“…But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I’m gettin’ older, too….” (1975) “Landslide” Recorded by: Fleetwood Mac Composer: Stevie Nicks
Way before I was chronologically gifted, at 15 years old, Fleetwood Mac came out with the song “Landslide”. Being swept off my feet then, I find myself still mesmerized by it. In fact, about seven years ago, while on what we all thought was my deathbed, my rock star daughter flew in from New York to be by my side.

There in ICU, I indicated (I couldn’t speak with all the tubes down my throat.) I wanted her to sing the Fleetwood Mac song while holding my hand. She did. Nurses and doctors stopped out in the hallway, gathered at the door of my ICU room. I cried, she cried, they cried. You could’ve heard a pin drop. Afterwards, I asked her to sing it for my memorial service. Although I came back to life, after six weeks in the hospital, my request still remains.
My friend Ann from the blog entitled, “Muddling Through My Middle Age”, often speaks so well about getting older, complete with everyday events in her life, humor, while all laced in wisdom. I’m not sure I can do so well about this topic.
While doing so, allow me to age six decades right in front of your eyes.
Recently, a friend on social media asked what was the first television image you remember in childhood. Quickly I realized I was a tad older than her readers when answers tended to be, “The space shuttle explosion”, “When JR got shot on Dallas”, or “The Bill Clinton impeachment hearing.” Mine was easy. My first TV recollection (Black & white) was watching King Kong climb the Empire State Building when suddenly the old movie from the 1930’s was interrupted by Pres. Kennedy’s funeral march. It stuck out to me visually because there was a horse hitched to a wagon, with a coffin on the bed, wrapped in the American flag. No doubt, a sight very different from the norm. I was three years old.

I don’t say “chronologically challenged”, but rather I am “chronologically gifted”, so to speak. Have there been challenges in my winding road of life thus far? Sure, way too many. But I wish to lean into what has been good in my life, along with what taught me. Although I must remind myself to do so. Follow me on this. Perhaps you can identify with me.
You may be chronologically gifted if you recall the sound of the old rotary dial telephone.
You may be chronologically gifted if you rode a stingray bike with a banana seat.
You may be chronologically gifted if you ate candy cigarettes.
You may be chronologically gifted if you remember the theme song to the old television show, “Family Affair” with Buffy and Jody.
See what I mean? If none of the above makes sense, it could be you are not yet chronologically gifted.
They are all just little delights from an era gone by.
Thank you, Kodak for the film for special cherished moments in life. I bumped into rock legend, Roger Daltrey of The Who in north Dallas. He was cheery and didn’t mind me taking a picture. It was 1975, right after a run of the cinematic version of the rock opera, “Tommy”, as well as a new solo album, “Ride A Rock Horse”. Although 16 years my senior, he looked very…youthful at 31.

Another gift to recall, how it feels to hold your first born.

It’s a gift to recall holding HER firstborn, my first grandchild, 27 years later.

You’re pretty gifted if you have fond memories of your first full-time job.

You can be gifted if you can look back on loves, life, and lacerations and still smile.

You might be chronologically gifted if you are close to wrapping up mortgage payments.

You can be gifted even if you were known for playing elderly characters, and now you save money on the old-age stage make-up.

My old stage make-up bag is not that heavy anymore. It’s okay. Counting the worry lines isn’t what I do anymore.

There was a time, a few years back, while at the check-out counter in the grocery store, the attendant bagged-up four plastic grocery bags worth of essentials for me. Then the young lady at the scanner looked at me a couple of times and asked, “Sir, would you like help getting these bags out to your car?” Bless her little pointed head. There was a second or two of collecting my cobwebbed gray matter and replied, “Awe, no thanks. I think I can handle it.” I grumbled to myself like an old man all the way to the car.
But then, there are terrific gifts that come along when chronologically gifted. Like the very first time I approached the cinema box office window at a time I found it unnecessary to “act” like a senior citizen.

Of course, the unwanted gift of being a chronological surfer are the funerals added to the schedule. Too many come my way. Friends, family, and familiar ones on your street gone before me. A childhood pal, one of my very best friends, just spent his last day of suffering with ALS. His battle was only two years in length. That’s nothing but God’s grace and mercy..
Because I am a person of faith, a Jesus follower, getting older can be seen as a gift. I am just that much closer to entering His eternal promises than when I watched JFK’s funeral procession. He said He came to offer a life that was more abundant than what it would’ve been like without His provisions, His nurtures, His guiding hand. I have noticed His road signs. Too often, I ignored them, leading me down darker rocky roads. Signs like…

When you find yourself chronologically gifted, maybe a landslide in life will be more survivable. And when you find you are indeed chronologically gifted, and you look back and see your younger reflection in the snowy hills just before a landslide brings it down, there’s the Almighty’s Voice within stating the truth, “See, I brought you through that one, and that one, and this one.”
The finish line has promise when the tank is topped with fuel for the race.
” I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and save you.” Isaiah 46:4 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Delightful, from someone who’s actually enjoying bein’ older than dirt!
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I could count the layers of my dirt. Lol
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Wonderful, but you are so young. I am chronologically gifted with TV shows like The Rifleman, Wagon Train, both in black and white. Its wonderful to see where God is leading us and how when we look back we see how many times he carried us. May you have many more wonderful chronologically happy days.
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I’m great with black & white tv shows. Good times. Good God.
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Oh, how this made me smile! Absolutely love both the thoughts and the photos! I am an oddity at 42. Rather an old soul, I guess you’d say. I may not have grown up in the times you refer to, but, because I benefited from grandparents and parents who generously shared the wonders of their times, I know and relate to them better than my own. My TV, for example, is daily parked on my favorite station, Decades. I get to enjoy the black and whites, as well as the adventures of Cissy, Buffy and Jody just before lunch. 😉 (Actually, right now, it’s tuned to a Superman marathon! )And I well recall my mother pulling out her Fleetwood Mac albums on many a cleaning day. One of the key pieces of the soundtrack of my life. And isn’t it wonderful the way He carries us through the years one thing to the next! So much to look back on with gratitude! Thank you for a joyous read! Blessings to you! 😊
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Thank you, dear lady. I believe your folks raised you right. Lol. I raised my girls with the Beatles playing in the car. So, when Sir Paul played in Dallas, I made sure they were there. By that time they knew all the lyrics. Best $450 I ever spent. And yes, looking back retro, you can see God’s guiding hand.
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Oh, you are a cool dad! I would’ve been over the moon! And, yes, very grateful for all that I was instilled with. 😊
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You are a beautiful soul, Alan. Love you and your pictures!!!
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Thx, Mandy. Bless you big-time.
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I don’t remember some of these things but I did have candy cigarettes in my childhood. This was a beautiful post and I definitely started to get weepy toward the end. I’m 43 but some days I feel so much older — what a great way to look at it when you say we are that much closer to being with our savior. Thank you for that reminder.
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Thank you, Lisa. To give you a bit of reality as a P.S., when I was 43 it was just a couple of years ago to me. I think when you get to 40, the fast-forward button gets pushed. So unfair. Glad to meet you, Lisa. Drop by again soon. God’s grip – Alan
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I am chronologically gifted as well and wish our grands and great grands had the benefit of the gift’s we had as well!
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Such a good point, Cecilia. And may God give a special installment plan of grace to our grandkids and the generations after. God’s grip to you and yours – Alan
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First of all, thank you very much for the kind words! But I have to say that your own words were very touching and eloquent. I like the idea of being chronologically gifted…because we do tend to forget that each and every year we live is a gift. I’m so very sorry about your friend, and am glad that you are a person of faith so that you know he truly is in a better place now. And you’re right, anyone who believes has nothing to fear with death, we’re simply going to our ultimate home. Thanks for this post, Alan, it was what I needed to read today!
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Good, I’m glad it encouraged you. Each is indeed a gift.
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Great post!!! I so enjoyed all the photos. I believe that being of a certain age makes us deeply appreciate so many things. I know that God is with us each step of the way…from our first steps in babyhood to every step thereafter. We never walk alone.
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So true that we never walk alone. And, each day, each breath is a gift. Thank you, Linda. God’s grip – Alan
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Sigh…I remem??….mumble
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I guess we’re all getting chronologically gifted as the time ticks on.. I remember dreading turning 30 and then it came and it’s not so bad, now I’m 37 and I’m encouraged over how much wiser I’m getting as the years turn…praise Him!!
Great post as always, I always love your words..so thankful God healed you when you were so sick..wonderful pictures!!
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As time goes by, as the song says. Thank you, Alicia. God’s grip – Alan
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