Well here it is a new year and I??™m still alive. ? I didn??™t think I was supposed to be.?  My dad died when he was 70 years old.?  That was in 1973. ? I thought if dad lived 70 years, then that??™s what I would do.

You know the three score and ten thing.

In 1973, that seemed like a long time off. ? I was only 41 years old then. ? I didn??™t give it much thought at the time.?  Then in 2002 when I turned 70 years old, I gave it a lot of though.?  November 12^th of 2002 was a real red letter day for me.

I wondered how I would go.?  It??™s not dieing that I??™m afraid of. It??™s the pain of dieing that I fear.?  I??™m right with god and ready when he is.? 

When I woke up on November 13^th, I lay there in bed wondering if I was dead.?  It didn??™t take me long to decide that I was still alive.?  My back hurt, my hips hurt and my nose was running.?  Besides all that I needed to go to the bathroom.

I got up and went into the bathroom and relieved my bladder.?  Now that I??™m up I thought, I might as well go ahead and shave.?  So I shaved and brushed my teeth.?  Then I took a hot shower.?  That always helps my aching joints.

After I got dressed and made my bed I went into the kitchen. ? I was hungry so I cooked three strips of bacon and two eggs over medium.?  While these were cooking I put the tea kettle on the stove to heat some water for Johnnie??™s instant coffee.

I got the milk out of the refrigerator for my drink. ? I don??™t drink coffee.?  By the time I got through eating, the tea kettle was whistling and Johnnie came in and made her first cup of coffee.?  ???Johnnie, can I make you some breakfast?????  Her answer was, ???no, I want to drink my coffee and wake up before I even think about breakfast.???

So I went into the office to check and answer our email.?  We had 36 emails already.?  33 were mine and 3 were Johnnie??™s. ? I started down the list of email, reading, answering and deleting until I had the list whittled down to 6.?  Then Johnnie came in and asked if she had any mail this morning.

???Johnnie have you decided what you want for breakfast yet?????  ???Loren, you??™ve been in here over two hours now.?  I??™ve already cooked and eaten my breakfast.?  Now get out of that chair and let me read my mail.???

Well I let little fox out and went out on the front porch and sat down in one of the chairs we have on the porch.

Ok, this is typical of what has been going on every day since November 13^th, 2002.?  The way I have it figured is every day I live now is a bonus.?  Here it is January 1^st, 2005 and I??™m still alive.?  So God must have a reason for keeping me here.

I don??™t know what that reason is, but I??™m going to keep on doing what I??™ve been doing until I find out.?  In the mean time I??™m having fun writing these little stories and sending them to people.?  In fact I??™ve already started my next story. ? I would tell you about it but, that??™s a whole nother story for a different time.

?© Copyright 2005

Loren Moore?