Just to give you a sense of how the river is shifting and how quickly, we lived in Aledo from my junior year of college until I went off to grad school in ’99, though, obviously, I was away at college during much of that time.
But when I was home, I did much like I do now–drive around and look at stuff. My dad and I once tried to take the old stage coach road from Keithsburg to New Boston and, if you look at the map, you can still see parts of it. But the road we started on in Keithsburg is gone. You can’t get to the old stage coach road from Keithsburg anymore. Which is weird to think about because my dad and I took that road after the ’93 flood. That wasn’t enough to erase the part of the road that came into town. But the ensuing twenty years have been.
Twenty years. Oh my god. I have wasted so much of my life. Nothing. I have nothing to show for it. Lord almighty.
Anyway, at the time, on the maps, it looked like the old road might still go through, so my dad and I drove it north from Keithsburg one afternoon. Even then it didn’t go through. It ended at some guy’s farm and, looking at the map, probably picked back up again on the other side of another creek. But the cool thing was, when we drove it, we were right at river level practically and we startled a blue heron, who flew right in front of the van, so close we both gasped.
Lord. If I’d have had a kid when I graduated from college, I’d be getting ready to send her to college.
I hope we reincarnate because lord knows I’ve just wasted this whole life goofing off.
Like this:
Filed under: Stories About Me
No no no nonononono. Just no. I refuse to accept that line of reasoning.
Lived experiences are not goofing off if you can get things from them, even if it’s much later when you do. Or even if all you get is context to set later experiences in. You get a motley patchwork crazy quilt of a life with odd, cool stitch patterns, and some people get only one smooth monochrome blanket.
Yes, I am defensive here, it hits admittedly too close to home, but I still fervently believe that time not spent on the “proper” things, on a “productive” path, can still be well-used time.
Well, it’s not like I’m going to change this late in the game, so let’s hope the crazy quilt life is not a waste. Or, if it is, at least a good one.
Life is meant to be enjoyed.
I and all your other friends ought to be quite offended when you say you have nothing to show for your life, by the way.
I’m more than happy to concede that my friends are the best things I’ve done in my life. Wink, wink.
Ha ha ha.
I don’t believe at all that procreating is the only thing that counts as far as what someone has to show for their life. At all. You are awesome, and like Jess said—your last 20 years shouldn’t feel wasted since you’ve been out experiencing your life.
I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.
—Vonnegut