“THE BEST IS YET”
by Donald Whelpley, ©️2025
Time is all about choices. It takes an average of less than 180 days (6 months) to decide whether the person you are dating is the person you want to marry. (If it is taking more than 2 years, you may be wasting valuable time. Less, and you’re probably moving too fast.)
Should I get up or lie in bed another 15 minutes? The choice could mean life or death. In 2024, Cindy Cole, 62, was lying in bed when she heard a “voice” which told her to get up and go to a different part of her house in Nashville, Georgia. She got up. Minutes later a tree crashed through the wall of her bedroom and landed right where she had slept. Yes! Any decision can have forever consequences. In another situation in another country it had been raining for a couple days and the family was making plans to leave for fear of a mudslide. Strangely, the father decided to go to the store for a container of ice cream and while he was gone his family died in the mudslide. The decisions of time.
Richard was well aware of the urgency of time and decisions. He didn’t have a lifetime remaining, thus every decision had added importance. When you are 11, deciding between playing cars or riding bikes doesn’t seem to matter much. But after you turn 60 there are DECISIONS to make.
Pat Wiffing made a decision years ago. She took a job as hairdresser for the show Gunsmoke. That decision kept her busy for 344 episodes, keeping everyone looking his or her best. She never personally appeared in any episode, but she was one of the powers behind the power of the show. Gertrude Wheeler replaced her for a while, in later seasons, then others. But the show was built on Pat’s hairdressing skills, making each actor identifiable by his or her coif. Miss Kitty probably received most of her attention.
Richard’s daughter called, would he like to go kayaking with his grandson? At his age he thought he should say no, but he said yes. When? Two weeks. … That didn’t give him much time to strengthen his arms and bolster his courage. However, it did give him some time, and he engaged in strengthening exercises for his arms and core, at least he did what he could without hurting himself.
He drove up the night before and shared supper with the family. In the morning, he donned his “adventure” self and his old sneakers. He sat down to breakfast with his son-in-law and his grandson, Aaron. Aaron was excited and eager for a 15 year old who, if you think about it, was going to spend a hunk of time with his grandpa who knows nothing about cable TV shows, podcasts, or anything tech.
Getting into the “ship” was the hardest part (until the disembarking maneuver). The three hours on the river was pleasant and memorable … turtles sunning on logs, cranes in the shallows, “keeper-size” fish swimming next to the craft (and paying no attention to it until he put his hand in the water), and the sounds of cicadas and woodpeckers in the trees along the lazy flow. Keeping the craft headed the correct direction was the hardest part at first. Then they pulled into the shallows for a snack time where they enjoyed protein bars (a bit dry) and green seedless grapes (big and juicy). Aaron talked about the nature around them, the history of the river (he had studied that in school), and what his friends enjoyed (normal, for their era, stuff). Richard shared what was “cool” when he was 15 (normal, for his era, stuff). The one thing Aaron could not get over was how his grandpa survived his teen years without texting and Facebook and “connecting” with friends anywhere, anytime. Richard could not get over how anyone couldn’t walk over to a friend’s house to talk face to face and sit on the front porch.
Could Richard learn how to be “modern?” Sure. That would be a decision. Could Aaron learn how to be “ancient?” Richard didn’t know, but he supposed that also would require a decision. Each man has an era. Each person has decisions. Some decisions are hard for one, the opposite might be hard for another. A few “modern” folk decide they will live without everything easy and will set up a home in the wilderness with only their own learned “ancient” skills (they suppose). A few “ancients” decide to be “modern” and take on the skill set of “technology” to stay relevant (they suppose). The choices we make determine how our time and energy are spent.
He stayed until after supper, sharing jokes and talking about “Join Me?” His daughter looked at him strangely. “You did crafts with strangers?” She said, “That doesn’t sound like you, dad.” He responded, “It isn’t like me, but I like it. People of all ages and backgrounds come into that shop and see people excitedly talking at tables about themselves and making simple crafts. Soon those people are doing the same thing. It has become so popular that the shop started promoting it on Tuesdays as well. But I don’t go on Tuesdays.”
“But YOU? You started it?”
“I wanted to get out of the house and talk with people. It seemed like the thing to do.”
“Dad! That’s great! But YOU? You never wanted to go to parties or be anywhere where there were lots of people.”
Richard said, “I’m still that way. But at the coffee shop it is me and one other person at a time. Even when there are 20 other people in the shop I can listen to just one person. I have found that most of the time that other person NEEDS someone who cares enough to listen. That’s what I do. I listen.”
Copyright 2025 Donald Whelpley
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