Too Old? Or I Need To Go To the Gym
by Terry Brinkman

 

 

Every few years, after the winter freeze and thaw I need to Patch my driveway. Yesterday the temp only reached Ninety Eight, then the rest of the week it’s over the century mark again. Three days ago, after a thirty day visit my son’s family with my Twin Grand-daughters left to go Back to Boston. Seems like a good day to start the driveway patching (my wife wanted me to pick up some bark from the hardware store anyway).

I arrive at Lowes and back into a parking-spot where I can load the back of my pickup. In Lowes I go to load cement first, I get a huge blue flat-bed cart roll it over where the cement products are located. Finding the extra strong cement patch I usually use I grab the sixty pound bag without too much struggle and put it on my cart. Then like in the cartoons a light bulb dimly lit above my head: can I lift this bag in the back of my truck? Well if I cannot then what? Last time I patched this is what I used so what should I do? Roll with the flow - I find some twenty pound buckets; three buckets equals the same Sixty Pound Bag, and price only twice as much, a work-around is always more. I unload the Sixty Pound Bag put the flathead cart back and grab a regular shopping-cart and put one twenty pound bucket in and head to the bark.

Am I getting too old, or just need to go to the Old Guy Gym? On my way to the bark I reflect on myself; something I at least like to think I don’t do too often (but who knows). Last summer I reroofed my shed. When I first roofed the shed I could carry a full shingle pack to the roof. Last summer I could only carry four or five a time. My sister and older brother have passed on; both too young. My father and most of my relatives have passed away too young; when I see my doctor who is a friend - he has been seeing me forty years. He and I always say if we knew we were going to live this long, we would have taken better care of ourselves (best you can hope is to die in your sleep). I get to the bark load it and some top-soil, no problem loading it in my truck.

I get home and unload, my wife tells me to wait for September to patch the concrete. I get my wheel-barrow, pump the flat tire, mix the concrete and Patch. In two hours I used all the concrete patch and only got half done; it’s too hot to do more anyway. Next time I am out; or in September I will pick up a couple more Twenty Pound Buckets, and look for a gym.                 

 

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