Cradle to Grave
What don’t we know?
A few years ago I learned that the body will fight to maintain its ph balance. We* now only drink water that is 9.5 on the alkali scale. When we began doing this I had some health issues that have since cleared up. Here’s the lesson, what else don’t we know?
When I was in my early twenties I was told that I would likely die around age 42 because my Father died at that age and my Mother died at age 44. I’m now 75. Wait, what else do I need to know to make the right life choices?
I started playing football at age thirteen and six months in the 9th grade. I played through high school, enduring a couple of serious injuries. But hey, football was cool and I was Captain. Oh, the dates you get when you play. Then I received two full scholarships (Claremont Men's College, and San Jose State). Rutgers offered a half scholarship.
I went instead to the Air Force and played semi-pro both in and out of the Air Force until I was twenty-five. Two more serious injuries and then a final choice, play football or continue walking. Do you want to guess? You’re right, walking. Well, at least until I was 68. Then after living on drugs on and off due to serious football injuries, everything went south and my back was fused. L3,4,5 and S1. Finally some relief. However, you won’t find me walking around Sam’s or Smith’s markets with my wife. I ride. Fortunately, I never became addicted to Vicodin or anything else. So, what else didn’t I know?
I could go on but I think I’ve made the point. Few of us take the time to stop to think that our intended consequences WILL also lead to unintended consequences. Most of the unintended is simply because we don’t know what’s next. Or, at least, we’re not thinking and preparing for what’s next.
Final example: From my early youth until I was in my early sixties, yard work was something I enjoyed. It was relaxing and rewarding. For most of those years, we had a third of an acre in grass, fruit trees, and plants. Today, we live on a fourth of an acre. What grass we do have is artificial. We have more than twenty low-maintenance trees ringing the property with flowering plants everywhere (thanks to my wife).
My wife, that is younger than me used to love watering her plants. When she was in her fifties I offered to have someone come in and make sure every tree, shrub, and blade of real grass was watered mechanically. She said, “Thank you, I’m good. I really enjoy it.” Everything is subject to change. This we can all agree on.
Today, (she’s now retired and in her early sixties) all trees, shrubs, the pool, and even the hanging pots are all mechanically watered. Turn a valve and that makes it happen.
When I first started writing in high school, teachers used to have a saying:
Are we? Are we thinking about what comes next?
- We now only drink water that is 9.5 on the alkali scale. This is what we do because it’s part of our belief system. We also have other things we do that perhaps most people don’t.
- This essay is about what we don’t know. Sometimes we think we have it all figured out and something changes. My family and I wish we better understood the future but no one does. We can only live the very best example of our life . . . today.
