when i was nineteen, i was pretty sure that people in their fifties were either stupidly or brilliantly settled. there was no romance to being in one’s fifties, because one was sure to be so desperately past pretty that love could hardly blossom in such gray and wrinkled landscape. there was no adventure to fifties, because there was mortgage and grandchildren and pensions and jobs coming to a close. there was nothing to look forward to, no risks and few unexpected rewards.
last year, i made a new year’r resolution to meet all 325 of my facebook friends–the ones i hadn’t seen in thirty years, the ones i had never met, the ones i wasn’t quite sure would be too happy to see me, the ones i needed to resolve a few things with, the ones i wasn’t even quite sure why i was friends with them. i went around the country, around the world. . . .
i took everything i owned in one bag. never checked anything because i sort of don’t trust baggage handlers and airlines. now the bag is in my refrigerator along with diet coke, orangina, perfume, and bottles of beer. i am having a house sale in one week. this is how i roll now!
this year’s adventure has been to meet more facebook friends who are new to me. a lot of them have anxiety and panic issues like i do. just last night, i texted with a facebook friend who prefers to be anonymous because he is scared everybody will think he’s crazy. he’s not crazy–he’s having a perfectly reasonable response to a chaotic, confusing, irrational world! he’s decided to drop out and stay home by himself. on the other hand, he is unhappy. and that is a good reason to get out of the house. to find a purpose. even if the purpose is sort of silly–like meeting your facebook friends.
next week, the house closes. and the place–the “safe place”–of an agoraphobic will belong to another family. i am so happy for them. i know they will have many good years of raising their children, of having parties and get togethers, of feeling secure. and me?
i’m happy and really grateful! last year’s experience has at least taught me something! when you pack a bag, roll your clothes into a single tube and baby wipes are good for a lot of disasters you will encounter!
i owe a lot to facebook and to mr. zuckerberg! today’s share price is now $28 and i sense a revival. because zuckerberg has put us in touch with our friends, our family, and sometimes with the part of us that is 51 years old and still wants to be a nineteen year old adventuress!
arlynnpresser 
June 15th, 2012 at 7:00 pm
Hi Arlynn,
It’s never too late for adventure. I’m about to make a career move that will take me out the home that I’ve lived in longer than any other place in my life; some parts can be sad like looking at your children’s old toys and pictures but you know life goes on.
Your story is a lot more interesting than “Eat, Pray Love”. You must of course get someone equally interesting to play the lead (if you are not available). I did miss out on the early parts of your story. Where are you moving to?
June 15th, 2012 at 7:01 pm
don, i am absolutely ready for the next step! and as for playing the lead? i’d go with helen mirren or sandra bullock! good luck with the new career? what can you tell me about it??
June 15th, 2012 at 7:52 pm
Yes – Sandra Bullock my first choice. I was a hospital engineer for many years until one night I had to go to the ER (gall bladder issues). While they did tests post gall bladder surgery, they tell me I have a pancreatic mass and about 4 months to live.
After 4 scary months and a number of visits to MD Anderson, the mass disappears in the last MRI. One dialogue later with the Creator and I discover that I have a new mission. A message apperared on my computer about a month ago for a COO position at a hospital and I put in for it. I found out this week that I was selected and will be moving in about a month or 2.
Are you moving forward with a book?
June 15th, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Don, that is a fabulous story!!! You need to write a book yourself!!! And Arlynn, I’d say the ones to play you should be either Michelle Pfeiffer or Catherine Zeta-Jones!
June 16th, 2012 at 1:35 am
Unfortunately for me, my writing skills are confined to the technical arena. Arlynn’s writing just flows along in the kind of spontaneous way that people like to read like her grandfather Fritz.
I considered the opportunity to have a dress rehersal for my own death a rare gift; the bonus being the removal of fear from my life. I found out that fear is the mind killer, the little death that keeps us from really living. Knowing that the real me is immortal lets me enjoy the ride now.
But – I’ve missed out on the story. What are you going to do now Arlynn? Travel? New job?