Waking this Monday morning, my mind slowly clearing the cobwebs of sleep and I thought to myself:  I am 74 years old!  The actual birthday on April 1st was celebrated with much pleasure.  Now, two days later, reflection upon the fact stuns me.

How much of those years in the rear view mirror can I take credit for?  Like that kid riding a roller coaster for the first time, you anticipate something what you’ve never before experienced.   You slowly ascend at a forty five degree angle, wheels under your seat are secured to the steel rails by gravity.  In front of you the track disappears into the sky.

There’s the pause, almost to a stop and then – the drop over “the edge.”  What do you do when hurtling downward toward that first curve, the G force you can feel with your eyeballs?  You just hold on.  That is what you do.

I take credit for holding on.  Holding on is enough.  I continue to hang onto this roller coaster enjoying the ride, which admittedly has been terrifying at times.  There’s just holding on.

Throughout my life there has always been pop music, the rock n’ roll of the ‘boomer’ generation.  Music is the score of our lives, and the lyric the plot line, is it not?  I recommend this tune as a lifeline for today: Once In A Lifetime by Talking Heads.  I like the child-like whimsy of the style of the video…

Once In A Lifetime

By Talking Heads

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, “Well… how did I get here?”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

And you may ask yourself, “How do I work this?”
And you may ask yourself, “Where is that large automobile?”
And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful house”
And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful wife”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Water dissolving and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Under the water, carry the water
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, into the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

And you may ask yourself, “What is that beautiful house?”
And you may ask yourself, “Where does that highway go to?”
And you may ask yourself, “Am I right? Am I wrong?”
And you may say to yourself, “My God! What have I done?”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, into the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was and look where my hand was
Time isn’t holding up, time isn’t after us
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Letting the days go by, same as it ever was

Here a twister comes, here comes the twister
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Once in a lifetime, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by

Lyrics by Brian Eno, David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, Christopher Frantz