I’m not as good as I once was

It’s a great thing to have a friendship that lasts over 40 years. If that friendship started in college, there is a good chance future adventures are seen through those eyes of years gone by.

I have a friend in Eau Claire who always rallies when there is fun on the line. Whether it’s a quick trip to see a show in Minneapolis or a chance to gather with other college buddies, she’s always game to go.

This weekend the event was right in Eau Claire, and since she’s become a fan of Uber, we decided we were footloose and fancy free since neither one of us would have to be the designated driver.

As we made our way through the happy hour before the dinner, I was quite amazed how long it took me to finish a bottle of beer. Back in the day, that would have been considered one sad happy hour.

As luck would have it, a woman who joined us at our table was from Menomonie. We started a conversation and found we knew a lot of the same people in the area.

Some friends of ours, from that same college time period, are in a band that was playing in Menomonie that night. We checked out what it would cost to have Uber take us there and back. We, of course, threw caution to the wind and decided it’s a road trip that must be taken! Just imagine how thrilled our friends in the band would be to see us!

Our new-found friend offered to give us a ride there, and if Uber didn’t pick us up she said we could call her and she’d bring us back to Eau Claire. It was just like the old days where plans were made on the spur of the moment and life was good.

The dinner was lovely and the entertainment was lively, the time was passing and soon it was 8 p.m. and a decision had to be made. It would take us about 45 minutes to get to the bar where our friends were playing, and they were only playing until 10 p.m., and they would probably take a break, and they’re older than us, and did I mention we both get up kind of early these days, and I think you know just where this story is heading. Two brave souls who used to think they turned the world on fire, struggling to hang on to that glimpse of immortality, both conceding “I’m too tired!”

It’s a blessing when common sense overrides the thrill of an adventure that would not have ended well.

The next day on my way back to Wittenberg, Toby Keith summed it up best singing “I’m not as good as I once was.” No truer words were ever spoken.

Miriam Nelson is the editor of the Wittenberg Enterprise & Birnamwood News.