be available to me. MJ told me soon after I began as a Building Service Worker I that she believed I would be the leader of the department one day. I laughed in my heart…similar to Sarah when she heard that she would bear a son at her advanced age.

Retirement has been full of Days Of Salad! There has been much travel and much writing and photography and the ability to reflect on the beauties of nature and life. I have settled into who I am and the originality of my personality. I no longer worry about pleasing the Boss or morphing into what is expected of me…not that I ever did… Someone told me a few years ago that it appeared that I really did things my own way…a truer word regarding me has not been spoken…

This is not the end…this is the beginning…