Fixtures by Dr. Juan Harrison
Fixtures
Over the years I’ve grown up hearing about so-and-so being a fixture in our community or society. We grew up with Jack Benny and Bob Hope on the TV screen. Looking around my hometown I miss my old friend Hankie at his café and Ray Vaughan over at his BBQ stand on Putman St. Sometimes it’s your mechanic or lawn mower repair guy that slowly rode off into the sunset. You wish you could lock em up and keep them forever.
We see these never changing seemingly timeless folks filling this spot in our daily lives. Their presence tells you all’s well much like the feeling of “Daddy’s home” might conjure up pictures and emotions from the past. I think the young folks handle all of society’s upheaval a bit better than us elders do. They kinda accept it like a new version of their IPhone. Us older guys seem to get a bit more frustrated each day as they go around kicking out the props to our everyday existence.
The thought hit me one day that my peers and I have been slowly evolving into the roles held by our local and national heroes and leaders. Somehow over time we’ve just sorta eased into a slot or found our unique role, particularly in a small town. As we age and most people come to recognize us, we find it hard to go to the grocery store without someone hollering at you, “Hey, Coach,” or “Hello Dr. Juan.” People recognize us from different stages in our lives. The young ones grow into adulthood while we just seem to remain static. How did my old students and players get to be so old while I’ve remained the same.
Time marches on. Age makes its advance. We find it harder to recognize the younger folks. Seemingly, they may have the same experience. Some folks may have envisioned a grand and glorious sendoff for our funeral. Unfortunately, as our peers pass on or into the home, our potential crowd keeps shrinking. Billy Joel used to sing “Only the good die young.” I’ve always half-jokingly said if you want a big funeral; you might want to die young. Me, I’ve always felt like I’d gladly trade a bigger crowd at my 30 minutes of recognition for a few more days with my sweet grands.
We often see other people fairly clearly. It’s a lot more difficult to get a fix on how others see us. In our small town they see us as friends and people they know. We each take on roles in the community, some more recognizable than others. Still, most of us have been blessed to be a fixture in our town or in our family. They can’t or won’t replace us. How much they miss us will depend on how much we invested into their lives.
By Dr. Juan Harrison
