Wednesday, December 12, 2007

I'm Glad I'm On My Way Out

I'm Glad I'm On My Way Out by Norman E. Hooben

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be saying those words, "I'm glad I'm on my way out."

Sometime ago while visiting a prominent Cape Codder and the talk centered around the current state of the nation which was depicted as pretty grim. This gentleman who is in his upper 80's and a life-long Democrat first uttered those words to me, "I'm glad I'm on my way out."

Twelve-hundred miles south, back home in Alabama just a week or so after the Cape Cod tête-à-tête, I'm driving past a friend's house and see my friend outside and stop to chat. He also has been around longer than I and maybe a bit younger than the New Englander. Oh he's been around alright, he was a POW during the Korean conflict. The life-long Republican, in the course of our conversation, says (and you must know the talk was about the grim nation), "I'm glad I'm on my way out." Well, that startled me somewhat...identical phrases, miles apart, and from opposing ideological mind-sets.

Time went on as I wrote about the events above and along with all the other verbiage I've posted, I was asked by someone, "Why do you do this stuff? It's just a waste of time." My explanation covered several paragraphs which ended with something like this, "I may be on my way out, but my grandchildren are on their way in. I do it for the children."

So lets be clear, I never said, "I'm glad I'm on my way out." I said, "I may be..." Well now I have to say it. For along comes a story from an unlikely source that has compelled me to say it. The overwhelming force that drives me to say it, comes from non other than the United States Mint. For you see the United States Mint has decided to mint new coins honoring the better half of history's patriots. They call this particular series, "First Spouse" issue as depicted here:

The first "First Spouse" is of course, Martha Washington, George's better half.

Sometime in the future coinage may appear like this:

Yikes !!!

I'm glad I'm on my way out !