hafacenturyncounting

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Archive for the tag “aging”

27 Apr 2026
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Maybe It Is the Screaming

On my very routine morning, I am walking my Tiana. There is a preschool/daycare center near where we live. In the distance you can hear the kids long before you see them. My Tiana is one who likes attention and she innocently likes the attention of children. I am on more of a purpose filled journey when I take her out. Do your business so I can do more/other things; that is what I want and expect to happen. Tiana is a Shih Tzu, so it does not quite work like that.

Like many people in my age group quiet is a place/ status I would rather be around. As we walked nearer to the school the loud squealing became louder. I was not disturbed by this. I expected nothing less. Now the children are in plain sight. They are running, jumping, throwing balls, dancing about, and making all kind of noise in the process. Running seems pointless without a sound coming out of their respective mouths. Nothing can operate quietly. Why should it? How would you be able to determine if this activity is fun or not? Do they have the secret to successful movement in their tiny bodies? Can their minds process that which we older folks have forgotten?

I watched them for a few minutes as Tiana silently tried to WILL them closer. I thought and wondered why they don’t lose their voices I knew the generic answer… because they are young and their young bodies have the resilience to withstand what children do. I do not begrudge these children or any child the blessings youth affords one. I still can clearly recall this type of fun. this type of noise and our delight when someone older was annoyed with our doing some of these same things (without them knowing it).

My mind took me to a place not so long ago, a couple of weeks as a matter of fact. My friend and I were visiting a place we thoroughly enjoyed in our youth and thankfully still do. I thought of how we chatted in line waiting our turn. We were full of anticipation, excitement and a little fear. We boarded “Xcelarator“; as it took off, we began screaming to the top of our lungs and for the entirety of the rollercoaster ride we continued screaming. When the ride ended, we were breathless, like we had run a race. I smiled and thought of that experience; perfect, planned out and paid for. Then my mind said these kids have all of that without the worry, concern, and cost. I thought, ” Yeah; Maybe it is the screaming!”

Posted in One For My Friends and tagged ,
25 Nov 2025

A Bitter Black Babe?

“What’s her problem”, you might ask. What does she look like? It cannot be all that bad. However, what if it is? How many rejections and disappointments must one endure? How many of these same things does it take to equal bitter? Will the answers to these questions explain what truly has occurred? Who gets to say what is and is not bitter?

Dating is exhausting. There are no fast tracks to “the one“. Honesty is an accessory which is in high demand, in spite of it being costly. Couple that with, it may be providing you with a false positive. This means; just because you are given a bit of truth, does NOT mean you are NOT dealing with a liar. Then we delve into what constitutes a liar and/or a lie. See why dating is exhausting. We must present and sell ourselves in a fashion that should lead to connecting with a companion who is “like-minded’ … a good match. Still, we find ourselves captured in the “storm of confusion”.

One needs to take periodic breaks; you need to step back and re-evaluate your decisions and situations. Cliches have to be looked at as advice to seriously consider. “You get what you give, garbage in garbage out“, all the while trying to explain, justify, understand how these things pertain to you. It is both sobering and numbing. As we spend our valuable time figuring out things, we look up and realize how much time has been wasted. For in the end many of us end up back at square one. Older= yes, wiser= possibly, bitter=chances are…

One has to ask how do, smart, accomplished, educated, talented, beautiful, kind, caring women end up competing for “Ned the wino” or worse? Make no mistake “Ned” is fully aware he is in demand too. One can keep fighting, hoping, wishing, praying, dreaming of the elusive one. One can come to terms with the one may have passed her by or there simply is not one that fits the criteria she set up. All of these scenarios do bring you back to the bitter black babe. Is there justification for the phenomenon, sure but that does not make it any easier to accept. Whether one is the recipient or the provider, the “sting” is very real.

Posted in Dating 6.0, How We Relate, The Dating Game 6.0 and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
03 Aug 2025

It’s Kinda Funny

This was not my choice. I was thrown into this pool by “life”. What I have found of life is that it IS random and unpredictable. Thus, my presence here and I will add…”It’s Kinda Funny“.

I have been writing at this blog for a little over 15 years now. By this time, I thought I would have many more followers. I thought I had something relevant and important to say, at least to the people that fall into the category I believe I address, my contemporaries. They were/are who I was concerned with addressing. Who was I trying to fool. These people I was/am addressing are busy being about the life I am merely talking about. While my blogs take a serious point-based turns, sometimes they are not thought provoking and sometimes they are funny. I only mean for them to be pertinent to those who find themselves reading them.

I was scrolling about on the internet and a reel came up from one of my favorite comedians…Sinbad. I have seen Sinbad in person, watched him on television and in movies. I love this guy and his style. He is a fabulous storyteller with the uncanny ability to make one look at themselves and recognize the humor in our very own existence. I decided that after months of NOT writing I would try my hand at this comedic method to tell a part of my story. My current position in the “dating world”. Sit back and/or hold onto your hats folks, for this is a visit to a place called “me”.

There are undoubtedly an entry of two about my life in the dating world on my blog/this blog. Therefore, I do not feel like starting at the beginning is necessary. If I need to revisit the beginning later, I shall but for now let’s start with where I am currently. Here I am, still single still wanting to have fun, still wanting to find a man who “gets” me and likes me anyway. I am NOT consciously looking for the fairy tale anymore but a step up from Armageddon would be nice.

65 and 66 is closing in on me rapidly. Many of my contemporaries are still married or “boo-ed up”. Happily, or not, I am sure when things are bad/challenging/questionable they find solace in saying to themselves or out loud…”well at least I am not alone like yours truly“. The dating apps are a Petry dish for scams and assorted other unpleasant things. The other options are limited, especially if your do not live in or very near a big city. No more than we could return to a rotary dial telephone, we are stuck with/fortunate to have the technology. To date I have NOT been scammed nor has anything really damaging happened to me. I would love to say I am just too smart for that to happen… I think in spite of my tempting fate I have just been lucky.

As a writer and a student of human behavior I visit areas (on the sites) that I know the undesirables dwell in. Meaning simply guys I should not talk to (offshore workers, Nigerian entrepreneurs, etc.) However, they do not limit themselves to places where the upstanding honest folks think they should be. They test and invade the places that we would never suspect, hoping to catch a fledgling or someone with their guard down. One might ask, ” Okay so when does this get funny?” This particular entry is an introduction to the path I have decided to give a guided tour of. Your tour guide is slightly more than a trainee. We all know that trainees are prone to error. We also know that barring the inside info the “company has provided them with, a reasonably intelligent adult could probably manage their very job excluding some jargon and trade secrets. At least we tell ourselves this.

Upon approach, the apps look remarkably the same as they did when I visited them some years ago (5 and a half to be exact). Slight changes are what my untrained eye can see. There are noticeably more to choose from, and the fee-paying member is more likely to be on these sites now. I still resist; I still say the site has meager choices for non-paying folks, why would I believe paying will make it better. You see I think it is all in the algorithm. I challenge myself to challenge it/them. This is where it starts to get funny… I am NOT a numbers person. Mathematical theorems and such are NOT my strong suit. Why would I think I could get around a number-based application? Enter, arrogance.

Posted in Dating 6.0, The Dating Game 6.0 and tagged , , | Leave a comment
07 Apr 2025

Blessed With Longevity, Cursed With Life

As the decades pass, sometimes we sit still and realize what this means. Our time on the planet is no longer measured in increments whose boundaries can be confined to 365 days. We have now accumulated enough of those periods to be placed in another category.

When I started hafacenturyncounting, I was only five decades into my journey. I clearly remember being a child and marveling at, as well as being astonished by someone who was 50 years old! Now the “ncounting ” is taking on a new life with new meaning. Senior days at respective retail stores, AARP membership, social security, and retirement benefits define me. Now I laugh about this at times, now I marvel at this too, and then there are the occasions when the brutality of aging smacks me in the face.

Let me tell you why I laugh. I find it funny and ironic when I speak about “older people” and catch myself because I AM NOW one of the older people. I wonder how this happened and how I could possibly forget or overlook who I am. As close as I can come to an explanation and/or admission is that I do not consciously identify with my group. I don’t look like an “older person“, except the fact that my hair is gray/graying. I could fix that with a wig, or I could color my hair, but I really don’t want to. Alright, so I guess I do possess a characteristic associated with an “older person“.

Now let me tell why I marvel at being a part of the “older people’s group”. I find myself looking at the generation(s) right behind ours and saying or thinking, ” What in the world or Why are they so….” No need to finish the sentence or thought, it is not positive. Yet the marvel and irony come to mind as I remember when my parents’ generation and beyond thought and said the very same things about us.

Then there is facing the brutality of the aging process. I have always been a very healthy person. This has been a good fortune I still possess. I am aware that as the numbers (chronological age) increase the possibility and probability of change in one’s physical self becomes more likely. Yet being spared the reality of pain and discomfort has allowed me to disregard them. Trust me I was reminded how rapidly things like your physical condition can change. I did not like it either.

Overall, one must acknowledge these little irritations and irregularities are a part of the blessing of living longer. Longevity comes at a price. That price can be viewed as small in comparison to the alternative. When that fact comes to the forefront appreciate what is being gifted to you and accept that eventually we all end up at the same destination.

Posted in How We Relate, Uncategorized and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
16 Mar 2025

Nuthin in New Bern

This is not to be insulting or offensive. It is an observation that takes into account personal preferences and choices.

A beautiful little city in Eastern North Carolina, I came to live here because my eldest son was offered a promotion. He asked me if I wanted to move with his family here. Due to the fact that I am a widow, and we lost his younger brother in 2018, he knew I had nothing tying me to Atlanta that would take precedence over my remaining immediate family. It was a “no brainer”. Therefore, I made the decision to head “north”.

Upon our arrival here I was taken with the cuteness. There were unique little shops, there was familiar retail and loads of eateries. The demographic was quite different from Metro Atlanta, but on the other hand I embraced things like very little traffic and close proximity to the beach. Fast forward over 3 years later. Life happens, as it just does. My son and his family moved back to the Atlanta area. My moving back was not as “simple” as theirs was. I was enrolled in college classes; I had a lease, and my retirement income while adequate for New Bern very well could/would/may present a challenge that I was not really prepared to deal with. I am now basically alone with Nuthin In New Bern.

As seniors we all have a very real possibility of being ALONE somewhere, at some time in our futures. We may either outlive or outlast our people and/ or circumstances. I speak with my 93-year-old “play mother”(she is actually my younger sister’s official godmother, but she was my mom’s best friend for decades of mom’s life. She is family) daily. This out-living/out lasting is her “plight”. As I examine my circumstances, I feel the need to sound off the warning signal. When I speak of my “play mother’s” plight it is yet another observation of how varied we are as Baby Boomers. It is also worthy of notice. Be it health, finances, tragic events; we have years of experience in life to deal with changes. However, we have undergone many changes that may take us off track. As we have aged, we naturally have taken on some of the characteristics of aging, whether we want to or not. The adage of “teaching an old dog new tricks” takes on a new light when you find you are not only embracing that line of thinking, but you’re also living it.

The graces that youth provides us with, are no longer benefits we “hold the papers to”. I am a bit adventurous and nomadic, but now my new “friends (limitations and mobility)” trailing behind me, closing in on me, and they are just waiting to join my caravan of life. I have to mount an offensive. This state of “being alone” gives you an opportunity to do a great deal of thinking… too much thinking at times. For an overthinker it is not necessarily a good thing. However, the flip side is my mind shall not be “a workshop for the devil”.

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15 May 2024

“Hafamindto”

That is about all I can muster up these days…half a mind. The tasks seemingly cannot be completed. Getting started is no “picnic” either. Finding oneself rushing to get started or rushing to finish, and in the middle of all that haste is it a surprise that something has gone amuck?

Growing up, (and yes, I can still remember that time in my life) when an adult said something like that one did not take it literally. Instead, we realized at an early age we were being told, if I had more time to think this through the end result would NOT be what it is currently, or what it is on the way to becoming. As we age challenges and complications are things we tactfully avoid. We have been trained to believe as the years progress, we will slow down. We should slow down on practically every level. We see our contemporaries in a certain stage or station in life, which makes us think that is where we should be. However, what happens when we don’t slow down? How does society, our contemporaries and even our loved ones view us. Are we such an anomaly, are we something that must be examined and dealt with? How do we feel about that?

I think we have a few choices and options left. I think we have a right to exercise those options. One must know that as we select the road less traveled there will be resistance and obstacles. If you are not ready to deal with these facts, you’d better get out now. The way we dress, the speed at which we travel as well as how we navigate ourselves through given places and situations will be judged.

I know it seems easier to just fade into the background, be a part of the status quo. Yet something drives some of us. Be it conditions, be it determination. There exists a quality that makes certain beings NEED to go on. Truth is all human beings need to be challenged, we need to have purpose and when we do not, we are heading down the very path which will likely lead to our demise.

We are here, I say be present, be a part of that which is going on. Get involved! Become an advocate for something and that something does not have to be huge, there are small things that could use our help. While it may sound cliche’ “be about the business of living” or find you may find yourself dying faster than you may have imagined.

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05 May 2023

The Exceptions

There he is. Everything you imagined and could NOT quite imagine. Sometimes as you look at him, it IS hard to believe he is real. Ok… WAKE up, this is a dream in this case a story. It is the story of a mythical creature, and this creature insinuated his way into your life. Okay you may have sorta invited him in after you realized he was in fact real…

He was not perfect; he was extraordinarily perfect. If you wanted big, he was bigger! You found yourself saying things like,” It doesn’t matter because he isn’t for real anyway…” When he walked through that door, someone literally could have pushed you over with a feather. Then you found he was nice, interesting, smart, funny, AND not-hard-on-the eyes… Before you knew what hit you, you were considering the possibilities.

You quickly saw a boatload of problems, but in your mind, none that could NOT be overcome. That is where the possibilities “took over the wheel”. He was STRIKING and you liked that. All he had to do was to walk into the room and heads would turn. Oh, how you enjoyed the “head-turner” waiting for you. You put out of your mind what transpired prior to your arrival. Yet, the fact that he still awaited your arrival, due to the fact the two of you did not occupy the same space most of the time, told a story. You enjoyed him for a period of time. HE WAS TOO MUCH FOR YOU. The good thing was you recognized this. So, you played with fire in small doses, with the constant thought of avoiding the burn. You knew he still needed to demonstrate some things before you could be all in. He would make tiny steps that encouraged you and gave you hope, but it still was not enough. He was still getting away with things you would NOT tolerate if he was not so…much of everything else you wanted or thought you wanted. Admittedly, the visuals were your major guiding force. That shallow fact could be what kept you involved far longer than you wanted or needed to be.

He kept pushing and testing you. Finally you had enough. You deleted his messages and decided it was time to get away from that fire. What makes the moth move to the light/flame that will ultimately be its demise? Are we all moths in one way or another? When we run into someone who clearly does not have OUR best interest at heart, why do we continue to move towards them instead of running in the other direction? Do we believe if we proceed with caution do we think the fire will be less hot? Maybe we believe the flame will somehow not be as hot because we will have noted its existence and therefore, we can better prepare for the burn. We must start to realize, even though we know the flame will burn no matter how much preparation we make, the burn will still pain us just the same.

What you have to realize is once you started making excuses for, making exceptions, you were already in trouble. We are faced with such heavy competition in the world of finding a suitable match, if we really took into account the numbers alone, we would likely find another pursuit, because the outlook is bleak at best. We all want what we want, as time goes on, we begin to feel the pressure of the situation. Our conditions begin to alter our perspective. Expectations wither into substitutions so much, until one day we no longer recognize what we were looking for and why are we involved with who we are involved with. As the clock continues to tick, the fear of being alone become more overwhelming than we could have imagined. We tell ourselves that this exception is far better than being alone; until we involve ourselves, until we truly are all–in, and then we discover we ARE still alone without exception.

Posted in Fictional Accounts, The Dating Game 6.0 and tagged , , | Leave a comment
16 Jul 2022
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“HeyMs.Parker…..”

Anyone who knows their way around the “Friday” franchise is familiar with that quote. I can smile as I think of my younger brother’s friends who charmingly referred to me with that greeting from time to time. I was amused at the time and feigned flattery. Now as I look back, flattered is exactly what I should have been. I recall being told that the actress who played Ms. Parker, Kathleen Bradley, was a former Miss Black California and had been a model on the Price Is Right. I “tah–tahed” that off, because as a part of the cult-following of the movie itself, almost all of the characters were special in their own rights.

Over the years there have been remarks some complimentary others had undertones of jealousy, judgement and judgmental. Being tall a lady makes one stand out. Yes, I emphatically consider myself a lady. I do not believe I have done anything to exclude myself from that classification. I am mostly amused by the reactions of my contemporaries and counterparts. I can only imagine what goes through their heads when a person who falls in the average category sees me (standing 5’10 in my bare feet) wearing heels and a dress that reveals my legs. Legs that probably look like they are far longer than they actually are. The standards of size, beauty, what is and is not acceptable, varies from one being to the next. Then the judgements begin.

When I used to deliver mail, female carriers had uniforms that included an item called culottes (split skirts). Doing a physical job like that, it is imperative that one is comfortable. The culottes were my choice. Neat, clean, and in approved standard attire I was still subject to snide little off-color comments. I was younger so not only did I not care, but I also had answers back for my critics and commentors. Years/decade later I still meet with the same types of critiques. I am fortunate enough to have decent health, I also try to stay healthy, I eat fairly good, I go to the gym daily, and I follow my physician’s advice. When I walk past the ladies in my community, a senior community that I bother to pick up trash around (that other have not so courteously dropped), and I greet them I am well aware that they do not approve of my look. If I am honest, I have to say, I STILL really do not care. I am not harming anyone and just like my old letter carrier uniform; neat, clean, and within the approved standard of… in this case decent. What I wear has all to do with MY comfort; how I feel and how I feel I look.

In my mind see Ms.Parker bending over in her shorts watering the grass, I wonder if I appear that way to people in the neighborhood. I am not even close to her image, but when we talk about perceptions who knows. One thing for certain, no one around this community will be invited in to “pray with me or “prey” upon me.

Posted in Everybody's Critic and tagged ,
08 Jun 2022
1 Comment

Now Don’t Get It Twisted

The one that voices their opinion without concern for those who have opposing views. Yet, giving respect accordingly. The title or name that gives identity to someone in your life or presence. My late husband and I would often take notice and revel in the need of our society to give everything a label. Oftentimes the name alone did not suffice, it had to have a catchy little phrase to draw much more attention to this person or thing. Why? you ask…because it is our feeble way of trying to appear as though we truly understand. Remember the word appear.

This may already seem to be a collage of rambling thoughts. Thoughts of confusion; thoughts of disappointment and “being let down”, thoughts of anticipation and the need to “hurry–up“, thoughts of “gut-wrenching pain” from loss and grief, finally thoughts of reflection forgiving and “letting go”. Each of these categories worthy of time devoted to them individually but instead tossed about in our psyche in no particular way, with no rhyme or reason that we can pinpoint. Well, it is understandable that one might not be able to make “heads or tails” of anything

The feeling of, “I’m not gonna show you mine until you show me yours, can sometimes overtake us emotionally. Yet it also serves as a warning. We have to preserve our dignity, our ego and that which is familiar to us. For without this familiarity, we are lost; and at this juncture in our lives, we can ill afford to be lost and possibly have to start over. The thought is ridiculous. Yet it plagues us. Is your head spinning yet?

Here it is the real twist. This piece is twisted because at times that is just what we are. We are bobbing and weaving through our lives. Afraid to move or sit still because we may miss something. Being painfully aware that we do not have our entire lives ahead of us, because our chronological age tells us odds are we now have a very finite number attached to us. Yet once again, things have always been like this. Our navigation process may have changed, but our ultimate destinations remain as they were when we began our journeys. Whether we see ourselves as taking a direct route, wandering off the beaten path, or floating about into oblivion many of us find ourselves questioning where we have ended up.

Good, bad, or otherwise it IS in our very nature to say, “What if….” That does not mean we want to or would change things; it just means that we entertain thoughts of the possibilities.

Posted in One For My Friends, Uncategorized and tagged ,
04 May 2022
1 Comment

Happy Endings

Are there such things? What does the title say to you? I think to figure the endings out we must start with the beginnings. In the spirit of where many of us are let’s address this as a result verses a consequence. On the road to connecting with a partner/ companion/ love interest we encounter many obstacles.

Our age group being a huge factor. We can lie to ourselves and say, “age aint nuthin but a number” but in actuality age is far more than a number. With one’s time on the planet we gain certain things by virtue of mere exposure. Some of these things we keep, cherish and utilize. Others we carry like heavy baggage waiting to be unloaded.

For me treading these “murky waters” of senior dating clearly (forgive the pun) there have been far more failures than successes. I am being kind; for the plain truth is they have all been failures. This is not a blame game either. I do believe they have been simple mismatches, well at least the majority of them. Yet with that in mind, it is still not easy to tell someone This is NOT working. People take that statement personally in the most negative of ways and that is NOT always the case.

Like I said earlier we need to examine the beginnings. I have experienced some seemingly great starts. Good conversationalists, intelligent, attractive, tall… most of the ones that have not worked out, I am thankful have ended in very early stages. Not a lot of time, effort, or emotion vested. With this particular “relationship” type things usually just drop off, the calls become less and less until there are none, you look up and months have gone by, and soon you realize YOU have gone on. Then there are the “ghostings” a bit more of a sensitive subject and covered briefly in prior piece. I will again state sometimes there is just nothing to say, no case to be made, but when it happens the party being ghosted does not understand. Why not just take it as… if this is all they have for me there truly is nothing that needs to be said. However, we are human; rejection does not sit well with most of us, we are curious and sensitive. There IS the need to know “why”. This writer is challenged by this very thing as well. I have to say I should follow my own advice in these cases. I am certain there will be more not-so-pleasant breaks. I also feel like we have to be subjective in the way we view what a happy ending if. Sometimes you are lucky you get the one you want, and everything is good. Other times you do not walk away with the intended party and that too is a good thing. Just a couple of brief examples and in either case, the respective endings can still be happy.

Posted in How We Relate and tagged , ,

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