Sixty-One, Forty-Nine & Fifty

To visit a real oasis was number forty-nine on Kelly’s bucket list. This was an obtainable goal. She was pleased that she thought of putting it down. She didn’t write down pipe dream items, such as going to space or the moon. Sure, she would love to go but she wanted to achieve her goals and as many of them as possible in the short time she has left.

“Sixty-one,” Kelly thought, “is that young or old?” She certainly feels young, especially when she plays doubles on the tennis courts. The sport makes her feel like she did in middle school; it keeps her young. Fifty-five is when one enters the senior demographic. Sixty-two is considered early retirement age and a senior citizen. Kelly retired at fifty-eight. In five months, she will be a full-fledge senior citizen. Now that is old. Kelly never did decide on answer her question as to whether sixty-one is young or old; it is unimportant.

The important thing is to know time is valuable. The dream of seeing Earth from space is a fantasy, a time waster for her. A real desert oasis is manageable. Cottonwood Spring is a natural oasis in Twentynine Palms, California. Of course, it is almost two-thousand miles away from sunny Florida. Cottonwood Spring is in Riverside County. Kelly has an old friend Paul who lives there. He has his own law office. She is proud of him because she knew him when he was a car mechanic. He beat the statistics and made a good living for himself.  

She remembered him with fond memories. He had a great sense of humor and a big smile. He seemed to love just messing with people, just to mess with them. He had done it to her too. She wasn’t a cook. She followed recipes to the tee and could still mess up. There was a silly pizza recipe that called for the pepperoni to be placed under the cheese. Naturally, Paul insisted that he wanted his pepperoni on top of the cheese. Kelly didn’t understand. The recipe said under the cheese. Paul got the kids involved and they too wanted their pepperoni on top. Everyone had thought it was funny to mess with Kelly because she was such a stickler for the recipe. Those were some great times. Kelly so wished Liz and Paul had stayed together.

Kelly wondered if Paul would see her, after all the years had gone by? Not because of him being a big shot lawyer but because she had done him wrong. He blamed the split with his wife Liz on her. Kelly had helped Liz move out. It had been a “Catch 22” situation for Kelly. Divorces are nasty, even when they are not nasty. Pick a side: her or him. Kelly had loved both, but Liz was her best friend. At times, Paul seemed to understand; then there were others when the hurt pained him so bad that he didn’t want to understand. Does time indeed heal old wounds? Kelly wanted to find out.

For sure, the visit to see the oasis would include a visit to Paul’s law office. She wouldn’t try to see him at home with his new family. She had heard the new wife was insecure and jealous. The last thing Kelly would want to do is to cause problems for them. In addition, Kelly knew if she dropped in at his office, she could go through his secretary. It would give Paul the option of making time for her or not.

Kelly wondered how Paul would receive Garret. It had been Kelly and Bob forever. Sadly, Bob passed away seven years ago. Garret and Bob’s personalities are completely different. Bob was fun and funny with everyone. He would joke and tease with a perfect stranger. Garret is more reserved until he knows you well.

Going without Garret wasn’t option. He was her man now. Acceptance of him was a must. In addition, Garret had never even seen a desert much less an oasis. Kelly had been to the desert many times in her travels. However, she had never taken the time to see an oasis. Yes, Garret and her would go.

For the bucket list trip, she wanted to experience the oasis. She didn’t want to do the touristy thing and just visit the visitors center where there should be sign declaring this is the “Cottonwood Spring Oasis.” She wanted to walk through the desert and build up a thirst. She wanted it to be night-time and let the sounds and lights of the oasis guide her there.

She understood there were some dangers to walking through the dessert at night. Coyotes, bobcats, snakes, and scorpions to name a few of the threatening wildlife she could encounter. Dehydration could be a factor too. The little bit of fear excited her.

Number forty-nine: oasis would have to wait another two years for Garret to retire. His dream was to buy a large camper and a heavy-duty pickup truck and see the country. Kelly loved this idea. She had traveled a lot for work but not vacationed as much as she had wanted. Her life had been lived in the fast lane. It was time to slow down, take in, and reflect on the world.

As Kelly continued to dream, she added a fiftieth entry into the Bucket List book. It was to become a published author.  Then she thought the entry was too vague. Anyone with the Internet can publish. She was reminded of a Denzel Washington YouTube video of a commencement speech, where he called for people to dream big. She erased “become a published author” and wrote, “become an author on the New York Times’ best-selling list.”

Finally, she returned to her unanswered question: is sixty-one young or old?  She thought about many of the witty quotes on age that were designed more to make one smile than think. She quickly discounted them. She moved on to think about space and time. Einstein said, “Space and time were inextricably linked.”

Her question should be, “Is she contracting or expanding?” Just like the universe, she knew without a doubt that she was expansion stage of life. Kelly was joyful. “Funny,” she thought, “she felt larger than she ever had before.”

Kelly closed the Bucket List book and headed to bed for the night.