Senior Defined

from pendletonpanther.com

When a father and son receive the same name, one is senior, the other junior. It happens. Senior means older, higher ranking, grownup, elderly, aged, superior, major, adult, under-grad and even higher-up.

Senior moments can be any of these or none but often it is thought of as one of those moments of forgetfulness, temporary or permanent. So, when we pen a column it can be any of the above as well as a manufactured moment, real or fictional, believable or unlikely, wishful thinking or an inconsequential utterance.

When I was asked over ten years ago to pen something for seniors, I had no idea I would be writing 400-500 words (sometimes more) a couple times or more a month. I have no idea how many Senior Moments I have written, maybe 300-400 nor how many were on the same theme. Nor do I have any idea how many more might emerge.

Every time I look at the news, read a magazine, scan the headlines, a moment could appear, in part or in full. Sometimes a rough draft doesn't get reworked and sometimes a finished product finds the wastebasket. At times I have thought of writing a blog inviting a response, critical or otherwise, and it still may happen. Until then, I don't know who reads these Moments nor what thoughts are elicited.

Being retired ought to mean that we retirees have time on our hands. Apparently, we should but many of us find that the clock moves just as quickly now as it did fifty years ago. Our forgetters do work overtime as well. And sometimes the bottom of the page emerges suddenly and we sigh, wondering how to end it appropriately, scrap it entirely or rework parts and send it on its way.

So far, with about 300 rambling words rambling words, I now must find a noble ending, rewrite it, or head for the shredder. If nothing surfaces that seems suitable, and the time spent releasing these lines, I'll call it quits for this episode and search for something higher ranking, more grown-up, maybe even more junior next time. So, beware. another Senior Moment may surface. Maybe even more.

While teaching a class of seniors in our church on the twelve disciples, I mentioned how difficult it must have been to write those gospels and epistles, send them from church to church, and have them screened, translated and published without pens or pencils, typewriters, computers or printers. So, maybe I don't have it too bad when I think back nearly 2,000 years.