Timber Valley SKP Park of Oregon, Inc

by Fred Prout

This is a “Think Piece”. Someone suggested that thinking was not a bad idea. I should try it. “ Try it, you’ll like it “. I did and I do.

The other day I was having coffee with my sweetheart. She had the music thingie playing Irish pub music. One of my favorites. Out of nowhere it brought me back to a time and place of intermittent joy surrounded by a whole bunch of pain. Almost fifty years ago.

I was living in Connecticut and my daughter was in Canada. I was fortunate that I was occasionally able to make the 531 mile trip to see her. Driving eight hours and fifteen minutes north, and, what seemed like an eternity, south. The wipers on my eyes working overtime.

Between the driving was a great visit. We tried to squeeze a whole lot of time into a very little space. I know you understand that time is not constant. Sometimes it flies by and sometimes it drags. Going north flying. Going south dragging. Really dragging.

One of the best things we did was get together with some of her friends and visit THE OLD SOD. An Irish pub. An occasional beer combined with enjoying the music and the company. A truly wonderful time. Fortunately I never questioned how my teenage daughter knew of such a place.

I was describing this to my sweetheart, and, the squirrel in my head got off his wheel and whispered in my ear. I had one of those moments when an idea tries to fly through your head and not get caught. Well, I caught it. I’m going to try to explain what that squirrel had to say. But, first some background.

It seems like ever since we, as a species , started thinking, we looked for things that would help or hurt us. Make the crops grow. Provide food and shelter. Keep the monsters at bay. We went from praying to trees and rocks to modern theology in a relatively short time. Part of that theology, for many of us, is the idea of reward and punishment. That got us to the concept of heaven and hell. Places.

But if not places, WHAT IF?

WHAT IF instead of a place it was something different. Maybe we earn points for how we live. Plus and minus. Since I hope for the best let’s just do the good choices. WHAT IF in my final seconds of this life the angels came and told me that I had earned a score just on the good side. Therefore, in my last second of life I could relive one day of my past. My mind would condense a twenty four hour period into that final second. The higher the score the better. The ones who got a bad score would not get a choice. The angels would choose.

My sweetheart and I talked about this. I said at the time that I would choose one of those days with my daughter. I have since spent many hours in thought about many of the other options I might have. In the seventy plus years of my life I have had some truly wonderful days. I have had many fantastic people wander through my life. For varying lengths of time. Many places and experiences to consider. I finally decided two things.

One: I wished that I had earned a higher score.Lived a better life. Maybe get to pick two days. Two: My original choice held. A day of happiness in the middle of days and weeks of emptiness was what I would take. How about you? Think about those wonderful days you could choose from. Don’t wait. Relive them now. Maybe pick up some extra points.

Fred