Bob Dylan
You know those quizzes people pass around on the social media sites, asking how many things from a list that you have done? I love those. I always want to check them all off, but I have not been to Europe nor have I gone sky diving.
Some of the quizzes are about mostly minor delinquency - like skinny dipping? Hitch-hiking? Ever been arrested? (I can check all of those off the list.)
Some quizzes are lists of random things, like, have you ever been to Mexico, been on tv, or broken a bone? I normally get most of those checked off but I have not been anywhere in Europe or Asia, or even Canada. I have not been to New York but I have been to Philadelphia and Los Angeles. I have not broken a bone. I have not been snow skiing but I was a scuba diver. I had never been on television until March, 2025.
March 30, 2025, Topeka Performing Arts Center, Bob Dylan and his band took the stage at 8 pm. This time the whole family was there. Me. Daughter. Son. My third time. Daughter's second time. Son's first time. I can now depart this realm in peace knowing that both of my children have been in the living presence of the Old Poet. I was breathing the same air as that irascible old man yet one more time.
I had warned my kids that unless you genuinely know his songs, you aren't likely to recognize any of them! I do not care about that. The music itself was excellent, as always. I do not think Bob Dylan can sing any of his songs the same ever again once they have been recorded. I have tried to reproduce copies of my own water color or acrylic paintings. It simply cannot be done. You are not stepping into the same creative river the second time around. Besides, it is Bob Dylan we are talking about here. They are his songs and he can sing them anyway he feels like singing them! And if his singing voice is so awful now, (never that great to begin with), who the hell cares? The millions of fans around the world have spent long hours in his company, getting through life quite well with his subtle humor, his fierce outrage, and his joy. He simply is not an apologetic person, even when he sings the blues.
So, while we were standing in the security check line, there was a very young local tv reporter interviewing old people, looking for the oldest fans who had seen Dylan more than once. It was only slightly patronizing but I forgave her. In the first place, she had no idea who Bob Dylan truly is, what he has brought into the world, or why it is important. It was probably funny to all those youngsters at the tv station that a bunch of old boomers would turn out for an 83 year old man no one can clearly understand on stage any longer. All she had to do was look around at the generations in attendance. Real art, genuine creativity, speaks to any and all who lend an ear, regardless of age.
So, yes, I had my fifteen seconds of local fame on television that night. At least two people that I know personally recognized me on their tvs. The trouble came when I saw myself. My glasses were seriously askew on my face. I looked senile, as if my kids had dragged old Mom out of the Home and treated her to some old guy - Bill Dylan, was it? Oh, lord.
Those youngsters at the television station need to do better at fact checking. They called Bob Dylan a Pulitzer winning entertainer. No, my dears. He is a Nobel Prize in Literature recipient.
A lot was accomplished on March 30, 2025. My whole family has seen Dylan perform live now. I have seen my personal muse for the third and likely last time in this life. I can check off another item on the Facebook quizzes. I have been on television.
Maryland
I was filling the gas tank at the truck stop and noticed a Maryland license plate on the truck next to me. A young, stern faced man set about filling up. I asked him how things were up in Maryland. He was only a bit taken aback, but politely said things were fine. Not willing to leave the guy in peace, I asked, if he did not mind me asking, what was he doing in Kansas?
That opened the flood gates. He was on a long trip across the USA going to as many National Parks as they could manage. He had spent two nights in Yellowstone, visited the Black Hills. They went to Custer State Park and they were on their way to Kansas City for Barbecue! I was delighted he was willing to share those couple of minutes of his summer adventure.
I always want to talk to people with out of state plates. Sometimes I do, but mostly I do not. I think I will make it a point to ask more.
The Home Stretch
I thought getting old was going to be awful. It is not awful, at least not yet. There are many things to enjoy. I am set free of a host of insecurities and doubts, and far removed from the most embarrassing times. Most of my heartache is far in the past, though I am reluctant to speak such a thing for fear of calling down the cruel realities life offers daily to every single living thing. We can only live one moment at a time so we have no choice, really. It is, always, take the next step.
I found out that you can go to bed old but wake up elderly. I am still getting around alright. I can still mow and keep my own house. I can safely drive. I am tending my own affairs though I realize my memory can be slipping a bit. When I was young, if I had ever spoken to you once, I recognized you again, even decades later. Now, I am not sure if I am talking to the same nurse I saw last time I was in the doctor's office! I have high anxiety when I am introduced to new people because not only will I not remember their name, I likely will not recognize their face the next time I see them - even if it is later in the same event.
I cannot remember if I have done some things. The pest control service man had been coming to my house for 15 years, then suddenly I had a new technician. He retired without saying anything! At least I do not remember he said anything about retiring. I wanted to send a card, thanking and congratulating him. The trouble is, I think I did send him a retirement card. Should I send him another card and explain? Or just send it and hope he has already forgotten I sent one earlier? If I did send one already, that is. See what I mean?
I am in the home stretch. Such things are to be expected. I sometimes cannot remember if I fed both dogs, or if I fed them at all. (I think they often get fed twice.) I worry that I might not be able to see well enough to renew my license, though my vision still corrects to 20/20 with glasses. I worry that I might do something stupid like leave the car running, or a burner on the stove.
Getting old is not terrible, yet. If I live long enough, it will be terrible. I simply cannot imagine living in an old folks home. How goddamned awful that would be! I am in no hurry to check out, but I also do not want to overstay my welcome on this old earth.
I know I am coming down the homestretch, or as Bob puts it: "The fourth part of the day is already gone."
Whoever or whatever created this world with all her creatures has a reason for the horrific reality of suffering and death. I hope it is a damn good reason.
