Think for a minute or two. How many times did you check your watch today? Time to shower or shave, time to have breakfast if you have time or grab a cup of coffee to be on time for work in the rush hour traffic. Your work day is over so it is time to hit the traffic again. Ok! you made it home. Time to eat, watch some TV or whatever and now time to go to bed and rest. Most of us don’t go night to sleep when our heads hit that pillow. We have thoughts about what we should have said or done.

An older person may wish, “I wish I wasn’t growing old,” but flip the coin over and it sure beats dying young.

Some kids and younger people wish to be big or older. The think TV is real life. Sorry to disappoint you but in real life you have to leave that coffee shop and go to work.

A good film for a teenager to watch is called, “BIG.” Tom Hanks puts a coin wishing machine and wishes to become BIG. His wish is granted.

Yes, my friends, that film told us, “You only get one childhood and one life.” Years ago there were many songs about time. Old Timers may remember, “Seems Like Old Times,” “Turn Back The Hands of Time,” or “Dearie.” The last one ended with, “If you re- member, If you remember, well Dearie your much older than I.”

This is a precise instant, second minute hour, day, week, month or year. It is determined by a clock and a calendar.

We think and dream about, “The Good Old Days.” I think this is good and very important. Rudyard Kipling wrote a famous poem. It was called, “If.” I quote him, “If you can dream and not make your dreams your master.” The Past is very important in our lives, but only a foolish person learns little or nothing from past experiences. My Mother used to say, “There is no Fool like an Old Fool.” Some people still say, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” I wonder if Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy would agree with them?

Tomorrow is a word used by all of us. I’ll see you tomorrow, catch you tomorrow, etc. It’s such an innocent word but can you promise me that you will see me tomorrow? The answer is, “NO!” Because the only one that can guarantee me this is the Man Upstairs. I am called a Senior Citizen now. Never thought I could be ranked so high. I check the obituaries in the newspaper every day and these guys are younger than me. They are striking out early. I have some advice for my friends out there. Take it one day at a time, don’t bank on tomorrow but thank God if you get out of bed. Live for today because tomorrow is not on Auto Pilot.

How many times did you check your watch today? I just checked my Timex and it’s time to hit the sack.

I’ll see you tomorrow if God so desires.

-Thomas Francis Clark