Time Trials (16 page)

PART THREE

The Bad-Ass Golden Girls

Chapter 26

2012

So, here we are. Another twenty years have passed and the world has undergone some major alterations. Social media changed life as we once knew it. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Google, and texting are major passages of communication. YouTube can provide any instructional/how to or music video you desire. Netflix, Redbox, On Demand, and DVD recorders have shut down all video rental stores. A VCR
may
still be found in a vintage shop.

Gen X and Millennials were the first generations to grow up with computers in their homes. Baby boomers became digital immigrants versus the digital natives mentioned above. A good number of baby boomers embraced the technology; others dealt with it the best they could, while some crossed their arms and said no way, no thank you. Hence, we have an older generation mix of George and Jane Jetsons versus the Fred and Wilma Flintstones.

The major networks now have to compete in ratings with the plethora of cable stations for news, sitcoms, and series. Fewer people have landlines, and heaven forbid if you don’t have a smart phone. God…where would we be without our smart phones? GPSs are now standard on most new vehicles, which eliminated the standalone GPS system one could mount on the dashboard of a car. Then Google maps came into play. Wow.

James Bond underwent many transformations over the years. “Resources say” there are more than five, but for the sake of boredom, let’s stick with the most notable: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and finally, Daniel Craig.

Pixar altered animation forever. The production company brought to life CGI-animated features with PhotoRealistic RenderMan used to generate high-quality (lifelike) imaging. Pixar movies now entertain adults as well as children.

September 11, 2001, now referred to as 9-11, changed our country forever when a group of Islamic terrorists hijacked four commercial airlines in midair. Two brought down the World Trade Center in New York City, the third hit the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania. Thousands of people lost their lives, and millions upon millions of people across the world were affected. The TSA (Transportation Security Association) heightened security control to drop-offs and pick-up stations for those traveling by air. The September 11 attack prompted the invasion of Iraq in 2003, sending the United States to war.

OJ Simpson was acquitted on charges of killing his wife, while Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriquez, and Lance Armstrong lost their athletic celebrity hero status due to performance-enhanced drugs.

On a lighter note,
Wheel of Fortune
celebrated its thirty-seventh year as the longest running game show, and reality TV took over television networks. The Food Network became a viable source of entertainment with such hits as
Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
, Giada
De
Laurentiis, Emeril, Bobby Flay,
The Pioneer Woman
, and Rachael Ray, to name a few. Even Trisha Yearwood, mostly known for her music career, landed her own show on Food Network, specializing in her family’s recipes for home cooking.

Charlie Sheen dove headfirst into the shallow end of a pool and ended his long-standing career as Charlie Harper on
Two and a Half Men
.
Winning
…not. And although Americans loved their sports,
Sunday Night Football
lost its No. 1 total program viewers slot to Mark Harmon’s tenth season of
NCIS.
CBS’s
The Big Bang Theory
was the highest-rated comedy, with the nerd-herd headed by Sheldon Cooper.

Over the years, young and old alike were enthralled by the world of Harry Potter, with J. K. Rowling gaining the position as the first ever author to achieve $1 billion in net worth. The books became the best-selling book series in history, and once these epic stories turned to the big screen, became the second highest-grossing film series ever recorded. To date, the
Marvel
series captures the top spot.

Back to 2012, the San Francisco Giants swept the Detroit Tigers and the New England Patriots won Superbowl XLVI over the New York Giants. The Miami Heat became the NBA Champs in four games to one over the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Rory McIlroy shot
a bogey-free 66 (−6) in the final round to win the PGA, his second major title, by eight strokes over runner-up David Lynn.
Roger Federer and Serena Williams claimed individual Wimbledon titles. The BCS Championship in New Orleans went to the Alabama Crimson Tide over the LSU Tigers. The NCAA Basketball champs were the University of Kentucky Wildcats, and the Lady Bears of Baylor University won their second national title against Notre Dame. They finished their season 40-0.

I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 2012, losing out on the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes to Union Rags. Tendonitis caused I’ll Have another to be scratched the day before the race, which not only cost him the Triple Crown, but also his racing career.

~~~

Disclaimer:

The stages listed below are taken from

Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Man
,

and a few additions from Wikipedia.

Stage of Development 7: Generativity vs Stagnation

(Ages 40-65+)

Basic Virtue: Care

•  
  During adulthood, people continue to build their lives, focus on career and family
  
•  
  They strive to create or nurture something that will outlast them, like having children or contributing to changes that benefit others, or simply learn to care for another person
  
•  
  Generativity refers to “making your mark” on the world, whether through creating or caring…giving back with the knowledge you’re helping to make the world a better place
  
•  
  Those successful during this stage develop the virtue of caring, being proud of your accomplishments, watching your children grow into adults, and/or feeling okay with yourself as a human being
  
•  
  According to Erikson, “A person does best at this time to put aside thoughts of death and balance its certainty with the only happiness that is lasting: to increase, by whatever is yours to give, the goodwill and higher order in your sector of the world.” (Erikson, 1974)
  

Chapter 27

Allison - 2012

Let’s face it. No matter how well you take care of yourself, there is something you can’t outrun. Time. It’ll march right over you. Some get the tiptoe treatment…others get the combat boots. The BAGs are approaching sixty. Is that possible? Yes…happens to everyone, no one is exempt. Father Time and Mother Nature are in cahoots here. Lines appear where there was once smooth skin. Gravity takes hold with both fists and drags everything south. Hair growth lessens in some areas, and for whatever freaky reason begins to grow in other less appealing spaces.

It all boils down to attitude. Are we going to be like the Good Witch of the North…mild-mannered and placing protective kisses on the foreheads of others, wearing a crown of jewels and standing against oppression? Or possibly the green-faced, cruel Wicked Witch of the East, taunting small dogs and little red-headed girls with braids, while dodging buckets of water which would melt our horrible, awful, brown-sugar persona?

Maybe there is a little of both in each of us. The Good Witch might surface when being greeted with a warm hug and smile from a grandchild. Then again, seeing yet another unwanted wiry hair on ones chinny, chin, chin could easily evoke…well, the other witch.

~~~

Back before Denise’s death in 1992, she’d asked Allison why it seemed so hard for people to talk about dying. Allison responded, “I don’t know why, none of us are getting out of here alive.” The BAGs were past the middle of their life span. People didn’t live to be 170. But that didn’t mean it was time to roll up the carpet.
Hell
no. It was more about switching gears. And switching gears was what the BAGs did, although now they referred to themselves fondly as the Bad-Ass Golden Girls.

~~~

Allison and Ben celebrated their thirty-sixth anniversary at their favorite restaurant, Perry’s Steak House. As usual, they split the enormous specialty pork chop. A small votive candle highlighted their faces. She reached across the table to squeeze his hand.

“Thank you.”

“For what? Marrying you?” Ben smiled. “I think you’ve got that backwards.”

One of the things Allison loved most about Ben was how he downplayed his gentleness. As an HPD officer all these years, she knew he had a stoic side, though he never brought that home. He was the backbone of their family. Allison had a strong spirit, Ben had a gentle heart and sensible mind.

“For being the husband, dad, and especially the papa. The grandkids love you.”

“Hey, that’s the easy part.”

He got that right. Being a grandparent was a walk in the park compared to the actual day-to-day, on-call 24/7 of raising children. They’d faired pretty well with the girls. Cara and Shelby were both in their thirties, married, and had families of their own.

Shelby, the youngest, had been their studious, academically-advanced child, and hated her dark auburn natural curly hair and freckles. She had been in the honor society, worked on the school paper, led the debate team to the national finals, and spent more time in her room studying than going out with friends, girls
or
guys. Before her Magna Cum Laude graduation ceremony, she’d held an in-depth conversation with her parents about the importance of critical thinking and social equalization. Shocked the hell out of them.

Well, that was not quite accurate. When Shelby was fourteen, she approached her mom one day while at the mall.

“Mom, we need to buy that guy over there something to eat.” Shelby discreetly nodded toward a man sitting at a table in the food court.

“Why?”

“Because I think he’s hungry and probably homeless.” Shelby stood planted with hands on her hips.

“I don’t know, Shelby.” Although Allison had never been against helping others, she had school clothes in mind.

“Mother, remember
Pay It Forward
?” She now had folded her arms across her chest, determination blazing in her eyes. “It’s only a couple of bucks, and that’s nothing compared to what you’re gonna fork over for Cara in a very short time. Just look at her!”

Allison and Shelby shifted their gaze over to Cara walking around Forever 21 like she owned the place. Long story short, Allison gave Shelby money to buy a meal at McDonalds. Then, with a watchful eye, she watched her youngest daughter visit with the person inhaling his lunch. Shelby later wrote an article for the school paper. Allison had been so impressed she sent a copy to the Houston Chronicle, where it was published by one of the paper’s columnists in a piece about urban areas of Houston.

Cara, the oldest, had been a whole other sack of nuts. She had Allison’s height, blonde hair, and bookoos of the one thing Allison didn’t have at that age...self-confidence. Her appearance held way more credence than grades. And boy, did it show. She and Shelby couldn’t have been more different, and fought like hellcats. Cara’s interests were more along the lines of having the right color glittery eye shadow and practicing what she called her “hair wave” to attract a guy’s attention.

Somehow making her way through college, Cara married and now had two adorable little girls, Layla and Savannah. Ben and Allison couldn’t help but smile thinking of Cara raising two girls…paybacks were gonna be hell. Shelby and her husband had a beautiful three year old little girl, Evelyn, and were currently awaiting the arrival of Jonah, their baby boy, due any day.

Allison would be forever grateful for Ben’s understanding heart with the issue of her mother. Living with someone who suffered from Alzheimer’s was not meant for everyone. And without Ben, she doubted she would have been able to be the primary caregiver, plus maintain her own sanity for as long as she did. They had moved her to a residential facility specializing in the progressive disease when her mother’s temperaments turned harmful to both herself and Allison. Her mother died six months later. Allison always thought she should write some sort of self-help book on what she had learned through her mother’s illness. She made a mental note to talk to Frannie, the BAGs author.

~~~

Astros season tickets had been in the family for years. More times than not, they’d end up keeping the grandkids and hand the tickets over to the girls and their husbands. But tonight would have been her dad’s 95th birthday. She and Ben always made it a point to get to Minute Maid Park for that special day if the Astros were in town. The ball team had been in a slump for quite a while, but that never deterred Allison from honoring her dad, doing the one thing the two of them loved to do together…watching the Astros.

She’d just purchased two overpriced draft beers in souvenir cups and stuffed a bag of peanuts under her arm. Ben had made the first beer run. She turned to head back to their seats.

He must have seen her first, because he just stood there, thumbs hooked in the front pockets of his jeans with that half-smile on his face. An invisible wall, like something out of a Harry Potter movie, slammed her to a halt.

Okay. It was bound to happen. Living in a city with over two million people, you’re bound to run into the one person you thought for absolute sure you’d be with for the rest of your life. Right?

“I saw you in line,” Kevin said.

“Oh yeah?” For some reason she turned around to make sure the concession stand was still behind her and she hadn’t just stepped into some looking-glass time machine. Strangely, she felt she had been zapped back to standing outside her high school gym. What was that? Damn, forty years ago.

“Yeah.” He nodded to the souvenir cups filled to the brim. “You want me to hold those?”

“Oh…no, I got ‘em.” Heaven forbid he should take the beers from her. Whatever would she do with her hands?

“It’s good to see you.” He glanced at the overhead monitor, which signaled the Astros had just ended another scoreless inning. “We’re not doing so well.”

“Yeah…well…you know.”
Yeah, well, you know?
She was approaching sixty and had used the word “yeah” twice in the last five minutes. Get it together moron. “Are…are you back here now?”

“No. No…we’re still in Boston. The kids are living on opposite coasts, but we’re still in Boston.” He shrugged in a way that seemed all too familiar, even after all these years. “Just made a quick trip to see my folks.”

“Oh well, that’s nice. So, your parents—”

“You look good, Allison.”

If her hands sweated any more, she’d drop the beers.

“I mean it. In fact, you look great.”

Okay, this has to stop. What he was saying was perfectly okay for the situation. She just needed to call on her grownup self. How many times had she reminded the BAGs they weren’t eighteen anymore?

Her legs stabilized by some unknown force. Air returned to her lungs like an inflatable doll. She
wasn’t
eighteen anymore. She’d gone through the death of both her parents, raised two daughters, and loved the hell out of her grandkids, not to mention her husband. She could do this.

“Thanks, Kevin.” Allison’s shoulders leveled. “Here.” She handed over one of the beers. “If the offer still stands.” He took the beer while she rearranged the bag of peanuts. Reclaiming the adult beverage, she smiled. “You look good, too.”

“You…um, here with your family?” Kevin folded his arms across his chest.

“Just my husband.”

“Ben,” they both said.

“He’s right down there.” Allison pointed one of the beers toward the nearest aisle. “You want to meet him?”

Kevin glanced toward the aisle, as if considering the offer. “Ah…no. I’ve got to be getting back.”

She looked him directly in the eyes. “It’s good to see you, Kevin. Really. You look great.”

He opened and then closed his mouth, as if struggling to find his voice. “It’s been a long, long time.”

Her eyes softened. “Sounds like a Willie Nelson song.” They both laughed.

“Well, I don’t want to hold you up.” His eyes seemed to be studying hers.  

She held up the sweating souvenir cups and shrugged. “I’d give you a hug, but….”

“That’s okay.” He squeezed her elbow for a brief moment. “See ya.”

“Yeah…see ya.” There was the
yeah
again, but she didn’t care. It really had been good to see him. She’d always wondered how it’d be if she ever ran into him. Funny how an old memory could time-warp you back to a precise time and place. She’d always expected it to hurt. But it didn’t. Wow. She never would have believed it back in the ‘70s, but her life had turned out good…
without
Kevin Leeves. Really good.

The roar of the crowd brought her attention up to the mounted monitor above her.

“Damn, I just missed a double-play.” Souvenir cups in hand, Allison made her way back to her seat.

“Thought you got lost.” Ben reached for the peanuts and one of the beers.

“Nah, just ran into an old friend.” She grabbed back the bag of peanuts. “You’re not getting all these this time.”

“You missed a double play.” Ben took a gulp of beer. “Most action we’ve seen tonight.”