Monday, July 14, 2008

Entry #35

Birthday Happy
by Joanita Pinto


60! He was nearing 60!
And the road was an unravelling black ribbon in front of him, calling, teasing, calling.

It was his birthday.
60 he’d turned.
Yeah. 60.

He accelerated the old bike.
The one that faithfully took him to work everyday.
The one that suffered city potholes, traffic that felt like funeral processions.

‘What if I did 60?’ he’d thought
Had never done that ever.
It was a lonely highway.
It had been a lonely life:

Wake up. Pour milk over cornflakes.
Check the newspapers roll out at the printing press.
Clean up the machines, oil the gears.
Have dinner as the neighbor’s cat sat and watched.
Sleep.
On weekends walk through the fair. Never take the ferris wheel.
(He’d been tied to it as punishment when he was four.
Made to go round and round and round till he cried).

Today he was 60.
No going around in circles anymore.
He watched the needle move, move, move.
60!
The wind hummed to him first.
Then it sang. Loud and free, like a rockstar.

He saw the car come up the slope in the rear-view mirror.
He smiled.

He heard the sirens.
To him they sounded like ‘Happy Birthday to You’.

Tomorrow he’d begin 61. Nice.

18 comments:

Sameera Ansari said...

Made me smile.His joy and excitement is almost palpable.

Neatly done!

wrath999 said...

Very nice. It show that at no matter what age it is never to late to LIVE or try something new.

Enjoyable read

alex

Sarah Hina said...

I was cheering for him as the speedometer crept higher. :) Great interpretation.

Sometimes we need to push our limits to still feel alive. I love that he was speeding toward 61, instead of limping along.

This one made me feel good. Well done!

Anonymous said...

I loved this. Hooray for his awaking, a little late, but still in time. I especially loved, and could relate to, He saw the car come up the slope in the rear-view mirror.
'He smiled.

He heard the sirens.
To him they sounded like ‘Happy Birthday to You’.'

Excellent message and excellent writing.

My crazy life said...

Great writing as usual. I love the visualization. -Rita

BernardL said...

Nice take on the picture.

Anonymous said...

And many happy returns of the day!
Nice story from prompt.

SzélsőFa said...

I was getting nervous for him towards the end, but he came out fine and unhurt. I liked your awesome take on the photo.

JaneyV said...

It's never too late to live a little in the fast lane is it? A really uplifting tale of a life re-awakened. It made me smile broadly.

Very nice.

ralive said...

left me wondering and contemplate on my 35 right now....nice very nice

BeingtheBee said...

Hi all,
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging comments.
Keep the writing going.

Go shine,
Joanita

Esther Avila said...

Very nice. There was a time I thought 60 was old....it's not! I'm so glad he realized this and still has the chance to hit that speedometer a few more years...heck, I drive 80 frequently.
Hooray for the birthday boy. I like him. And hooray for you. Nice job.

Scott said...

Nothing gets the blood pumping better than to rev it up and get pulled over.

AngelConradie said...

i really enjoyed this!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful writing and imagery here, from the unravelling black ribbon to the neighbor's cat watching him eat. Great job!

Missy said...

It seems he enjoys a little attention? :) Good for him to enjoy something new. Fun read.

laughingwolf said...

beautifully written, leaves me wanting a lot more....

Anonymous said...

A lot of characterization in there. The element at the end with the siren was so good! Great job. High marks overall.