The P ublisher Po stulates
24 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE
| MAY/JUNE 2016
Now is the Time
By Aaron R. Fodiman
Publisher / Editor
When I was young, I was told not to trust anyone over
30 years of age. I’ve now simplified that thought.
Whatever you have been thinking about doing,
do it now. These words are something I
never thought would come from my pen.
For instance, I would have joined the
“procrastinator’s club,” but I never got around to it. My
philosophy was always to never do today what I could
put off until tomorrow. I learned that I could totally avoid
doing many things if I just put them off long enough. For
most of my life, I seemed to be doing as much as any three
normal people, so I believed that whatever I wasn’t doing
probably wasn’t that important. After all, I was doing what
I considered to be the most important things first, like
making money. Next on my list of must do’s was having
fun, and I felt that nothing was more fun than making
money.
You may wonder why suddenly my entire view on life
has changed. Well, guess what? I’ve certainly wondered. I
couldn’t understand at first when I stopped looking at the
bottom line of a row of numbers, since I formerly found
those numbers to be more interesting than a beautiful
sunset. So why now was I changing my tune? The more I
thought about it, the less I understood my new view on life.
Then suddenly it hit me. I’m not just getting old, I am old.
I lose friends every week. I look in the mirror and see my
father. Strangest of all, I don’t think about sex all the time.
At first I thought that I had finally realized that I had all the
toys I wanted and that I no longer worried about not having
enough money, whatever that amount is.
But, then suddenly, it occurred to me that I no longer
had a bucket list. More important to me than the things I
thought I wanted to do, I had grown a great appreciation for
the very simple things in life. In my case that is a chocolate
malt, watching an old movie on Netflix so I don’t have to
see commercials, and having my arms around my wife
Margaret (not that she is a simple thing). Sure, I still love to
go out for a great meal with friends, attend a show, or dance
to the Oldies. But, not like in the past. Perhaps, I’m jaded. I
no longer need to see it all, dine on the latest foods, or see
the newest musicals or hottest entertainers. I just want to
relax and give thanks for the blessed life I’ve had. It is not
that I’m tired; it is more that what I want has changed. So,
I guess it is true that the older we get, the smarter we get.
After all, there has to be some benefit to aging.
So slow down and look more carefully at what really
makes you happy; and start doing it now. All we have left is
the rest of our lives. Shouldn’t we make those last years, no
matter how many they may be, the best we have ever had?
Let’s take the time to watch the sun as it sets on the horizon.
We may get to see the green flash yet. 9