"...we part with tender relations stretching far behind us, that never can be exactly renewed..."
Happy Birthday, Scot. 
For just a moment there, I thought we were both on the subject of dogs - a happy coincidence had it been so. But no, it's age we're looking at (and feeling, maybe). From my advanced age (I'm all of five years older) I can assure you that the fifties are the best. Of course, were I to be asked again in a few years time, I might consider that the sixties are superior...
It's a sad state that the more birthdays one has, the less meaning they take on. It's like money. The more dollars you have, the less the next one registers with you.
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday! I remember a very neat bridge in Belfast, Maine en route to Ellsworth. Many years since I have been there though...too many. I love New England almost as much as I love where I am...and our winters are much milder! But your autumns carry the most gorgeous array of color in the US!
Just blog surfing and landed here. Will be back to read more.
Clive,
The sixties just might be "superior." I was thinking of that myself, wondering what I might be up to during that time. Thanks for stopping by.
Scot
Mojo,
I don't think it's a question of less meaning. In someways, I think as we get older, birthdays seem to carry more significance, although we may not celebrate them in that way. With me, the recognition is quieter. Thanks for coming by,
Scot
Patry,
Thanks for that,
Scot
Sky,
Your visit is welcomed. There used to be an older bridge that was replaced in 1961. Until recently the older bridge was used as a walkway and a place to fish for mackerel. The old bridge was torn down a year ago, and its place, a footbridge is now under construction.
Hope to see stop in again,
Scot
Wow! A birthday! I had no idea! Happy, happy birthday, Scot. A bithday and fifteen cents!
I hear you talk about hours and then of years and then of yawns. I think the man who wrote this had fortune smile on him and gave him a nickel and a dime--rather than nickeled and dimed him. I hear him reflect and wonder when he started looking back with comfort rather than running forward. It seems he doesn't mind the fit. I'm happy for him.
Happiest of Birthdays, Scot. It means a lot that you are my friend.
Liz,
Thanks for that. It means a lot to me, too. As always, you give me a good sense as to the effectiveness of what I've written by sharing your personal perceptions of how you related to the work. That kind of criticism is invaluable. Writing to me is much like a well made dessert. When someone expresses pleasure over trying one of your most recent concoctions, like a devils food cake made with ricotta cheese, it makes you bold and daring to try out recipes that are perhaps more difficult and challenging, and thus sometimes producing results more enriching and satisfying. As a fellow writer, it is good to be in your company.
Scot
Hi S.L: Your piece is very interesting and I linked an excerpt to my blog, if you don't mind. (If you'd rather I don't just let me know but I am a surveyor of interesting tidbits of life around the world and I came upon you post by following someone from Jac's Shack). Sincerely, FrenchIndian
Well, first things first, Happy Birthday Scot. Even though, like you, I find that years go by in a blur, I kind of like the slow pace I try to force on each day. It would be foolish for me to say I'm never hurried, but when I can control it, my day is well-paced, and for that, I'm really grateful.
As always, your post is more than the sum of its parts, and has left me something to worry at tomorrrow when the pace allows me to exercise my intellect. thanks.
FrenchIndian,
No, I don't mind. Thanks for the link and for stopping by.
Scot
Lorna,
It's always refreshing when you come by. I appreciate your sentiments and kind thoughts.
Scot
Happy Belated Birthday! I understand what you're saying about how the days and months become shorter. The pace seems to pick up every year.
i enjoyed reading your post tremendously, so i linked your site to my blog, i hope you don't mind. i wish i can write as well as you.
Deborah,
Thanks for that. With the way the days seem to go by so fast now, I'm wondering what my perception of time will be when I'm in my eighties. Getting one thing done each day might just be an accomplishment in itself.
Scot
evelgal,
Welcome, and thank you for your kind words and link.
Scot
I am not sure what year it was that I stopped my daily counting of minutes of sunlight lost between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. I am not sure when counting time and the lack of it stopped being an obsession.
One would expect the obsession to increase in intensity with the passing years, but instead, a calm acceptance that one cannot slow time descends and a hopefulness takes the place that obsession once ruled.
Funny to be hopeful when time would seem to be running out for dreams and plans, but with age comes the patience to watch them grow and become. Maybe when I was younger, I never waited long enough to see a dream to fruition, always jumping into action, always flitting from plan to plan.
Maybe the dreams of a certain age have more substance and we know now what it is we wait for. Besides, the couch is comfortable and I have earned a little sitting time.
Ned,
"Funny to be hopeful when time would seem to be running out for dreams and plans, but with age comes the patience to watch them grow and become." Thanks for such a perceptive comment.
Scot
Happy Belated Birthday Scot! Another great post! I think you should've added to the fifteen cents and gone a bought yourself a devil dog and coke. It's not too late.
rdl,
Thanks for that. Funny you would make that suggestion. After this column was published in the local paper, my brother, who had read it, went out and bought me a box of Devil Dogs and a 2 liter bottle of Coke.
Scot
Happy Birthday, and what a beautifully written post.
We all could learn a lot from the animal kingdom about living in the moment and savoring more of now and worrying less about what has gone before or what is to come. What makes it so much harder for us is our capacity to ponder the future and what it means for us, something we can only assume that animals are not capable of doing.
Thank you for the wonderful reminder of Devil Dogs. Oh how I love Devil Dogs and Yankee Doodles. We cannot get either on the west coast, and oh how I love them. I can taste them right now in my memory.
Seawave,
Thanks for stopping by. Yankee Doodles and Ring Dings are other favorites of mine, and I remember a few times when I lived in Long Beach how crazy I went whenever I tried to find something similar. Appreciate your visit and thoughtful comment.
Scot
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