i was young and now i am old.

I was young and now I am old. (Psalm 37:25)

For some reason, old ladies used to love me, even when I was in my 20’s and early 30’s. For some reason I reminded them of their fathers. I wore a long mustache, vested suits with a watch chain (stylish in the 70’s and 80’s) and wire rimmed glasses. That gave me a somewhat antique look. Coupled with the fact that I was so tall, I just looked like their fathers.

It amazed me at how many would say, you look just like my father. It was kind of amusing for a 26 year old man to hear that from a 78 year old lady. But I did. I had a definite Teddy Roosevelt look to me.

The one day, a girl told me I reminded her of her father. It was a shock.

Wait, I thought, how did I get from old ladies’ fathers to young women’s fathers. It was a transition that was not so welcome.

I always wanted a black leather jacket. When I was young, I would put one on in the store and someone would make vrooming noises like a motorcycle. Someone else would tell me that I looked mean in it. So I never got one.

Then one day I put one on and asked Ella how I looked and she said fine. All of a sudden there were no motorcycles in the background. I was just me. So I bought it and wore it.

Wait, I thought, how did I get from a motorcycle guy to just a guy in a coat. It also was a transition I did not entirely welcome.

Life changes and then you die. One day you are a vibrant young man who can bench press a Buick. You have stamina and wind and, well, I never was that handsome, but still. I looked a lot better than I do now. And like someone said, the older I get the better I was.

But to go from old ladies’ dads to young women’s dads is hard. I am waiting for some good-looking girl to tell me I remind her of her grandfather.

I will hit her with my walker.