My platitudes don't hold their interest and I can hardly blame them for that. My real stories are all out of date. So what if I can speak firsthand about the Spanish flu, the advent of the automobile, world wars, cold wars, guerrilla wars, and Sputnik — that's all ancient history now. But what else do I have to offer? Nothing happens to me anymore. That's the reality of getting old, and I guess that's really the crux of the matter. I'm not ready to be old yet.

But it all zipped by. One minute Marlena and I were up to our eyeballs, and the next thing we knew the kids were borrowing the car and fleeing the coop for college. And now, here I am. In my nineties and alone.

Even as your body betrays you, your mind denies it.

I think there is just a vein of humanity that really loves animals and really loves to read about them.

I stare at her for a long moment. I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her more than I've ever wanted anything in my life.

The thought has cheered me, and I'd like to hang onto that. Must protect my little pockets of happiness.

We traveled for two weeks with a pickled hippo.