What If?

When we reach a certain age, we often tend to look back. We try to remember some of the highlights of our past, memorable moments, major decisions, even foolish things we did. But then, we also look back and wish we had done certain things, go places which beckoned, made friends with some we ignored.     

A small booklet ended up on my desk. It sat there, staring at me until I opened it. The title? What if It's True? Thirty tiny pages. Its provocative title made me ask my own questions.

What if global warming is true? We hear a lot about global warming, particularly this summer with a record-breaking mother nature on a rampage. When looking back, mother nature has been pretty active, for generations, even centuries. I remember when I was about ten years old, a wild wind swept through our neighborhood. I wrapped my arms around a lamppost to keep from blowing away. Near by, the devastation was incredible. 

What if our upcoming election defies polls and predictions? Could it happen? Are our safeguards foolproof today? I just finished Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard's sobering book, Killing Lincoln. I knew he was assassinated but never fully fathomed the extensive conspiracy behind his untimely, vicious death. 

What if we abandoned public and private education for home schooling? This year we received an unusual number of high school graduation announcements. It was delightful hearing from so many of our relatives. Virtually every one had chosen higher education with varied objectives. There were proms, open houses, friendships and yes, farewells as they will scatter in many directions. Home schooling can be most beneficial but what if it were the only option?

What if? It's endless, isn't it? What if I turned left instead of right? What if there is life after death? What if it rains for the picnic tomorrow? What if I act as though I were twenty, not eighty? What if that spot is cancerous? 

What if Abraham Lincoln had not gone to the theater that fateful night in 1865? What if John Wilkes Booth, his assassin, had been apprehended earlier? What if can be both debilitating as well as redemptive. What if is accessible whether we are twenty or eighty. How well I remember being trained as a city bus driver in Chicago. We were taught to regularly look back on our mirrors but not to linger there. Not bad advice even at 40.