I stepped in front of the mirror, opened my eyes wider, for I was surprised to see within the glass my fourteen-year old self. My immediate thought was,This is great! I can tell him what he needs to know; give him the benefit of my experience, tell him what he needs to avoid. His eyes widened and a look of horror spread across his visage.
Fourteen-year old Self disappeared from my view and there looking back at me was, as I had expected, my eighty-five-year old Self. I hear footsteps receding down the hall, accompanied by a high-pitched scream of terror. They never listen, fourteen-year old Boys. And I might have saved him from himself.
Now wait just a dog-boned minute, Old Timer. Didn't your parents make a sincere effort to give you the benefit of their experiences when you were your fourteen-year old Self? And did you listen? No, you went right ahead on, headstrong and full of yourself and made your own mistakes.
3 comments:
It seems to be the typical pattern. I was no better.
Chuck, rites of passage, and my right to make my own mistakes and so on. No wonder the human condition . . .
Even those of us who know [some] history seem destined to repeat it.
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