Things That Do Not Matter To Me Anymore

Change Happens, I Guess

There are things that used to be very important to me that simply do not matter anymore. I wonder if it is a natural part of the aging process. Priorities change, attitudes evolve, energy diminishes; perhaps there are multiple factors for this phenomenon. Curiously, I sometimes feel a sense of loss over a few of these things I say I no longer care about, which seems contradictory, you know? Let me explain.

Wearing a Watch

Who wears a watch anymore? The same people who remember “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” as the funniest show on television. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But, mostly it is older people who wear wristwatches. And, by the way, what I am referring to here is a timepiece worn on one’s wrist, not a mini computer that tracks your heart rate or gives you directions to the nearest Dutch Bros. A relatively simple device that just tells the time.

When a younger person wears a watch, often it is as a fashion accessory. Or, in the case of a younger person wearing a really expensive watch, like a Rolex, it is to show that they can afford a really expensive watch, like a Rolex.

I wore a watch for many years, because I am into punctuality. Big time. I like being where I have to be, when I have to be there. I never cared about having an expensive watch to show off, though. I preferred watches that had the logos of my favorite sports teams. And, I had a cool Three Stooges watch for a time. I had a watch that had the logo of the inaugural Brickyard 400 NASCAR race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I could not have cared less about having a Rolex.

I was very particular about one aspect of watch-wearing. I did not like watches that had those expandable metal bands. If I found a watch I liked, I also bought a black leather band to go with it, if it didn’t already have one. I had to have that black leather watch band. Why? Because. That’s why.

But, then I started carrying a cellphone in my pocket that showed me the time whenever I looked at it. I began to realize that my watch, my trusty old companion of so many years, had become redundant. So, when my last watch, which had a gold face and the Steelers helmet on it, quit working, I joined the ranks of the watchless, so to speak. And, I never looked back.

This is one of our wedding pictures, meant to highlight our rings. I sneakily pulled back my cuff just enough to expose my Steelers watch. Note the black leather band.

Reading the Sunday Paper

When I got my first apartment after leaving home, early on I established a ritual that I learned from my father. I would go to the nearest convenience store on Sundays and pick up the Sunday newspaper. I am not claiming that I read every word of every story printed that day, but I did feel as if I was getting important information about the world, both locally and globally. Of course, there were Sundays where I was off doing something and I couldn’t spend the day reading the newspaper. I still tried to get a paper that day, then catch up on it during the week when I could.

Reading the Sunday newspaper used to be an important ritual to me, but I guess my interest in continuing it just kind of faded away. As technology evolved, so did the way I chose to become informed. It’s been years since I sat down to enjoy the Sunday newspaper. Sometimes I miss it, but not enough to go back.

I used to enjoy reading the newspaper. Those days are gone.

Souvenir Programs

Whenever I would go to a sporting event or a concert, I would buy a program as a keepsake. I guess they were filled mostly with ads, but they usually had a few interesting pictures and stories about the teams and participants, and I liked having a souvenir to remind me of the event. Over decades, I filled up a large box full of programs.

One day, I was rooting around in the closet for something and I had to move that big box out of the way. I opened it and looked through a few of the programs and came to a surprising realization. Of all the programs in that box, almost none of them had seen the light of day since I brought them home. Why was it so important to have these things if I just tossed them in a box, never to be seen again? What had seemed terribly important almost instantly seemed pointless. I threw almost all of them in the recycling barrel and never bought another. Does that seem weird? It does to me.

A few of the old programs that survived the great purge.

Road Trips

I used to enjoy getting out on the open road and seeing America. I made multiple solo road trips across the country, and after I met the woman who became my wife, we took multiple road trips across the country together. Our wedding and honeymoon were spent on a 21 day road trip, encompassing more than 6000 miles. We have spent many days driving all around this great land. I used to think than when we both retired, we would be taking road trips all the time. We really enjoyed the open road.

Then, I got old.

It has become clear that I do not want to spend 21 days, driving 6000+ miles on the open road anymore, no matter what great parts of America that are still out there for us to experience. Also, leaving our cats and tortoise for any length of time now fills me with dread and anxiety.

Whenever I think about it, I am surprised that my attitude toward road trips has changed so dramatically. I thought I was always going to have White Line Fever. I find it somewhat disconcerting to realize I am not the person I thought I would be at this age. Of course, this is not the only prediction I made about myself when I was young that has turned out wrong. I am not a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, either.

We loved road trips so much, after a long one we would buy a big wall map and highlight our route. I do not even want to go across town nowadays.

Boxing

I was a big boxing fan back in the day. And, by back in the day, I mean before cable TV, the internet, MMA, and Pay-Per-View. Like the really olden days.

Boxing was seen semi-regularly on network TV back then, often on the weekend sports shows such as ABC’s Wide World of Sports, and occasionally in prime time. The huge megafights, like Ali-Frazier, were shown on Closed Circuit TV in theaters and arenas across the country.

When it comes to sports in general, I cannot really get into it without having a favorite team or player. In boxing, it was the emergence of Marvelous Marvin Hagler that fueled my interest the sport. I became a big fan of Marvin based on his history and his style in the ring. I subscribed to a couple of boxing magazines, which was the best way to get information on the boxers of the time, in hopes of finding articles about Marvin and his career.

I first saw an up-and-coming Marvin destroy US Olympian Sugar Ray Seales on TV and I was hooked. He seemed like an outsider who was getting screwed by the powers that be in boxing. Eventually he became the undisputed Middleweight Champion of the World. And, I felt a part of it, as fans do.

The pinnacle of Marvin’s career was the defense of his title against Thomas “The Hit Man” Hearns in Las Vegas in 1985 and I was there. It was, and remains to this day, the most dynamic, exciting, electric, sporting event I have ever attended in person. Marvin truly was Marvelous as he took down The Hit Man with a round 3 TKO.

A couple of years later, Marvin was robbed of his title in a fight against Sugar Ray Leonard. Throughout boxing history, there have been many questionable decisions rendered by incompetent judges. Unfortunately, this was one of them. The fight was closer than it should have been, however it was clear that Marvin won that fight. Clear except to the three judges, that is.

Anyway, Marvin retired and was one of the few fighters who never mounted a comeback. And, my interest in the sport retired with him. Today, I have only a passing interest in boxing. It meant a great deal to me at one time, not anymore. When Marvelous Marvin Hagler retired, it was like flipping a switch.

This photo of an in-his-prime Young Norm and an in-his-prime Marvelous Marvin Hagler hangs on the wall of Old Norm’s office. Oh, Young Norm, there is so much I wish I could tell you!

Conclusion

I suppose everyone has moments when they remember something that once was very meaningful in their lives that was long forgotten and is now meaningless. Change happens, I guess. Whether we like it or not.

Makes sense, but sometimes it’s not that easy.

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