My digital exam and the results of my PSA test were good, and the doctor told me to check back with him in six months. After I left his office, I went directly to the state dispatcher and picked up a new Chevy Malibu and headed to Fargo to pick up my rider who had gotten there to her meeting by other means. I don't know if it is old age setting in or not, but I was tired from all that driving and last night at home I didn't feel much like doing anything. As we had headed west to Bismarck in the afternoon, we had heard a news report about a man being rescued from his burning trailer home in Mandan by several policemen. The words of the story spoke of the policemen rescuing an "elderly 63 year old man." I turned to my rider and asked, "Did he use the words 'elderly 63 year old?'" She assured me he had. I could only imagine the copywriter to be a very young person who looked at sixty-somethings in that light.
The day before, Mary and I ate a quick burger in our neighborhood McDonald's. Just a block north sits the large Mandan rodeo grounds and oval race track combo. A good many horse trailers and pickups sat there shining in the warm sun with lots of horses tied in their shade. We didn't know what event was taking place, but just then a young gal came walking out of the restaurant wearing cowboy duds, so I thought she'd know. I asked, "What kind of event is goin' on over there?" "A family rodeo," was her reply. "Oh," I said, "does that mean there is something for all ages to do?" "Yes, even for you old-timers!" She turned on her heel and sashayed away in her tight jeans and ponytail bobbing under her hat. I turned to Mary and wondered if I look like an old-timer. She said, "Well, you do have gray hair."
I guess I'll have to relax and start reading the signs that point over yonder. It's like Springsteen sings, "Glory days, well, they'll pass you by/ Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye/ Glory days, glory days."
