Adaptation...

I watched my teacher friend,"Mark", have a heart attack
yesterday. He texted me Help. Very sick. Library.
When I arrived, Mark was sweating profusely.
He was wired up to an EKG machine.
Mark was promptly wheeled out by EMS and taken
to the hospital. I assured him that I'd meet him in
Emergency and not to worry.

I took his cell phone and called his son.
Without a car recently, I told Mark's son that I'd
get his dad admitted to the hospital.

Mark's in ICU after heart surgery.
He was looking forward to three job interviews this week
for new teaching positions in Tampa, Tarpon Springs
and St. Petersberg.
Each university is highly interested in Mark.

Seeing my friend fall ill is a wake up call to
modify one's lifestyle.
Mark played tennis occasionally with his son,
that being his only exercise.
I doubt if his eating habits were very good.

Events like this motivate a person to make positive
changes in health and relationships with family and God.

Down the Yellow Brick Road...

Where have all the years gone, and so quickly?
These thoughts cross my mind every once in awhile,
especially now as I've had my 62nd birthday.
If I could, would I go back to an earlier time, back
to my teen years or my college days?

If I'd had a way of foretelling the future, I may
have done a few things differently, change my
direction a bit, but then again...
If I'd fallen in love at 19 with the handsome Italian
fella living next door, who I felt was in love with me
at the time , I'd no doubt have a houseful of kids.
But, I might also be divorced—since that was his
status a few years ago, and still might be.


If I'd been more motivated to finish college and
get a degree, I'd be teaching English Comp right now.
When I'd moved to San Francisco in 1970, I was working
at a local store. From the entrance I heard,
“Nancy, what on God's earth are you doing working here?”
My jaw dropped.

It was my former college professor, Jean Wilkinson,
who'd had very high aspirations for me.
She'd kept many of the works I'd written, and thought
I would've pursued a writing career, at the very least.
Presently, I'm still writing: short stories and romantic poetry,
as well as this blog.

If I'd followed my parents to Oregon instead of moving to
the Bay Area, I would've never met my husband, a handsome
airline captain,and had our two children.
Nor would I have had the opportunity to meet Charlton Heston
or Bing Crosby who were customers of mine one day.

We now live in South West Florida, which has changed the
direction of my life. I'm a freelance photographer, living a dream
I've always had--sequestered in the back of my mind.
I'm an artist, too.

Life is often convoluted.
You're never sure what each day is going to bring.
Ah, to be a kid again...?
Not a chance.