Saturday, October 10, 2015

Two roads diverged...

Grandtots,


Old thoughts from a man old before his time....

I was thinking about something cool and I forgot. I was eating a sandwich - whole wheat, onions, turkey slices, mozzarella, butter, tomatoes, spinach, parsley and three cheese dressing and I felt my throat tighten. I started getting itchy and it occurred to me that my skin was bumpy and red. All over! I was breaking into hives. At first I wondered if my skin had always looked like that. But it was definitely something you something I've never seen before. I was having a systemic immunological reaction to something in the sandwich. Unbelievable! A few hours later the redness is gone but the bumps remain. Seems my immune system is getting fussy in its old age. 

I saw sensei today. He said Kareem was coming back to karate. Really? The first class went by, sensei asked me to help out a white belt. Then I saw two things that really caught my attention. First sensei took one of the yellow belts, a young girl who i could tell had real potential the second I saw her, and started training her personally. Jump rope and focus mitts. I felt jealous. Sensei always knew I was good but I never got personal treatment. He must really think she's something. But she's definitely got the right stuff, the focus. 

Secondly the late evening class got started and sensei then ran through a Pilates warm-up with Swiss balls. He even had a printout with the routine in hand. Imagine trying new things at that age. And then, all of a sudden, it occurred to me: what if everything had gone off without a hitch? What if I make no mistakes? What if I got everything I wanted? I won the hundred meter in grade 9 without breaking my hip I won the Brain bee. I got an A in algebra geometry. I got a scholarship to UofT. I got an A in first year calculus. I won over Rosalia. I got into med school. I graduated.  If I got everything that I wanted to the first time out, where would I be now? Who would I be? And would I be happier than I am right now, looking at this old man learning new things? How could I appreciate my life more than I do right now?

- Grandpa