No Guts, No Glory

Monday night

My wife and I were at an amusement park that featured a large roller coaster constructed of metal beams painted black. She eagerly hopped into the last car and waited to take a ride, but I held back. The owner of the coaster walked up and introduced himself; his first name was the same as mine. He said that this was his first roller coaster. (He'd never owned one before.) The cars began to move, and I had to make a quick decision whether to get over my fear and join in the fun. There was one more open seat in front of my wife...

*****

I'm scared of three things: lightning storms, roller coasters, and the dentist. Well, four, counting cancer ("the bullet"). I'm working hard at taking better care of myself, so I'll be in good health in my retirement. I'm trying to learn from my dad's experience. He's been retired for over 20 years now, but I think he would probably have enjoyed it more had he kept his weight down and gotten more exercise.

The dentist isn't so bad these days. Most of my teeth problems were fixed some time ago.

Sure hope I can dodge that bullet as I get older.