SUMMER WITH THE SLUG RATS

Time

Brat Boy was in the driveway when I got home.  He held up a basketball. “Too tired, old man?”

I said, “Game to eleven, win by two.” He threw me the ball.

Ten minutes later he was up 9-2. He would have been up 10-2, but he tried to dunk on me, and I knocked him into the neighbor’s yard.  I loved him, but we old guys have to hold onto some dignity.

Brat Boy was a much better athlete, but I was bigger and stronger.  We’d been evenly matched for several years. I realized time had caught up with me.

I had complained many times about getting older, and the painful reminders of time passing. That day I was almost grateful. AA was full of people who weren’t aware of the passage of time until it was too late. They had gotten sober after the damage they’d done couldn’t be reversed.

I’d known too many people who were going to fix their marriages, or change jobs, maybe take better care of themselves.  By the time they did, too much time had passed.

Today I won’t complain about reminders of time passing.

Summer with the Slug Rats © 2020 by Ken Montrose

Summer with the Slug Rats is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/