Today marks 53 years since I first moved into my current home in June of 1972 so I felt a few words were in order. ("Make it just a few then, eh, Kid?" I hear some of you say.) Earlier today, as I sat in an armchair on the lefthand side of the fireplace, it didn't seem so very long since I, as a 13/14 year-old youth, was in the habit of doing the very same thing, especially on a Saturday when I usually bought whatever comics I was getting at the time.
I've used this 'analogy' before (not one I originated), but it really does feel like I went to bed last night as a teenager and woke up this morning as the decrepit pensioner I now am, though in my mind I still think of myself as a teenager. 53 years gone in a blink, it's hard to come to terms with. Back in the '70s the future seemed a long way off and I erroneously believed it was so far away that it would take 'forever' to get there. Boy, was I mistaken about that.
Honestly, it doesn't seem too much of an exaggeration to say my first day in this house was only yesterday or last week at the most, so quickly has the time passed. Part of the reason may be because I'm in the same house now as I was then and nothing much at all has changed in my day-to-day life; no wife, no kids or grandkids, everything seemingly the same-old-same-old, with nothing of note to mark the passing of the years.
I often wonder if it's different for those who've lived in various houses and neighbourhoods over the decades. As they've experienced nigh-countless events and met many more people, and lived in several other places, do their lives seem fuller and more enriching due to having packed so much more into them than me? I've lived quite a tame life in that I've never been abroad or stayed elsewhere for any length of time, so there aren't so many 'landmarks' in my life as in theirs.
Or does it really make a difference? Even to those who've lived exciting, cram-packed lives in numerous towns or cities, perhaps their lives don't seem any longer at the end of the day, despite all the rich and varied experiences they've tasted over the years. Whether you run through life, partaking of every opportunity there is to be had, or casually amble through it without doing much at all, maybe one lifetime seems just as long or as short in one's twilight years as the other.
What do you think, readers?
19 comments:
I've only been abroad three times. You're not missing much. The first time I went to France through the Chunnel. It was cold and foggy when we got there. The second time was to Rhodes. It was May and I was too hot, God knows what it's like in August. The third time was to Ibiza, needless to say, I've never been back. Of my experience from travelling abroad, I can say this: it's a lot of hassle and I don't like flying.
I remember marvelling, when I was a teenager, that I would be 31 in the year 2000. Now 2000 is 25 years away, I don't seem to think in the same way ' wow I'll be 60 in...' or 'wow I'll be 70 in...' I think I'm trying to hang on to years, rather than think too far ahead. Having said that, once again we are almost at the longest day and the year will be half gone. There's no stopping it.
The only time I fly is when I'm wearing my Superman suit, M. I wouldn't mind seeing a few other countries, but the hassle and inconvenience of getting there deters me from seriously thinking about it. Maybe if I had a private jet I'd do it.
I remember asking Steve MacManus (Tharg) what 2000 A.D. would be called in the year 2000 (this was in 1986) and him saying that as it was 14 years away, there was no point in thinking about it until then. Staggering to realise that was 39 years ago as it only seems like a few years at most.
Like Monty I try not to think about the future. I'm 59 and I dread the years to come but my parents died aged 71 and 77 so I was never destined to live to extreme old age anyway.
My father was bald, CJ, yet I have a full luxuriant head of hair (as opposed to being just a fool with a head of hair). Point being that we don't always replicate what happened to our parents, so look on the bright side and think positive.
But I don't want to live into my eighties and nineties, Kid.
Even if you had all your mental faculties (as well as hearing, eyesight and teeth) and no debilitating ailments, CJ?
And also a 35 year-old gorgeous wife or girlfriend?
No.
Why not? What have you got against living?
To answer one of the questions in your post; I have lived in eight different houses, been married for nearly 40 years, have two (now adult) children and have been overseas four times in the years prior to my retirement last year and all that seems to have passed in no time at all!
And to pick up on some of the other comments – I really enjoyed each trip overseas, and on inherited traits; my father died earlier this year just short of his 91st birthday, which doesn't necessarily mean that I'll get that far, but at this point I am focussed on quality of life rather than quantity – nice if that happens, but in the meantime I am trying to stay fit and healthy and not add to the number of tablets I already take with breakfast, and if that means I live longer then I'll take it.
Belated condolences on your father's passing, PC, and I hope you live for a very long time yet (I need all the comments I can get).
Maybe at the end of the day, even those who have led fuller lives than me think it's all gone by too fast, but I wonder if their journey seems longer while they're still on it. Guess I can never really know.
There's no rule book on how to live your life Kid. You seem to generally have everything you need, along with adventures amongst the comic book industry. The other trappings are mostly overrated. So for now life done well!
And long may it continue, AAW - for everyone. (No rule book? H'm, I must see if I can write one.)
First rule to write: 'How to keep your hair full and luxurious?' Please....
You surely mean 'full and luxuriant', AAW, like what I said. The first rule is 'Be Born Lucky'. Hope that helps.
Hi Kid. Sorry to go off topic, but just curious if you have seen the Dandy Summer Special 2025. It's a 68 page compilation of Jamie Smart's Desperate Dan! I know DC Thomson lost the plot years ago, but this time they have well and truly flipped. I can't believe they would reprint that utter crap. Oliver.
I find it hard to believe they published it the first time around, but any fans of JS will likely buy the Summer Special. Maybe DCT is testing the water with a view to giving him new work on The Beano? I hope not. Besides, I think he's got his hands full with other work at the moment. There's obviously an audience for his work and that's fine, no problems with that, but in my view his style just doesn't suit a comic like The Beano or The Dandy.
There are places abroad I would still like to go. I have a brother in NZ who has invited us over but the thought of the journey and using that much annual leave in one go puts me off. Also I would like to visit the USA. I'm not interested in beach holidays as I regard them as a waste of time.
Whether I want to live until I'm 90 plus depends on health, I suppose. If I'm still relatively fit with all my faculties then fair enough but if every day is a misery waiting for the end then who wants to live forever?
I had to Google Jamie Smart's work and it was as I suspected. I really dislike that style of artwork which to me looks very geometric. Cow and Chicken rip-off? However, I suppose some kids grew up with it so it will be their favourite.
Did I mention I bought the Leopard From Lime Street Birthright Monster Fun Collection? There are three artists, I loved the first part (up to page 49) then after that I thought the artwork wasn't as good and I didn't enjoy it as much. Not sure which one did the first 49 pages but I wish he'd done all of it.
The countries I wouldn't mind seeing (though I have no overwhelming compulsion to go there) are Austria, Switzerland, Australia (maybe), and France (perhaps), but like you, I can't be bothered with all the hassle involved in getting there. Lying on a beach or beside a pool holds no attraction for me.
I'd like to live forever, but obviously not if I were in severe pain or my mind was a vegetable. I just don't fancy the prospect of oblivion.
I was no fan of JS's work for DCT, but I saw some stuff on his blog that was perfectly acceptable for other publications. Said so from the start, but still got pilloried for my view on his Dandy work.
I bought the first two or three reprint books by Rebellion of The Leopard From Lime Street, but I didn't really fancy the new stuff. It's a shame their revival of Johnny Future never took off.
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