Saturday, November 11, 2017
"I Don't Do Nothin' Like I Used To..."
By: Donovan Baldwin
The late John W. Bubbles (John William Sublett 1902 - 1986) was doing a soft shoe routine on the Ed Sullivan Show, one night. He was in his 60's. He was joking as he danced, and, at one point said something like: They say I don't dance like I used to.
He laughed and said, "I don't do NOTHING like I used to."
Being in my 70's now, I get it, Sir.
Actually, I found that as years of my life passed, I didn't do things the same.
As I aged, I realized that how I did things, how I thought about things, how I reacted to things, changed. Not all at once, and not in every way, but, they did change...or, I did.
As we add experiences, and acquire the free, often painful, education that life provides, our perception of the world, of people, of events, changes.
For some of us, these changes, and there will be many, may be subtle. For someone else some may be intense, and, also, as life sometimes is, painful.
We may not recognize, or acknowledge, all the changes, but, they are happening.
Trying to remain "the same" year after year, decade after decade, is one of the most painful things we can do, and, can become more painful than simply accepting, and adapting to, change.
Sometimes it is necessary, useful, or, simply, the right thing to do, but, whether we fight or follow, life wants us to move and grow, and teach.
It's frustrating trying to help others learn what we learned the hard way, before they have to learn it the way we did.
But, get used to it. After all, we didn't believe our teachers either.
He laughed and said, "I don't do NOTHING like I used to."
Being in my 70's now, I get it, Sir.
Actually, I found that as years of my life passed, I didn't do things the same.
As I aged, I realized that how I did things, how I thought about things, how I reacted to things, changed. Not all at once, and not in every way, but, they did change...or, I did.
As we add experiences, and acquire the free, often painful, education that life provides, our perception of the world, of people, of events, changes.
For some of us, these changes, and there will be many, may be subtle. For someone else some may be intense, and, also, as life sometimes is, painful.
We may not recognize, or acknowledge, all the changes, but, they are happening.
Trying to remain "the same" year after year, decade after decade, is one of the most painful things we can do, and, can become more painful than simply accepting, and adapting to, change.
Sometimes it is necessary, useful, or, simply, the right thing to do, but, whether we fight or follow, life wants us to move and grow, and teach.
It's frustrating trying to help others learn what we learned the hard way, before they have to learn it the way we did.
But, get used to it. After all, we didn't believe our teachers either.
Labels: dancing, donovan baldwin, Ed Sullivan, Ed Sullivan show, getting older, growing old, John W. Bubbles, John William Sublett
