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Waking this morning on May 3rd in the year 2025 I am fast approaching my 78th birthday. I remember as a kid not yet having a good grasp of reality thinking 30 was pretty much the end of the line.
Looking back I think it was more like the beginning of maturity for me in a lot of ways although some who have known me through it all may not have detected any of those signs of maturity.
In June my classmates and I will be celebrating 60 years since our graduation from Bandera High School.
At last count out of a class of thirty-six graduates there remains twenty-seven of us in various shapes, sizes and conditions.
It’s a pretty good bet that in physical appearances I would beat out the competition when it comes to change. I have added nearly 100 pounds since graduation but it hasn’t slowed me down much because I was never that fast anyway.
The class of 65 gathering will hold few surprises and little need to read name tags to recognize someone.
There are quite a few who still reside here in Bandera and I see them on a regular basis. I don’t recall any other class having so many homebodies.
My classmate and longtime friend Richard Kinsey and I meet up for breakfast at the OST regularly.
We relive those amazing times in high school in the sixties. It surprises me sometimes as Richard has a different take on the way some things went down. I figure he might be getting old and senile and then Butch Bradford will show up with a third opinion.
The upcoming reunion could prove to be interesting. At least it will provide good conversation for an OST breakfast in the following weeks.
Navigating the troubled waters of getting older and the challenges that brings have become more difficult after losing my wife three years ago.
Fifty-six years of marriage making decisions together and then suddenly I was alone. It’s not something you can fully understand unless you have experienced it.
For a while I asked God for the answer to the question of why it happened and why I wasn’t taken instead. I prayed hard and He answered that I had strayed and wasn’t ready yet. I needed to come back to Him first.
As a kid Growing Up In Bandera life was pretty much one carefree day after another. Sure there were exceptions when I knew there was a big test coming the next day at school. But nothing beyond that short range ever bothered me much.
Having all these years of living experience now I can imagine every little thing that can possibly go wrong. It’s the curse of gaining wisdom through aging, I guess.
Just hold steady and pray. We are gonna be okay.
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