First post: Is this my stop?

I was on the bus many years ago on my daily commute from New York City. We rolled out of the Lincoln Tunnel and onto the local streets in Jersey and all of a sudden the guy sitting beside me who had not spoken since we boarded says “Is this my stop?”.

These were the days of popular recreational drug use, so the question needed careful thought. Did it come out of Reefer Madness or someplace on the right side of controlled substance laws -- maybe some textbook pathology that challenged higher brain function? Or was I the problem, one beer over the line myself? I had no answer so it came out something like: “I have no opinion on that”. Then he told me he was going to Englewood Hospital and it was just ahead so I rang the bell and the bus stopped and he got off and the bus rolled on. I recall feeling that the trip had gone well. He had chosen the right transport, been given good instructions and had arrived safely at his hospital-of-destination and where he wound up -- visitors lounge or rehab unit -- was outside the influence of either the bus driver or myself. We just got him there.

That's pretty much how it goes in life. There's no GPS unit that will help you choose the fork in the road you should take. You have to rely on your own wits and experience and ask the right people the right questions along the way.

The bus ride is a fine metaphor. “Get on the bus” the man said and he meant it to be a call to go somewhere and do something as opposed to nowhere and nothing. I’ve been on (and off) the bus for 68 years. I’ve been places I never in my wildest dreams thought existed when I was 10 and came through places in my 20s and 30s that I am not able to recall clearly.

Long ago we Senior Creative People chose the “go somewhere, do something” route and our resumes show it. We haven’t been everywhere and done everything but the Been/Done List is long and there is time left.

Now we’re off on a new adventure. If you’d like to join us, this is your ticket. Comment. Critique. Carp. You're invited. Get on the bus.