"Old and In the Way"

It seems passing strange to me, but Washington, DC has an all bluegrass radio station. If you're in the area or want to listen online, it's WAMU's Bluegrass Country 105.5.

Anyway I hit the preset and they were playing one of my favorites: "Old and in the Way" from the album of the same name featuring an all star team of David Grisman (who wrote it), Jerry Garcia, Vassar Clements, John Rowan, and John Kahn.

I quote the chorus in my book Pears, Grapes, and Dates: A Good Life After Mid-Life because I thing it sums up how many of us can begin to feel as time catches up with us. Here's the chorus plus the two verses:

ChorusOld and in the way, that's what I heard them say
They used to heed the words he said, but that was yesterday
Gold will turn to gray and youth will fade away
They'll never care about you, call you old and in the way 

Once I hear tell, he was happy
He had his share of friends and good times
Now, those friends have all passed on
He don't have a place called home
Looking back to a better day, feeling old and in the way
[chorus] 

When just a boy, he left his home
Thought he'd have the world on a string
Now the years have come and gone
Through the streets he walks alone
Like the old dog gone astray, he's just old and in the way
[chorus]

The saddest lyric from my point of view is "He don't have a place called home." The increased individualism in our culture and in our families makes no place called home more and more of a danger. And loneliness will kill you.

As I say in the book, the need to connect with people our own age and of all other ages is a top priority for a good life after mid-life. So don't wait.