Live Long and Prosper

I remember an episode from the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun when Dick took up cigarette smoking. He is told that smoking will take ten years off your life and responds by saying that those are off the end of your life and those are crappy years anyway!

So the questions I ponder today are:

Do you really want to live long?
and 
What do you consider to be prosperous?

I'm 60 and I think I still have some good years left. God knows there is still plenty that I could learn and I may be able to pass along a few tidbits of information that I've learned along the way. There is no doubt that physical limitations have become more of an issue with age. Much of that is from my own neglect of my health, but there is certainly a natural decline that affects each of us.
But even with less physical activity there is an appreciation for much of life that is a result of age, experience, and learned wisdom. There are many people my age that are quite active -- running marathons, body building, hiking the mountains, etc. That's definitely not me. I didn't do those things when I was younger, so I don't really see why I should suddenly aspire to do them now or why I would suddenly enjoy them now. I'm much more likely to contemplate my life while smoking a good cigar and sipping a good whisky or craft beer. 

I remember the words of one old pastor -- If I would've know I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself!

So -- How long do you want to live?
Are you physically, mentally, and even financially fit to live well into those last years?

Admittedly, there is much about getting old that I'm not looking forward to, but neither am I ready to hang it up. 
How do you feel about aging into a long life?

We'll tackle the prosperous question another day -- maybe.

John

Drugs, Strangers and Other Dangers

It's getting late in the day and I want to get my writing in so that I can continue with my 30 day writing challenge.

I'm skipping what ever the suggested topic for today is so that I write about my first presentation of Drugs, Strangers and Other Dangers.

It is a program that is designed for third grade through fifth or sixth grade and is a perfect fit for Red Ribbon Week.

I purchased this program from my friends at Castlewood Entertainment a couple of years ago. Last year, due to staffing at work, I was unable to get time off during Red Ribbon Week and so I didn't book any shows. This year, even though I was off work, I hadn't really put the time into working on the show and so I didn't want to start booking schools.

As is often the case, necessity forced my to get things ready for a show. At a Springfield Cardinals' baseball game late this summer, I met a man that is the principal at an area elementary school and booked a show.
Today was the day!

I did modify the original program a little bit to suit my needs, abilities and personality. But it was essentially the same program. It went very well. There was a little problem with the sound system that I'll have to work on, but I was pleased with how it went. I believe that I'll be able to market the program with confidence and look forward to doing many more shows in the coming year.

I can see where having two people to set up and break down the set would be a big advantage. The team that owned the program before me was a husband/wife couple that traveled together. It took me almost an hour to get set up and about 30 minutes to break it down. I do like the way the set up looks and plan on making a similar set for my other programs. I also like having my own sound system and will probably start to use it for my church and camp programs, as well.

If you are a teacher, administrator or educator at the elementary level, I would love to talk to you about this program. My contact information can be found in the About Me section of this blog.

John <><