Where did that come from?

Wasn’t there yesterday.

You just didn’t notice.

No, I didn’t.

There, on the back of my hand, and there’s another one.

Yes, and on my face, even one on my chest.

What’s happening to me?

Getting old.

I guess, but why now?

Getting old.

It’s like time-release. The age spots come out when it’s time.

It’s like the expiration date: “Good until…”

Or the warranty on a car. They pay clever people a lot of money to figure out how long it lasts, you pay for the insurance, and just after the warranty runs out, the car breaks down and they don’t have to pay. They timed it perfectly.

Yeah, like those companies they cleverly call “life insurance.” They know just how long you’ll last and how much they can squeeze out of you. It’s gambling. They gamble you’ll live long enough for them to make a profit. They invest your money and keep the interest. They make out like a bandit. They are a bandit because they rob from the poor to give to the rich. They gamble you’ll live longer to give them more. In a gamble, they’re the House, and the House always wins.

I know, I know, and getting old they say is “not for the faint of heart.”

Yes. Don’t spell that “feint.”

Everybody was young once, in the green of youth. But “it isn’t easy being green.”

But it’s harder turning brown. The spots are even on my scalp.

“c’est la vie.”

Or “ fin de siecle,” which I can misread as the end of the circle, the circle and cycle of life.

It happens.

____ happens.

There are many ways to fill in the blank.

And it ain’t over til it’s over. Don’t need no fat lady to sing the song.

I even get used to the final words, mostly euphemisms, so I don’t have to say.

Yes, and it’s still a matter of choice. I choose to “look on the bright side.”

When things break down, and I can no longer do what I did, I curl up in my sleep, I sit in my chair.

I used to be able to stand erect. Now it takes a pill to bring me to attention. The label says, “If the condition persists for more than four hours, call your doctor.”

Yes, to thank him.