The gray hairs have arrived, but my teenage dream of writing never grew old

By John Toth

The Bulletin

I sat on the shores of Lake Ossipee one warm summer night and discussed with a couple of my friends what we thought it would be like when we get old.

Under the New Hampshire moonlight, we came up with some scenarios based on what we had been doing in our young lifetime. When my turn came to talk, my prediction was less than spectacular.

“I’ll still be writing,” I said. “I’m going to write until I die.”

We were in high school, working summer jobs at a live-away summer camp by the lake. We didn’t have a concern in the world. When summer ended, we’d all go back to school, and some of us would return to the camp the following summer.

Growing old was very far away. At the moment, I was more concerned with school, friends, keeping my 1968 Buick Skylark running and having a good time.

My prediction came true. I spend the majority of my days writing for The Bulletin, or work on other related tasks, like production, billing, spreadsheets and everything else the weekly publishing of a newspaper entails.

Writing is my favorite part. I still enjoy it and have no plans to ever stop. I share my world with readers and hope that they enjoy the column as much as I enjoy writing them.

I am now classified in official circles as a senior citizen, although I have a hard time accepting that. Deep inside, I’m still hanging out with friends at the lake, dreading that school would soon start.

I still listen to 1970s music daily. It’s a lot easier now with this Internet machine rather than spinning vinyl on a record player, although I still do that occasionally. I’m not stuck in the ‘70s. I just enjoy a lot of things that were around at the time, like incredible music.

What has changed? I no longer drive four to six hours a day when we go on a trip. I drove one year with the family from Orlando to Angleton in one swoop. It took 16 hours or so, and when we got home, I was not even that tired and made dinner for everyone.

Those days are gone. I’m flying and taking it easy on travel day.

I used to fly to Europe all day and night. Upon arrival, I rented a car and drove another 12 hours. Those days are gone.

The next trip to Europe will include flying to the destination city and getting a cab to the hotel, where I’ll be focusing on recovering from the trip and the time-zone change.

That’s why I like cruising so much. I board the ship, where a room awaits me, there are places to eat and lots of activities and entertainment.

But I also want to go back to Europe, and flying is the only way, so hotel bed, here I come.

I used to travel with no medicine. I didn’t need any. Now, I have a few - nothing major, just enough to keep the numbers under control. Healthcare is a numbers game these days, and when they get out of whack, I get more medicine.

I am blessed that after all these years, I can still do what I love and still make a few dollars doing it. I grew “old” working each week on The Bulletin. I could have retired from The Houston Chronicle, but this is better. I have enjoyed every minute of it. No matter what I do, or when I do it.

What I don’t do anymore are all-nighters, which were common in the early Bulletin days. It was no big deal back then – now it would be.

I plan to celebrate National Senior Citizens Day with a nice cold glass of Coke Zero and maybe a trip to the gym. I love Coke Zero, but don’t drink it often. I hate the gym, but go there three times a week to make sure I don’t fall apart during my senior citizen days.

Do I like being a senior citizen? I know a lot more now than when we would shoot the breeze lakeside. I also have a few health issues I didn’t have back then. I’d rather be young and have the knowledge I have today, but that’s not possible.

The answer is, yes. I like this phase of my life very much. Happy Senior Citizens Day, dear reader, if you fall into the age range that I now occupy. Enjoy every day to the fullest.

(Write to me at john.bulletin@gmal.com about how you feel being a senior citizen. We’ll share your thoughts with our readers.)