Past tense.........

Sure, there's jump, jumped... laugh/laughed... talk/talked... play/played... ask/asked.. watch/watched... wash/washed...

Ain't talking about that. Talking about “past tense”, or, awakening 'round this age, wearing life's “chest protector” and not being too damn bent outta shape about whatevers “up”. I'm past tense.

I've raised kids. Yes, many a night ago abed awake until 2am awaiting the front door to slam. Sure, parent-teacher conferences where the urge hit to pull hair out. The bird has flown the coupe, on his own.. sure, I'll help advise... but... past tense..

Resume', application, interview, HR folks, sweat, nervous-nous, one eye on dwindling bank account..”is this really what I wanna do?”.. “Even if it isn't, I GOTTA feed my family.”... 2nd interviews, more sweat... Phone ringing.. tenseness.. sorry... past tense... done with that. My company gets ridda me, we'll revisit, but I'm past tense.

Aging parents. I'm past tense. I'd give virtually anything/everything if they were still around where I could once again get tense, worry... can't... Past tense. And that's sad. Know many in same boat.

Keeping up with the Jones's.. lushest front lawn on the block... Car spit-shined? Sorry.. Color me past tense... sorry about the Egg McMuffin wrapper from Sunday on the dash.. the jacket I wore last Friday when it was windy - that's laying in the backseat... the 12 cig butts in the ashtray.. I'm past tense about that worry.

DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT HOW YOU'RE PERCEIVED? WHAT FOLKS SAY/THINK... REACT?

Don't shoot me, I'm past tense about that as well. I am far, far, far from prefect (oops) – but I am me.. I do enjoy treating folks nicely... but I'm past tense thinking/reading what they feel/think about me, as I am me.. and I have no control over their feelings. Sure, I hope folks like me, but, the answer to that comes basically from how I've treated them... so, past tense. Hopefully I've done ok...

Old age is kinda about past tense. We've all “ed” too many damn things. (Looking positively, that's experience... been there, done that......... we “ed”)... Past tense, don't worry. Too late, not worried.

I will admit, life's been a rush... and I enjoyed all those verbs in the present tense... “what shall I be?”..job-hunting, mate selection, children rearing, Bettered Homes and Garden.. Occupational overdrive...

Sorry. Color me past tense. “ed'ed out.” Now, it takes a flight of stairs to make my pulse race.

Kinda relaxing living in the past tense stage. Takes awhile longer to get from point A to point B.. the mirror ain't as friendly as it once was.. and I recently etched me a new belt loop hole to assist in recent expansion. All the same, past tense.

Occasionally, I get an email at work and the subject line contains the verbiage “URGENT”.. I giggle. Past tense. And wing 'em an email back:

-----auto-reply out of office... I will be back in the office 3/27/12 to attend to your needs---------------

Festers up some present tense. And hopefully, allows them to reevaluate winging that
GD word 'urgent'. It's no longer in my vocabulary... (lessen the squatter in Mickey
D's is occupied on a weekend morning when I wiggle with cheeks pressed together towards it.., and I GOTTA - bad).. admittedly, semi tense.

Anyways, you get my drift – I hope. Life is kinda-sorta like being a kick return blocker in football. One absorbs blow after blow, you keep marching up field.. sometimes you get pushed down.. .sometimes you push down, sometimes you get hurt.. sometimes you can't stand the excitement.. the not knowing what is coming next, and from where.. . eventually – you see daylight. Past tense.

Victor... might I remind you.. you visited The Dish Pizza tonight.. so this is 3 beers talking, and you promised you'd never do that again? (Color me past tense.) Past all the “ed” verbs. Been there, slopped thru/made it thru – that.

Love, Victurd(ed).....