Midlife Inventory
A Preliminary Count
The only thing an old man can tell a young man is that it goes fast, real fast, and if you’re not careful it’s too late. Of course, the young man will never understand this truth.
—Norm Macdonald
Above: Is No Country for Old Men a warning or an order?
Has-been or not yet? Sunset or sunrise? Diminuendo or crescendo? Echo or voice? Carried or carrying? Drifting or driving? Wearing down or working up? Old youth or young elder? Dying slowly or learning to live? The coin is still flipping. It will land either way. Call it before it hits the dust.
Per my about page, White Noise is a work of experimentation. I view it as a sort of thinking aloud, a stress testing of my nascent ideas. Through it, I hope to sharpen my opinions against the whetstone of other people’s feedback, commentary, and input.
If you want to discuss any of the ideas or musings mentioned above or have any books, papers, or links that you think would be interesting to share in a future edition of White Noise, please reach out to me by replying to this email or following me on X.
With sincere gratitude,
Tom
Yes, it really does fly by fast. But why is life so fleeting? When one is in kindergarten at age five, that first year of schooling gobbles up 20% of ones existence to that point. That first school year seems to drag on and on and on… And now fast forward to age 60. A year of life only chews off a little more than 1% of one’s total trajectory! That, in a nutshell, is relativity; without the complex formulas, but there it is. You blink your eyes. Abracadabra.
The only thing for an old man to tell a young man is have boundaries and always do what you know is right or you will probably live to regret it.
Bill Benitez