Each night before I go to sleep, I take my iPhone and run through the videos on YouTube and make some selections of songs that please me--, happy, sad, thoughtful or funny. Last night, it was Willie Nelson. I've always loved Willie. He is so very much his own man and that's rare. But as I was scrolling, his bio popped up and I realized he is almost 80 years old. What happened Willie?.How can that be? When did you get old? But better old than dead, anyone would agree.
You have all seen me write of "one of those nights when I have the heebie jeebies." It's because I know death will come for me when I am sleeping. When I explained that to Ray Charles one day he said, "So if you stay awake all night, what's that gonna get you? You gonna argue with whoever it is who comes to collect your soul?" I said, "Oh, yes. I can talk my way out of most things so I want to be awake to give it a try." Silly, I know, but I like to think I might have a chance of talking myself into having a few more years.
Not so for some of my friends. This past week, that Phantom has been collecting souls of people I know,five of them. I keep running up to anyone I know who is in their 70s or 80s because this age bracket seems to be riding the top of the list. Suddenly solitary me wants to be with the people I like and love. When thinking about that I started to clearly realize what a giant list that is. When I was little, nobody much lived past 70, I don't think. But this week, three of the guys who left us were in their 70s, two were younger, a little. So if I run into Willie anywhere, I will be sure to hug him and hope he stays "On the Road Again." filling the need for music for Ruth Adkins Robinson.
