-Denzel Washington in Training Day
"Peter Pan ain't got shit on ME!"
- theevildrsin
My retired dad tore down his basketball goal recently and I think that was the point where he gave up and decided to get old. Before that he shot baskets for 30-60 minutes every possible day. Hell, he shot better that I did (I do suck at basketball). I think that was his talisman against aging and now it's gone.
Yes, age is just a state of mind and all that, but a physical object or maybe a thing you do, or dream of can be a powerfully symbolic reminder. I urge you to figure out what that is and never give it up. Maybe when some aging dude has a midlife crisis and decides to get a chopper, he's lost his talisman and is trying to figure out what it is.
I think mine is most likely my mid-engine convertible. It is eating dessert before the dinner. It is not waiting till retirement to start enjoying life because you may never get there. It is wishing for a go kart your whole childhood and getting it 25 years later. It is being seven years old again and hopping on your Big Wheel and pulling up on the handbrake and spinning out. I never freaking asked myself if I could carry all my toys on my Big Wheel or how safe it was.
And at this point, I've started thinking about trading in my car for something a little more (gasp!) practical. Actually seating four people, low maintenance costs, uses regular unleaded, will allow me to own it for 20+ years, have a roof to mount a roof rack and wow, gets good mileage.
But don't worry if I trade in my car for a diesel Subaru Outback one day. I was a Boy Scout and I'm always prepared. I have a spare talisman..my other convertible.
And dad, better start doing some light stretching because I'm getting you a basketball goal whether you like it or not.
