Last Monday, the first day of the second half of rapidly disappearing 2025, found me at the medical office building where I’ve volunteered for 13 years, manning its information desk. The part-time gig keeps me on my toes. Many patients arrive without knowing which suite their doctor works in, for instance. It’s my job to point them in the right direction. And sometimes I come to peoples’ “rescue,” such as when I aid those who, their medical appointments completed, can’t remember where in the nearby parking garage they deposited their cars. Off I go with them to that multi-level structure to solve the problem.
I like the job, which occupies me for four hours each week. Without it, I’d have a relative paucity of human interactions, seeing that I spend a hefty percentage of my time resting my aged, bony ass upon the living room sofa. Plus, helping people out boosts my spirits. Basically, I need to feel as though I’ve still got something to offer society.
Last Monday was a typical day at work. I answered questions from, and helped unravel somewhat-knotty situations for, approximately 50 individuals. However, during my shift something struck me more than it usually does: I clearly realized that a whole lot of visitors to the building were using and relying on canes, walkers and wheelchairs. And nowhere near all of those folks were senior citizens. This was a sobering observation. It brought to the surface a piece of self-knowledge that normally resides in the bottom reaches of my subconscious. Namely, I am extremely fortunate. Here I am, pushing age 80, and I get around on my legs just fine. I can walk for five or more miles, no problem. And though it would be foolhardy of me to attempt an all-out sprint, trotting remains within my powers. Yeah, anything might yet happen, but I’ve retained more than decent mobility.
And my good fortune extends way beyond my legs. My health in general, according to medical tests and my physicians, is solid. I’ve had one very dangerous health situation in my life. Thanks to modern medicine and just plain positive luck, it appears to be permanently confined to the rearview mirror. Of course, nobody knows that for certain, but the odds are in my favor.
What’s more, I have plenty to eat, and my country (the USA), though in the hands of a freedoms-suppressing megalomaniac, is not a war zone. I almost feel guilty about my good fortune, considering how difficult so many people have it in the States and all around the world. Poor health, poor healthcare availability, and inadequate food intake are some of the injustices plaguing hundreds of millions of individuals. And armed conflicts make life a living hell, or close to it, for so, so many. Not just in Ukraine and Gaza, but in violence-beset nations that don’t receive much media attention. Haiti and Sudan, to name two, and Myanmar and Yemen, to name two more.
Yes, the human condition, in certain respects, is horrible. Always has been. Always will be.
Considerate guy that I occasionally am, I’ll leave you on a sunny note: My good fortune expanded at the tail end of last year when I discovered Abigail Lapell. She’s a fine Canadian singer-songwriter who isn’t too well known outside her home country. Her latest album, Anniversary, came out 16 months ago. I’m in love with one of its songs, Flowers In My Hair, which is the first song in many a moon that I can’t (and don’t want to) get out of my head. A meditation on going with the flow while letting love reign over you, it is dominated by angelic vocals and by mesmerizing percussion provided via handclaps and foot stomps. Flowers In My Hair, to me, is sweet as a peach and free as a bird. Give it a listen.
Yeah, Another Blogger 
Enjoyed this read and admire your volunteering. The world needs more kind-hearted people like you! I try to volunteer when and where I can, with my last time in Ukraine last year.
Sadly, there are too many people in the world in a bad way. Remember Bob Geldof’s Band Aid in 1985? I’m sure it had and still has an effect, but there’s still too much disparity between the rich and the poor.
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Right, there are enormous numbers of people who are barely getting by or not getting by at all.
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It’s so sad and all’s we can do is try and help by volunteering.
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It’s such a good thing to reflect on gratefulness! Thanks for reminding me!
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I need to reflect on gratefulness more often than I do, too.
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Self-awareness is an admirable quality in anyone…..and for oldsters like us, a sense of humour helps, too. Thanks for another uplifting piece!
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Glad you liked it. See ya!
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Thanks for this reminder that we’re better off than we think we are, and to remember both to appreciate it, and to help others who need it.
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You’ve gotten right to the heart of it!
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Great to read your list things to be grateful for, Neil. I make a little list every night. These are tough times, and we need to remind ourselves how lucky we are–and do our little bits to make things easier for others, as you do.
Flowers In My Hair was the perfect ending.
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Evening, Annie. Things usually work out better in the long run when people help each other and share with one another.
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For sure!
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Hey Neil: great song: I was singing to this,. clapping my feet, simple, moving lyrics; thanks for this bright start to my day 🙂 and btw I am a similar age and I’m still walking, going to gym three times a week 🙂
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You’re way ahead of me exercise-wise. I need to exercise more than I do.
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I feel fortunate in all those ways — 83 and still able to take long walks, plenty of food in the pantry, a mate I love and like, good friends in a diverse community with lots of trees and parks and a great library. Wish we didn’t have a vengeful meglamaniac running the government, but grateful to be aligned with a lot of good people working to change that. And we’re not in a war zone. Thank you for you — your writing, your observations, sharing the places you love. Yeah, we’re really fortunate. Hoping to spread the goodness around to everyone, everywhere.
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Your comments have put a smile on my face. Thanks!
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I am your age and feel a little guilty that I am so mobile. I am pleased to hear how you pay forward some of your good fortune. Keep moving!
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Hi Geoff. Right, staying active physically is very important. It helps a lot.
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Yes, old age can be a bit of a pain, but supporting others in the way that you do is a positive response to the challenges we face. Love that song too!
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Howdy. Flowers In My Hair is such an enticing recording. Its spare arrangement brings it to a higher plane.
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Great piece. We are indeed fortunate.
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“We are indeed fortunate.” —— absolutely!
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Great uplifting reminders here, Neil. We are very fortunate indeed!
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Little doubt about it.
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How rewarding to volunteer 4 hours a week. You are very active. I am 66 with medical issues and could never walk that far, let alone run. Flowers in my Hair was such a pretty song.
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Evening, Diane. It’s a wonderful song. Abigail Lapell created a winner!
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It is very nice to read about someone who reminds us of how fortunate many of us are at this later stage of life, even while having teeth problems as I am right now, I only have to think of the true misfortune of others to bring my little miseries into perspective. And thank you for the music.
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Hi. My volunteer job has inspired me to write several stories, including this one. I guess you never know when inspiration might strike.
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Helping others can become a wellspring for new stories, as I’ve found out since helping a young woman set up her first bookstore. Books literally jump off the shelves at certain customers. I’m working on idea for a story featuring the store.
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You come through loud and clear with the “fortunate” thing. I never tire of hearing that message. Not kidding. I like the tune. Even CB cant resist that message.
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Hi there, CB. Are you familiar with Abigail Lapell?
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No I hadn’t. that’s why I tune into YAB to expands my world.
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Speaking of being fortunate, my decision not to visit friends in Kerrville, Texas over the 4th of July was exactly that. Unfortunately, many of those friends were affected by the extraordinary flooding that occurred, although none lost their homes. Kerrville and the surrounding towns — Comfort, Center Point, Hunt, Ingram — are to me like Cape Cod is to you: a second home that I know as well as my own city. I’ve been going there for over thirty years, and it’s painful to contemplate the destruction.
When I read your post, a song from my past came to mind. Joan Baez got it right.
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Hi. It’s a fine song. The late Phil Ochs wrote it. Have you ever seen him or Baez in concert? I haven’t.
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I enjoyed reading this, sending you a high-five over the blogosphere, and smiling at the fact that my guy (about your age) and I feel the same way. However, he’s lived with chronic leukemia for 30 years, survived a burst appendix five years ago with whole-body sepsis, then survived lung cancer after radiation, and now has short term memory loss. But damn he looks good; his docs say he looks 60 and walks like a 30-year-old, lean and handsome. So, yeah, damn we’re lucky. And hats off to you for volunteering at the hospital. When we need to go there for my guy’s doc appts, we share grateful sighs. We’re okay.
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Your husband has been through a whole lot. I’m glad that, overall, he is doing quite well. I tip my hat to him.
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Thanks. He’s pretty darn amazing. ❤
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A beautiful post, Neil. We all need to reflect in the manner that you have here and realize just how fortunate we are. Continued blessings! ☀️
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Hi Lisa, and thanks.
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Good on you for the work you do and the huge gratitude in this post. Love it! Looking forward to checking out the song and video. Sending love from down under!
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Thanks very much.
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I so know EXACTLY what you mean. Paul Simon’s “American Tune” is the song that comes to me in dark moments: “For we’ve lived so well so long…” My vulnerable moments are in the shower, first thing in the morning when I haven’t got my “protective (mental) gear” on yet. But those of us with our health, who can walk, travel, have a home and food to eat–we are incredibly lucky. The true gift, as they say, is knowing what is enough. Continued health to you, and thanks for the Abigail Lapell song.
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Morning. I hadn’t thought of American Tune in a long while. I love that song. It’s one of my very favorite Simon compositions. I’m going to listen to it today.
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I feel fortunate that my parents, at 83 and 88, still get around really well!
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And may that continue for many more years!
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Fingers crossed!
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So many people are fortunate to have you volunteering at the hospital! I’d be one of those who would need help finding my car.
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Circa 1970 I went to a New York Mets baseball game. After the game, I couldn’t find my car. I had to wait till nearly every car had left the huge parking areas that surrounded the stadium. Finally, at that point, I saw my car.
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You are a good human being.
Thanks for introducing me to this angelic Canadian. Her song is, indeed, sweet as a peach.
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Evening, Linda. I hope I’ll see her in concert one day.
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I loved reading this post. Too often we don’t realise how fortunate we are. 💕
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Hi, and thanks very much for stopping by. Right, it’s pretty easy to not pay attention to our good fortune.
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I’ve been volunteering in a charity superstore for nearly two years and love how my fellow volunteers (ladies of a certain age for sure) are just so nimble and switched on – we have a lot of fun doing the job. Work gives you so much more than just a paycheck and I’m enjoying the social side of it and feeling as if you’re contributing to a worthy cause. May you have many more years at the medical center.
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Hi. Right, volunteering keeps us busy, engaged and part of society. It’s a good way in which to spend time.
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So wonderful to hear about your volunteering exploits. I, too, and grateful for what I have although I could use a helluva less crazy in our government, Neil. It makes me embarrassed to be an American, sadly.
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I’m embarrassed too. It’s sickening to know that we live among countless jerks.
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I feel fortunate too, Neil. Especially where my dad is concerned, since he’s turning 97 next month, and seems like someone in his 80s. Your volunteering at the hospital is great. Probably more for others than yourself!
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Your father is doing great!
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You are overflowingly blessed Neil! Keep spreading the love.♥️
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Is this AOC? –you’re listed as Anonymous. Anyway, thanks!
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Glad to hear that you’re in good health and are keeping busy. It’s amazing that you’ve been volunteering for 13 years. I hope my legs (and my mind) continue to work just fine when I’m near 80!
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Hi there. Any way you look at it, though, I’d like to be at least 25 years younger than I am. Take care. Have a good upcoming week.
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Really enjoyed your thoughts. Most of us don’t take the time to be grateful.
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Kudos to you Neil for being a much needed volunteer!
Sadly, I am one of those people who are wielding a cane. Arthritis sucks!
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Hi Lynne. Arthritis definitely sucks. I’m sorry to learn that you suffer from it.
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Love hearing about your volunteering, you’re a sweetheart, very caring and inspiring. Thanks for the song, awesome! God bless!
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Hi. Right, it’s a heck of a fine song. It should have been a hit!
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Patients are very grateful to you and all hospital volunteers. Bravo! I volunteered/worked at an international airport for over a decade. Helping newly arrived refugees, immigrants who had waited 7 years for their family to join them and sadly watching burn victims from all over the world come to the medical center. Volunteering keeps you centered an humble.
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Hi. I get a lot of satisfaction from volunteering, that’s for sure.
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I’m thankful to hear you being thankful for your circumstances. There’s plenty in this life to complain about if we focus on that, but there’s also plenty to be thankful for. We choose what we focus on, and you seem to have the right perspective. It makes life so much better to be thankful. The Bible tells us that, and it should be common sense, but so many people either don’t realize it or choose not to. It’s a choice we get to make. We get to determine what we think about.
Thanks for your post. It got me to thinking…
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Hi, and many thanks for adding your viewpoints. I appreciate it.
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A couple of thoughts: Volunteering is something that keeps me busy and connected too – so important at our age (well, I’m a little younger, but not that much). And gratitude for what we do have and happy to get to this age! Thanks for the song, very gospel-y, and I absolutely love the next song of hers that came up – Scarlet Fever, beautiful!
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Hi Ruth. Abigail Lapell is real good. She deserves to be much more well-known than she is.
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