A Mile a Minute

In defense of my dad, he was born in 1910. A lot has changed since then. I can remember riding, as a child, with him on the PA turnpike. If someone passed us, he would say “Wow, that guy’s going a mile a minute!”. Even going for a walk on Slatington’s Main Street, if a car was going faster than normal, he would exclaim “That guy’s going a mile a minute!”. A mile a minute is only 60 mph! But in my dad’s world, that was recklessly fast. Today, if you are going 60 mph on the PA Turnpike, you are a hindrance, an obstacle, and object of derision.

I must say that I miss the slower pace of my childhood. Life was slower, summers were longer, and old age seemed light years away. Older people always said, the older you get, the faster time goes. So true. I remember worrying about turning 70. In six months, I’ll be 72. It feels like yesterday. Didn’t I just take my last swim in Northern Lehigh Pool this morning? No, that was three months ago.

Didn’t my son, Andy, recently catch his first fish? No, 46 years ago! Didn’t my daughter, Emma, just pass her driver’s permit test? No, she’s been driving 5 years already. Has it already been thirty-four years since my daughter Amy’s death?

Where did all those years go? What was I doing all that time? How I can I slow it down? I think maybe the only way to slow the pace is to withdraw a bit from our hurry up world. Limit the time you spend on social media. I find it amazing that those thirty second TikTok’s can kill two hours in a flash. Another way to slow it down is to savor each minute. Throughout the day, take the time to check in with all your senses. Mindfulness. All I have is this minute.

George Harrison entitled his first masterful solo album, All Things Must Pass. George, you were right. But did they have to pass so quickly?

I started this post at 8 am. It’s now nearly 10. Wow, that’s like a mile a minute!