My Visit to Civilization

I have finally left civilization and returned to North Georgia after spending three weeks in Cocoa Beach, Florida, assisting my ailing 90-year-old mother. While in Florida I spent some time in the Orlando area and a couple of days at my old stomping grounds in Pinellas County.

I’ll be honest with you. I am so glad to be out of Florida and back to the sparse traffic, two lane roads and a slower pace of life of Fannin County. Returning to Florida for an extended period convinced me that moving to rural North Georgia is one of the best things I have ever done. Even though I sometimes miss many of the things that go with civilization such as convenient Barnes and Noble stores, shopping malls, ethnic restaurants, and 16-screen movie theaters, the benefits are outweighed by the stress and frustration of having to deal with countless traffic lights, endless traffic and crowds of people.

Perhaps my feelings are a function of age. We inevitably grow slower and less capable as we grow older. Our perception and reaction times decay. What once was a thrill is now a danger. When we were younger we lived on the edge and reveled in it, now we are concerned about falling off the edge or tripping over it. Over time the enervating hustle and bustle of urban life becomes vexing and stressful.

I should know this from my experiences as a trial attorney. I once defended an elderly lady who made a left turn into traffic. I asked her how the accident happened, and she replied, “I did what I usually do. I counted five cars and went.” It was funny then, but it’s not so funny now. I don’t know whether she drove that way because her age had made Pinellas County traffic overwhelming or because she just got frustrated and impatient waiting for traffic to clear. I do know that in Florida as I waiting for what seemed an eternity for a break in traffic in order to make a left turn there where several times when I was tempted to say “screw it” and proceed in kamikaze fashion. Who needs that aggravation?

But I really don’t think my feelings about living in a busy and crowded urban environment have anything to do with slower reflexes or diminished perception. To quote Toby Keith, “I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.” No, I think the reason that I prefer the slower pace of country life to the hustle and bustle I experienced in Florida is I have come to appreciate realize that living life at a less frenetic pace allows me to experience life more deeply and fully. To paraphrase the old saying, I’m taking time to smell the roses. I think Jimmy Buffet referred to it as living and dying in three-quarter time.

Obviously, being retired helps. It’s tough to slow down and relax when you make your living as a busy trial attorney. I liken it to getting up every day and sticking your head in a microwave turned on high. But I still think that I would find retired life in Florida to be more stressful than retired life here.

So I have left civilization and returned to paradise. What is paradise like right now? Let me see. It’s raining, the sky has been mostly overcast since I arrived, the temperature is in the forties and heading lower, and we are under a winter storm advisory. Well, no one said the weather in paradise is like the weather in Florida. I guess there’s only one option for me: time to take another nap.

That’s the thing about living in the country… Wait! Are you kidding me? Seattle threw a pass on the goal line at the end of the game with three downs and two time outs and got intercepted? The Seattle offensive coordinator called a pass when he could have run Marshawn Lynch three times? What the hell was he thinking? OMG!

That’s just too much excitement for me. I need to go to bed.