๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ : ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง
The weather off the patio is chilly and cloudy. It is definitely not what you'd expect for one of the last days of May. I'm sitting here with my cup of Joe, listening to the birds chirp and sing as they flit through our backyard. My thoughts this morning are on the steady tick of time.
Twenty-seven years ago, I was fresh out of grad school, working for ADM in Des Moines. We hadnโt yet closed on our new house, so we were living in the Residence Inn in Clive while I worked and we waited for the keys.
Now here I am, thinking about what gift to get my daughter and son-in-law as they celebrate their first wedding anniversary in a few days. Iโm also wondering what weโll do for a car for our youngest as he approaches โliberation dayโ and earns his driverโs license later this year. And all the while, Iโm worrying about getting the last of our crop planted. The weather in NE Indiana and NW Ohio has been less than cooperative.
As Tracy Lawrence said in his โ90s song, ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด ๐๐ฏ. Yes, it does.
For fun, I asked Merlin, my ChatGPT sidekick, to rework the lyrics of that classic tune to reflect my life as a proud Gen Xโer. Hereโs what he came up with:
Verse 1 โ Childhood (Mid-to-Late โ70s):
Sisterโs got pigtails, bell-bottom jeans
Momโs making casseroles, Dadโs watching the scene
Happy Days plays on the black-and-white screen
Three channels click on the old TV
A Big Wheel rolls through the backyard lawn
Time marches on, time marches on...
Verse 2 โ Teens (โ80s):
Brotherโs got a Walkman, rockinโ some Van Halen
ATARI fires up, Pac-Manโs trailinโ
Momโs hairโs big, Dadโs got a stash
MTVโs playing Thriller back to back
The school bus grinds at the break of dawn
Time marches on, time marches on...
Verse 3 โ Young Adult (โ90s):
Heโs drivinโ a Ford, payinโ college dues
Takinโ grad school calls on a corded phone too
Wedding bells ring, a new life begins
ADM paycheck covers apartment rent
Dial-up screams as AOL comes on
Time marches on, time marches on...
Verse 4 โ Today:
Now itโs hybrids and iPhones, AI on tap
Heโs planting beans, but keeps checking the app
The youngest's near drivinโ, the eldest is wed
His careerโs in flux but his purpose ain't dead
Coffee in hand on the patio at dawn
Time marches on, time marches on...
I think Merlin nailed it.
Time really does march on.
Whatโs your โtick of timeโ moment this weekโthe one that made you stop and look back or ahead?