Life Is Beautiful!
In my last column, I must have sounded very despondent. The column was called “Inner Thoughts” and in it I sounded as if I were complaining about growing older and losing some of my life skills.
I was rejuvenated by three e-mails from three of my compassionate readers who picked up on my insecurities. I am thankful for the three messages that tried to cheer me up. Each letter made me get a hold of myself and stop public weeping and feeling sorry for myself. Their names are mentioned here: Beth, Rick Feinstein, and Phyllis and Jerry Tenenbaum.
Another emotional lift came from a cousin’s beautiful wedding on Sunday, Sept. 25. To observe a young couple, truly in love, beginning a life’s journey was a glorious sight. Frankie and Jennifer danced and kissed with such glee that I was ashamed of my morose mood.
Their bridesmaids and groomsmen (seven of each) cavorted with such energy and verve, I delighted just watching and listening to them. The groom was a patient of mine as a child and he was curious by nature; he once opened all the drawers of my dental operatory.
Now, he’s a six-foot-tall, handsome young man about to embark on a life’s adventure with Jennifer, his chosen bride. It was an old fashioned New York wedding with overeating on the smorgasbord before the main meal of chateaubriand in a sit down, sumptuous dinner.
How could any human being resort to a role as Scrooge in the face of such love, beauty and good feeling? Stanley, I said to myself “Behave yourself!”
The ups and downs of being “Over 60 and Getting Younger” is a trauma that I should override and put behind me. There are too many worthwhile experiences to be a part of, and I do have a family that I am truly proud of.
My beautiful wife Lorraine is a joy, and I daydreamed back to my own Washington, D.C. wedding, 49 years ago. Again let me thank my readers who sensed my feelings and tried (and succeeded) in lifting my spirits.
