“The longer I live,
the more beautiful
life becomes.”
Frank Lloyd Wright

I loved being in my 20’s. The period from 1974 to 1984 was the most transformative era of my life. I unexpectedly began a teaching career in September 1974 when I accepted a position on the faculty at Saint Augustine’s College in the Bahamas. I was invited to teach part-time at Bellarmine College Prep in San José from September 1976 to June 1979, at which time I completed my undergraduate degree at Santa Clara University. After a few years of teaching at Saint Christopher School in San José, and coordinating the youth and young adult ministry programs at Saint Christopher Parish, I enrolled in a Master’s program at the University of San Francisco, graduating in June 1984. 

During those years, I made a lot of mistakes, from which I learned a multitude of valuable life lessons. I also found myself in a number of relationships with some amazing women. These experiences prepared me fairly well for entering into a marriage relationship in June 1985. 

Some memorable travel opportunities came up in my twenties, as well. After teaching in the Bahamas for one year, I had the opportunity to return to Montego Bay, Jamaica for a brief visit in June 1975 with my parents. I had spent six weeks working there in the summer of 1971. Following my graduation from Santa Clara University, I returned to Nassau for vacations with friends in 1979 and again in 1981.

In August 1980, a friend asked me if I might be available to drive his car from San José to his home in New Jersey. He and his wife had returned home to the East Coast, but Rob had left one car at his cousins’ home here in the South Bay, so my cousin, Dan, and I took a road trip across the United States to deliver the car. 

I was also quite active physically in my 20’s. I put countless miles on my 1970 Raleigh Grand Prix bicycle, as I used it for both transportation and recreation purposes. In my spare time, I played tennis and golf regularly. In the summers of 1980-82, I played eighteen holes of golf three mornings a week, as my work day didn’t begin until 1:00 p.m. My participation in recreational basketball and softball leagues enhanced both my physical well-being and my social life.

Yes, my 20’s were wonderful years, but I don’t look back with regret or envy. Although I’m only seven months into my 70’s now, I am thoroughly enjoying this era in my life. My activities are a little different than they were fifty years ago. I don’t travel as much these days. Kathy and I enjoyed a riverboat cruise in the Northwest last summer, and we’re looking forward to another one this year on the East Coast. I spent a few days visiting my brother in Los Angeles a few months ago, too. Other than those excursions, my travel has been limited to what is accessible from CalTrain between San José and San Francisco. 

No longer do I engage in athletic competitions. Tennis, golf, softball, and basketball are all potential sources of pain and injury for me now. For this reason, I have embraced the practice of walking every day, averaging more than 8,000 steps per day. I also devote a significant amount of my time to reading, writing, and corresponding with friends via email, postal mail, the phone, or in-person visits at local eateries. In all, I have to say that my 70’s are just as fulfilling for me as my 20’s, if not more so. 

A focus on gratitude is a key ingredient to my happiness at this point in my life. While I am unable to do many things I enjoyed doing in my 20’s, I am aware that I am a much more whole person today than I was fifty years ago. As Ingrid Bergman once said, “Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better.”