68 has it’s shoes on and a light sweater. ‘I was just a babe in the woods a year ago,’ 68 mused. ‘There were toasts to my health and an exciting year ahead,’ 68 recalled. ‘The Old Man felt he was nearly 70…now he knows the feeling,’ 68 laughed. ‘Oh the possibilities and wonders of 68th Year, 68 said with a little dance. ‘Soon retired 16 years…how did that happen,’ 68 reflected. ‘I am one of the Retirement Years,’ 68 said with pride. ‘My brothers and I have landed in many ports…seen many things…heard mysteries and solved riddles,’ 68 said. ‘Now, I join the back benchers…I will be a watcher and an active participant from the cheap seats,’ 68 promised.

‘I am in a hurry I have much to do,’ 69 said with exuberance. ‘I am the forerunner of 70…I am my own year and will do it my way,’ 69 promised. ‘Anything can happen and probably will,’ 69 laughed and winked. ‘The Old Man has plans schemes and a vision of his life as the page turns,’ 69 noted. ‘More Theatre I say…more pondering of the Mystic,’ 69 rose from his seat in the waiting room. ‘More love less judgment,’ 69 said softly. ‘The Old Man knows he has lived longer than his Dad and many of his contemporaries,’ 69 mused. ‘It is all a mystery…a riddle…a hope in the heart,’ 69 whispered.

‘How did it happen…when did it happen…was I asleep during important segments…did I take for granted the precious,’ the Old Man thought. ‘Days that seemed important fade in memory…days seeming ordinary stand out,’ the Old Man said. ‘What the experts said to focus on often was a dead end…my heart was my best guide,’ the Old Man smiled. ‘Now and again we get close to the answers to life’s persistent questions,’ the Old Man laughed. ‘Then, in the blink of an eye the answer to the mystery hides behind a rock and giggles,’ the Old Man observed with a wide grin.