Working Out, High Point, NC
I was driving to the gym this morning with a country
music station playing in the windmill of my mind when one of those “gotcha” songs
permeated my foggy brain and I snapped to attention! The relatable lyrics stayed on replay
throughout my workout, so I walked back into the locker room and retrieved my
iPhone and went back out to one of my regular machines. A young woman had just finished nearby so I
asked her for the favor of taking the accompanying photo. I explained that I write a blog and was
certain that I could work with a song I had just heard titled “Don’t let the
old man in”. Since she had just witnessed
me sweating in the gym, I got a knowing smile and she graciously took the
photo.
When I got home and googled the song title, I ran across the
genesis of the lyrics. It seems Toby
Keith recently found inspiration from a casual conversation with Clint Eastwood on the
golf course in California. Keith asked
the 88-year-old actor “What keeps you going?” and he replied “I get up every day and don’t let the old
man in”. After downloading the song
on iTunes, the lyrics must ring true for all of us seniors playing in the last
quarter of an average lifetime. We have
the choice of believing we’re a hostage of the unseen and uninvited but
inevitable aging process, or we can work on being almost as young as always,
understanding there are some very real health issues that can be a challenge.
Toby sings “can’t leave it up to him, he’s knocking on my
door. Ask yourself how old would you be
if you didn’t know the day you were born?
When he rides up on his horse and you feel that cold winter wind, look
out your window and smile. Don’t let the
old man in.”
Yeah, old age ain’t for sissies, but it’s a gift that’s
denied to many. So, “get up and go
outside”! Celebrate all the full moons that
you’ve experienced on a cold winter’s night as calling wild geese fly by. And “toast each sundown with wine. Don’t let the old man in.”
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