New wine in old wine skins

It’s been a whirlwind summer for sure for Ol’ Dutch and Miss Trixie and this past week has just ‘bout been the end of me.
Ever her effervescent self, Miss Trixie flitted around in her social butterfly persona and signed up poor Ol’ Dutch for more and more activities. The only thing that will save me now is the opening of Elk season on Saturday.
It’s not like we do not already have a full schedule with ATV rides, potluck dinners, parties, coffee klatch, pickleball, fishing, hunting, shopping, eating out and card parties. At least that’s enough for this old man.
But Miss Trixie being the young, energetic girlfriend that she is, has more stamina than the Energizer Bunny and the only fault she has is never being able to say “no.”
That leads her into all kinds of corners where she gets too tired which can lead to a condition known as cranky. Just let anyone mention a shortage of food for an event and it turns her into a whirlwind of bread pudding, egg casserole, salad tossing, kitchen-destroying activity.
This spring before we arrived here in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, we had agreed on slowing down the pace a bit and not getting so many activities lined up but that went south like geese in the winter as soon as we got here.
This past week found us also leading the singing for church as my father Fast Freddy had to go home to Kansas. In addition to two church services, we also hosted this week’s Pickin’ and Grinnin’ and today, Thursday, we’ve got the Chapel Jewels fashion show, which means I’ll be tired and cranky myself come sundown.
All that church time got me thinking -- a risky proposition according to Trixie -- and the scripture came to mind about new wine in old wineskins.
Normally I try and not let anything slip into my mind except things about hunting and fishing but seeing all of us old people doing more and more activities suddenly made that verse come to full understanding.
The idea behind the story is that if you put new wine in an old container it will ferment and eventually break due to expansion. This past summer I think I can see what that is all about as Ol’ Dutch has crammed a lot of new and physically demanding activities into an old body and some days felt like I was going to burst wide-open.
As the baby boomers have aged they have been able to stave off the inevitable aging process with exercise, botox, face lifts, body tucks, diet, medicine, fake boobs, viagra and booze. Well maybe not the booze but consuming a lot of that at least makes a person not feel the aging that is going on.
They began to say 60 is the new 40 to make themselves feel better and I have to say the grandmas of today do not look anything like my grandmothers looked back then. So I guess it’s possible to stave off the process somewhat if a person is diligent and has a good plastic surgeon.
However, hanging with Miss Trixie of late has made me realize that Dutch’s 63 is not the same as Miss Trixie’s 53 as she runs circles around me day in and day out. Many days this spurious activity leaves Ol’ Dutch lying on the porch with his tongue hanging out much like an old dog who thought he could still chase rabbits.
But life is for the living and I guess when it’s over a person has plenty of time to rest up. That is unless all that harp playing while sitting on a cloud is taken into account.
 
Kevin Kirkpatrick and his Yorkie, Cooper, fish, hunt, ATV or hike daily. His email is [email protected]. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com or on Twitter at TroutRepublic.