For Sale - One Worn Out Corpse

I'm afraid their may be something wrong with me and I'm really worried.  I think I may be a hypochondriac.

In all seriousness, I've seen more than my share of doctors in the last four or five years.  There's nothing majorly wrong with me, physically that is.  It just seems that one after another, and sometimes all together, parts of this middle-aged body have gone a little haywire.  I never considered myself an "um me" (as in "uuu me knee" or "uuu me head"), but maybe I need to re-evaluate that assertion.  Perhaps I'm getting soft or perhaps these ailments are a natural function of the life I have led.

I'm reminded of the question regarding the best way to leave this world.  The debate is whether it is better to die occupying a body that is in great shape because that person lived cautiously and safely or, when exhaling for the last time, should a person's body look more like mom's old Mazda Protege, with it's dents, cracks, and rusted out floor?  In answering this question, we all respond the same way.  We know that our bodies are no different than our houses, investments and the cash in our piggy banks.  It doesn't matter whether we believe we will be spending eternity among the clouds, sweating it out in Hades, or in the arms of a hundred virgins.  We can no more take our corpses with us to our final end than we can take our worldly treasures.  If we get to "old age", whatever that is, given that 80 is the new 50, then our soulless bodies are of little use to anyone.  A well preserved 100 year old body does not suddenly become valuable.  It is not an antique to be collected, polished and put on display, but rather one to be pitied for the life that was not lived to the fullest.

If any of you think that you have lived a rather sheltered existence up to now, it is not too late.  The best times of your life lay ahead of you.  This is not a recommendation to suddenly go off the deep end and to do something rash, like quit your job. Very few of us need to do anything radical to start down the path towards a better life.  Every journey begins with one small step.  Having balance in life is the key component.  A close friend of mine once put life in its true perspective and I have shared his words many times over the years.  He said "Jimmy, enjoy life because you are dead for a long time."

 I'm doing the best to heed my own advice.  I'm 46 years old, so that's probably the new 25.  If I'm really only 25, then I should probably get a nipple ring and a face tattoo.  If I don't make it to old age, then I'm going to make damn sure that no one will want any part of my body.  I may need it when I meet those 100 virgins.