Ninety something

 His eyes are growing weaker, and his grip is weakening. His steps were a little slower, and his voice was more like a whisper. He beat the odds and lived to be in his nineties. He couldn't remember the date anymore, but what did it matter anyway, as each day was a blessing, but to do what he wondered.

He buried his wife decades ago and suffered the loss of both his children, leaving him broken and never totally healed. He often asked himself what God had planned for him at this late stage in life, but no answers were ever revealed to him. Not yet, anyway.

He had one true friend who called him GGD, short for Great-great-Granddad. His name was William, after himself, which he always thought to be a good choice. Billy, as he called him, came calling every week, always with a bag of food and his favorite Tootsie Rolls. He told Billy he enjoyed them because it took a while without his dentures for one to dissolve in his mouth.

They would sit in silence for a spell, GGD enjoying the company as he unwrapped another Tootsie Roll, as Billy asked him to tell him something about his life he didn't already know. The old man paused from dissolving his candy and seemed to be someplace far from the front porch as he slowly began to speak.

Did you know I was a circus clown He asked. For reels, Billy asked. Yes, back before the circuses were filled with carnival rides, all they had was a tent with a hundred patches, where animals and performers thrilled small audiences with incredible feats of balance. But we weren't just clowns; we were the men who kept the performers safe when an animal got out of control. We ran right up to the beast and taunted them until they charged us all, making it look like part of the act. Once the danger had passed, the clowns threw tootsie rolls to the children, but I always had a good stash in my huge clown pockets for myself. True story, he whispered.

Billy always stayed until dark, sharing a meal before he made the long trip home on his bicycle. Hold on, he told Billy as he went inside and came out with a larger-than-average rubber horn, which he squeezed, letting out noise so loud that the birds in the trees flew away. This here is my clown horn, guaranteed to make a person jump out of their seats. Go ahead and strap it to your handlebars. If a stray dog or an armadillo gets in your way, give them a blast from this. I guarantee they will move out of your way.

As Billy got on his bicycle, he headed down the dirt road. The old man listened as his old circus horn blasted out warnings until it was out of sight and sound. He unwrapped another tootsie roll, letting it dissolve slowly in his mouth as he grinned the toothless grin of a man ninety-something.

Mike 2025