don't worry, be happy...#1

 don't worry, be happy...#1

                       b.mcferrin, 1988

  

               

  Alfred E Neuman was the fictitious mascot and cover boy of the American humor magazine, Mad.  His motto was the incurious, What, me worry? (The motto was changed for one issue only to Yes, me worry after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979).

  I was a huge fan of the magazine in my adolescent and early teen years.  Some issues from that time period are worth hundreds, and, in a few cases, thousands of dollars.  However, if one failed to retain any issue, their current value falls under the category of,  HUH?  What's up with that? ?

  According to Dictionary.com, the definition of worry is: to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.  The same source reveals the meaning of torment as: to afflict with great bodily or mental suffering; pain:

  With that understanding, the word torment may be a little strong for me.  Since we all have a worry or two, I look at worries as something I think about more than other thoughts, but, am I tormented?  Probably not.  

  I interviewed several people over 60 years of age and included a question about what he or she worries the most about at this point in their lives.  I expected answers to be varied and wasn’t disappointed.  

  Pleasant Hale, 82, may be one of the most colorful people I've encountered.

  Me and my girlfriend like to travel, he stated.  We go to a lot of state parks in Kentucky and Indiana. 

  I suppose you've been asked about your unusual name all your life.

  You can bank on it, he laughed.  It comes from my dad.  He was born on Valentine's Day and his parents named him Pleasant Valentine Hale.  

  When you look back on your family time, did your dad live up to his name?

  By the time my dad was 20, he'd just as soon break your jaw as look at you, he exclaimed.  He was a mean guy because he was called everything under the sun.  He was mean to everybody.  

  A real life Boy named Sue.  

  You can say that again, he agreed.  There were more days he was fighting than there were he wasn't. 

  What did you do for a living?

   I retired 27 years ago, he reminisced.  I was a union electrician for 38 years. Started when I was 17.

  You've had a lot of spare time for a lot of years.  What else do you do besides visit state parks?

  We go out to dinner a couple times a week, he said.  And, if there's any kind of ballgame on at night, we'll find a bar or restaurant with a big TV and go watch the game while we have dinner.  My friend likes sports as much as me.  

  What's on your bucket list?  Do you have one? 

  One thing I want to do is see Ireland, he offered.  I also want to see a place here in Kentucky known as The Grand Canyon of Kentucky. There's a 140 foot waterfall and they didn't build a road until the 1960s.  (Red River Gorge is a canyon system along the Red River in the eastern part of the state in Daniel Boone National Park)

  Do you worry about anything?  Is there one thing that bothers you the most?

  I don't want to get to where I can't move around, he confessed.  That's my number one thing I worry about.  Not much else is important enough to worry about in my mind.  

  I hope you can take that trip to Red River Gorge.  It's worth your time.

  Thanks, we'll make it.  

  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 151,671 last names used in this country.  The Census Bureau also says there's a choice of 5,163 first names.  One of the Top 5 combinations is John Smith.  There are 44,935 John Smiths nationwide.  Give or take one or two, that's just under 900 per state.  I was bound to meet one at some point in my life.

  I retired as an elementary school teacher back in 2004, John Smith told me.    

  How long did you work and teach?

  Well, let's see, I'm 80 now, and I taught for 38 years, he responded.  

  Oh, wow.  You are one of those perpetually young looking people.  I thought you were going to tell me you were in your mid 60s.

  If only it were true, he laughed.  

  How do you spend your spare time?  Do you have hobbies?

  I have several things I enjoy, he smiled.  My favorite is woodworking.  I make everything including furniture and I sell it to anybody who likes it.  

  What about a wish list or bucket list?

  I've been all over this country, but, I've never been to Yellowstone National Park and Lake Tahoe, he offered, and I'd like to do that.  

  Do you have any worries, political, cultural, social, or otherwise? 

  I think the number one thing that concerns me is today's youth, he expressed.  I saw it way before I retired.  Few of the kids I taught had both parents in the household and it's a major problem.  I'd have to say that is my biggest worry about the future.  

  John Smith, I appreciate your time.  

  Anytime. 

  Mike Harrell works for the government. 

  I am single and I am semi-retired, he said.  

  Mike, do you like to travel? 

  I do, I love to travel, he smiled.  The last place I was at was Afghanistan about five years ago.  

  What is something you'd like to do in the near future?

  Probably travel.  I want to go to Ireland and Scotland in the next few years, he stated.

  What's something you worry about?  Anything in particular?

  My dad suffered from Parkinson's Disease and my aunt has it, he offered.  I've got it on both sides of the family, so, I'd have to say that's a huge worry for me.  Will I get it or not?  

  I know people whose parent or parents suffered from Alzheimers and they worry about their future the same as you.  Thanks for talking to me. 

  Thanks.

  Coming up:  another job$ somebody's gotta do; an oddities, observations, & ?'s, and; we'll find out just what it is that men talk about when drinking coffee at McDonald's at 6 in the morning.  

  And, finally. Memoirs of former president Richard Nixon reveal his chief worry or number one concern was his legacy and how he would be perceived by future generations.   

  I laugh (40 years later) at a line Johnny Carson said about the 37th president:  Did you know Richard Nixon is the only president whose formal portrait was painted by a police sketch artist?

  HUH?  What's up with that?