Stories I don't know
26/08/24 01:44
John Tinniswood was born the year that the Titanic sank. He recently turned 112 and according to Guinness World Records he became the world’s oldest living man in April when 114-year-old Juan Vicente Pérez Mora died. Mr. Tinniswood will need to live for a few more years in order to become the oldest man ever. Jiroemon Kimura, who died in 2013, lived to the age of 116 years 54 days. The world’s oldest living woman, and oldest living person, is also from Japan. Tomiko Itooka is currently 116 years old. When interviewed by BBC news recently Mr. Tinniswood said he had no secret to his longevity. “Why I’ve lived that long, I have no idea at all,” he said. “I can’t think of any special secrets I have . . . You either live long or you live short and you can’t do much about it.”
His line about living long or living short came to me as I reflected on a bit of our family history. Back in 2010 my brother died of a sudden heart attack. He was only 52 years old - less than half the age that Mr. Tinniswood is now. “You either live long or you live short.” I guess my brother lived short. Yesterday we received the news that his widow has now passed away. Like my brother she was several years younger than I. From my point of view she lived short, too. The trajectories of their lives makes me wonder about my niece, their only child. She is young to have lost both of her parents. In her thirties and a mother herself her life’s journey has been a hard one. I don’t know many of the details of her life. Somehow despite being relatives, we have not been able to remain close to her. I only had the opportunity to be with her a few times in her life. Although we have kept in touch over social media and an occasional phone call, I have not been with her face to face since just after my brother passed away. Not knowing as much of her story as I wish, I don’t know how she is weathering the storms of this life. With my brother’s genetics, I hope she is keeping track of her heart health, but I do not know. Stress and heart disease often go together and a young mom trying to make her way in the world without the support of her parents certainly has stress in her life.
There are so many stories of people that I simply don’t know.
Yesterday, I was riding my bike. It was a beautiful day here and there were a lot of people out enjoying the last weekend before the start of school. I had just passed a cluster of other bike riders when a car suddenly backed out of a driveway onto the road on which we were riding, crossing the bike lane. I was easily able to avoid the car and was just wondering why the driver had failed to wait for the bikes to pass when the driver honked the horn of the car. I often hear car horns and can’t figure out why they have been sounded. It isn’t as if the loud noise has a consistent meaning. Maybe the driver was startled by the bikes and sounded the horn in alarm. Maybe the driver didn’t know the law and thought the bikes should have yielded to the car. Sometimes drivers of cars act as if they should always have the right of way over bicycles. Maybe the driver was trying to warn the bicyclists of the presence of the car, though it was a bit late for that. We all knew that the car was there by the time the horn sounded. Because of the way I think, I decided not to let the blast of a car horn ruin a beautiful day and rode on without knowing why the horn was sounded. There is a story there, however, that I don’t know.
As is sometimes the case, I stopped for a decaf coffee when I was out and about. I was sitting on the deck outside the coffee shop enjoying the day and enjoying watching people when a cluster of folks came out of the store across the parking lot. They made their way over to where their vehicle was parked near where I sat. There was an argument between them. One member of the group wanted to get a coffee at the shop where I was sitting. She argued with the others and tried to convince them to come with her. Failing to do so, she asked them to wait while she got a coffee. Another person threatened to drive off without her. I don’t think it would have happened, but they spent more time discussing whether or not to have a coffee than it would have taken her to get one. Then they started getting into their vehicle. It was clearly a small car with room for only five. The woman who had wanted to get coffee was the sixth to get in the car, cramming herself in the same seat as another occupant. I didn’t see any seat belts getting buckled. There is a story there that I don’t know.
I took a short cut through a park that has gravel walking paths on my way home. The walking path is lovely, winding through birch and evergreen trees. The birch trees lost a lot of leaves during heavy rainfall and winds a couple of days ago. The yellow leaves make the pathway even more idilic in my opinion. We often walk there and I was thinking of returning soon without my bike just to walk in the leaves with its comfortable fall feeling. However, as I approached a corner, I could hear the roar of a small gasoline engine. I slowed at first thinking that someone must be using a chainsaw in a nearby back yard. What I discovered was a man with a large backpack leaf blower clearing the pathway. It was a Sunday afternoon. I don’t think he was doing maintenance for the park district. He might have purchased a new leaf blower and wanted to try it out. Or he might have one that is too big for his own yard, so he takes on clearing the pathway for the fun of it. I know from experience that had he not blown the leaves away the wind would have done so in a few days anyway. And it is early enough in the fall that there will be many more leaves in the weeks to come. If he wants the pathway to be free from leaves for a reason I can’t imagine he will have to return. It doesn’t make any sense to me. There is a story I don’t know about a man and his leaf blower.
Maybe Mr. Tinniswood is right. There are mysteries in this life that we will never know. You either live long or you live short. You either honk your horn or you don’t. You get a cup of coffee or you pass up on the coffee. You blow the leaves or you enjoy them where they are. I suppose there are some secrets there, but I can’t think of what they might be. Life holds many mysteries.
His line about living long or living short came to me as I reflected on a bit of our family history. Back in 2010 my brother died of a sudden heart attack. He was only 52 years old - less than half the age that Mr. Tinniswood is now. “You either live long or you live short.” I guess my brother lived short. Yesterday we received the news that his widow has now passed away. Like my brother she was several years younger than I. From my point of view she lived short, too. The trajectories of their lives makes me wonder about my niece, their only child. She is young to have lost both of her parents. In her thirties and a mother herself her life’s journey has been a hard one. I don’t know many of the details of her life. Somehow despite being relatives, we have not been able to remain close to her. I only had the opportunity to be with her a few times in her life. Although we have kept in touch over social media and an occasional phone call, I have not been with her face to face since just after my brother passed away. Not knowing as much of her story as I wish, I don’t know how she is weathering the storms of this life. With my brother’s genetics, I hope she is keeping track of her heart health, but I do not know. Stress and heart disease often go together and a young mom trying to make her way in the world without the support of her parents certainly has stress in her life.
There are so many stories of people that I simply don’t know.
Yesterday, I was riding my bike. It was a beautiful day here and there were a lot of people out enjoying the last weekend before the start of school. I had just passed a cluster of other bike riders when a car suddenly backed out of a driveway onto the road on which we were riding, crossing the bike lane. I was easily able to avoid the car and was just wondering why the driver had failed to wait for the bikes to pass when the driver honked the horn of the car. I often hear car horns and can’t figure out why they have been sounded. It isn’t as if the loud noise has a consistent meaning. Maybe the driver was startled by the bikes and sounded the horn in alarm. Maybe the driver didn’t know the law and thought the bikes should have yielded to the car. Sometimes drivers of cars act as if they should always have the right of way over bicycles. Maybe the driver was trying to warn the bicyclists of the presence of the car, though it was a bit late for that. We all knew that the car was there by the time the horn sounded. Because of the way I think, I decided not to let the blast of a car horn ruin a beautiful day and rode on without knowing why the horn was sounded. There is a story there, however, that I don’t know.
As is sometimes the case, I stopped for a decaf coffee when I was out and about. I was sitting on the deck outside the coffee shop enjoying the day and enjoying watching people when a cluster of folks came out of the store across the parking lot. They made their way over to where their vehicle was parked near where I sat. There was an argument between them. One member of the group wanted to get a coffee at the shop where I was sitting. She argued with the others and tried to convince them to come with her. Failing to do so, she asked them to wait while she got a coffee. Another person threatened to drive off without her. I don’t think it would have happened, but they spent more time discussing whether or not to have a coffee than it would have taken her to get one. Then they started getting into their vehicle. It was clearly a small car with room for only five. The woman who had wanted to get coffee was the sixth to get in the car, cramming herself in the same seat as another occupant. I didn’t see any seat belts getting buckled. There is a story there that I don’t know.
I took a short cut through a park that has gravel walking paths on my way home. The walking path is lovely, winding through birch and evergreen trees. The birch trees lost a lot of leaves during heavy rainfall and winds a couple of days ago. The yellow leaves make the pathway even more idilic in my opinion. We often walk there and I was thinking of returning soon without my bike just to walk in the leaves with its comfortable fall feeling. However, as I approached a corner, I could hear the roar of a small gasoline engine. I slowed at first thinking that someone must be using a chainsaw in a nearby back yard. What I discovered was a man with a large backpack leaf blower clearing the pathway. It was a Sunday afternoon. I don’t think he was doing maintenance for the park district. He might have purchased a new leaf blower and wanted to try it out. Or he might have one that is too big for his own yard, so he takes on clearing the pathway for the fun of it. I know from experience that had he not blown the leaves away the wind would have done so in a few days anyway. And it is early enough in the fall that there will be many more leaves in the weeks to come. If he wants the pathway to be free from leaves for a reason I can’t imagine he will have to return. It doesn’t make any sense to me. There is a story I don’t know about a man and his leaf blower.
Maybe Mr. Tinniswood is right. There are mysteries in this life that we will never know. You either live long or you live short. You either honk your horn or you don’t. You get a cup of coffee or you pass up on the coffee. You blow the leaves or you enjoy them where they are. I suppose there are some secrets there, but I can’t think of what they might be. Life holds many mysteries.
