The beginning of the ‘ber months have arrived and I’m officially settled into my own head for heavenly deep breaths. Heaven is a point of view, and mine just happens to be cool, misty breezes coming through the guitar-window, warm beverages, and the smell of campfires. Luckily, I have a lady who loves those same things.

Imagine being in a committed relationship with someone who hates what you love the most. I don’t need to; I lived it a couple of times. No harm/no foul; young people do stupid things when they think with nostalgic wieners. Life’s a journey; not a destination. I learned that from the lead singer of Aerosmith.

Yesterday, my wife and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. We have a significant age gap, so men sometimes mistake us for father/daughter. They don’t always say so out loud, but I can read faces like a super power. I also briefly studied psychological criminal profiling in the early days of my writing career, and it kicks in at the most inopportune times. Luckily for us, it works out: She acts older than most women her age, and I’m a sixteen year old stuck in a middle-aged man’s body. That last part has been professionally diagnosed by a trusted source. The army taught me how to turn it on and off with the flick of a switch, though. Don’t; Just don’t.

We celebrated in the way we vowed: riding rollercoasters. This morning, my body is numb. That’s mostly because it’s a holiday and I prayed to the spirit trees at sunrise. Before that, I was walking like an elderly man who experienced a car crash. It was fun, though. As a society, I think we should do that more often; have fun, I mean. Strip yourself of any gang affiliation (red hats included) and just go have fun with total strangers. To fit in, just for one day. What a blessing that would be.

Deep diving, I feel as though my entire life was spent on the defensive since I returned back home from the military. I know I’m not the only one who feels that way either. A couple of my Army buddies have begun to notice this as well as things get more divisive in this country. That said, my gorilla mode flickered all the way to the car leaving the theme park.

It was still early enough on a beautiful day for there to still be a steady stream of people pouring into the park. Uncontrollably, I picked apart each passerby via past experience and professional education. Some of them wore their pride on their sleeves while others – like me and mine – have adopted a more incognito approach. There are too many idiots with guns running around the world today. I respect them, we own a few, but they’re meant to protect me and mine; not to be used as a problem solving tool our society’s collective, feeble minds’ are too unevolved to debate.

All stiff-cock affiliations aside, what I saw the most were my own eyes approaching me with every glob of ganged humanity. The children in each unit had that, “Wow! That old man still rides rollercoasters,” look on their faces, and I wear that badge with pride. I’m well aware that society doesn’t consider me to be an old man, but children do. When we were children, we did. Everyone in their twenties were still clinging to youth and you were old AF at thirty.

Metaphorically, the journey to the truck was more like an awakening than a tired, broken lumbering. I’ve still got a lot of life and love left to offer the world, unexpected illnesses aside. The older I get, the more I look forward to that journey as well. Not that I’d want to end my life prematurely – I’d like to aim that energy toward others – but “what happens next” is the roller coaster I have yet to ride.

I’ve seen it from the highway, though. Several times. I’m curious.

What if life is the miserable, late-summer-sweat-fest queue line of our journey and “what comes next” is the ride itself? I think that’s something I can believe in without waking up early on a Sunday morning to impress the neighbors with my funeral suit. Just don’t forget to hold your hands up during the whole ride. No one likes a coaster-wimp.

Preach truths, toke jokes, and shoplift Amazon, my friends.

My enemies too.