SUCH IS THE WAY

Two funerals.
One wedding.
One baby shower.

The beat goes on.

The beat goes on is quite a statement, quite an observation.

One retires…and is replaced.

Drove through our old neighborhood on the way home this morning from a late breakfast at an elegant bakery…just for the fun of it. Had not done so for a year or two.

All the old neighbors are gone but one. Frank Merwin was the last to leave.

Our house is there…but different…apparently more than holding its own.

Dear Wife’s childhood house is no more, torn down and replaced by a much bigger one.

We are now nearing the senior status in our present neighborhood.

The beat goes on.

None of this is news.

Lots of sayings, pithy ones at that, attest to the truthfulness of one’s replaceability [I know, probably not a word].

We have long been advised to make hay while the sun shines. And those stones that roll gather no moss.

And early birds do very well with worms.

The message is plain.

The roads diverge in the wood.
We should beware of which one to take…and not to take too much time deciding.

Important national and personal anniversaries come and go…over and over again…and eventually, fewer and fewer observe.

There are new anniversaries to observe.

A new beat to march to.

Such is the way of life.