The P ublisher Po stulates
AS TIME GOES ON
34 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JULY/AUGUST 2020
I know which subjects not to
bring up because they might
annoy me.
I always thought that
growing old would take
longer and that it would
happen more gradually. I am
not sure why I have become
so aware of this process that
I knew would eventually
happen, even if I did not
believe it ever would. Like
many other things in life
that I have been able to deny,
the aging process was one
that I believed I had under
control. Needless to say,
“under control” is not a phrase I use often
any more.
Each day I find myself controlling less
and less, as I learn to accept life as it comes
at me. I observe more, react less and look
at everything from a new perspective that
allows me to judge myself and others less
stringently and with more understanding.
Why did I fight living this way for so long?
Life is easy if you let it be. 9
As each day passes,
I seem to notice
that I am indeed
changing some
of my attitudes. At first, I
thought it might be that I
was at long last maturing
and that the wisdom
that comes with getting
older had finally arrived.
However, I think that some
of my current feelings and
thoughts are not due to any
increased knowledge, but
rather to my awareness of
what makes me happy. As
an example, I now wear
what I find most comfortable to put on
for easy movement. Likewise, if I want to
remember something, I write it down and
try to remember to take the paper with me.
It is not that I don’t remember things. It is
more that I don’t remember them when
I need to, such as while I’m at the store
shopping, instead of after I get home and
realize I forgot to buy eggs.
I have begun to notice other changes as
well, some for the better and others that
I really shouldn’t mention, such as my
lower tolerance for some of the things that
people do with which I disagree. It takes
Publisher / Editor
By Aaron R. Fodiman
It seems as though there is no avoiding aging if you want to live a long life.
I sure did not need to buy a planner for 2020.
all my people skills to control my remarks
about what I think is foolish and to then
use a kind word to express myself. When
I was younger, I would call it idiotic, but
I have learned that people who do stupid
things do not do them just to aggravate
me. On occasion, even I don’t use the
best judgment.
Then there are things like naps that I
never took, but now find myself in the
middle of without any intention of taking
one. Worst of all, I am beginning to enjoy
them. Fortunately, I still talk to myself
whenever I feel the need for good advice.
TED MAGUIRE