Tempus Fugit-su

That title is a slight (ahem) modification from the Roman writer Virgil and it survives into our modern lexicon because everyone knows that “Time flies when you’re having fun.” It also flies whether you like it or not. I know that as well as anybody, and I don’t need daily reminders, but I get them anyway.

 

A few days ago as I was scrolling through the utterly useless parts of Facebook (98.9%) I came across a posting that stopped me. It was Tony Bennett’s birthday.

Ahhh, the superb Anthony Benedetto one of the greatest of modern singers – “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” and many others. Tony was turning 90 years old! Sweet Lord, how could that be? He was on TV not long ago, and I still have the CD he did with k.d. lang.

Then it hits me that the TV show was the Ed Sullivan Show and the k.d. lang CD was about 20 years old.

And whatever became of k.d. lang? I’m just asking.

Then there is the case of Alan Jenkins. You may not recognize the name, but that face is a different matter. This picture is Jenkins working with Edward G. Robinson.

Jenkins appeared in about 60,000 films (my guess) – never the Star, but he was there as the Best Friend, Henchman, Goon, or Wisecracking Cabbie. He was also known as the best scene stealer in Hollywood.

He came to mind when I flicked on the bedroom TV and saw that “Robin and the 7 Hoods” was just starting – and there was Alan Jenkins again! His film career ran from 1931 to 1974 – his last shoot was only 10 days before his death.

Tony Bennett – Alan Jenkins – The carton of creamer in the fridge.

I throw in the creamer because it seems to me that I bought it just a few hours ago, but the “Best if used by” date is the day after tomorrow.

Everything seems to come with a “Best if used by” date on it – bread, eggs, frozen waffles. I would think that if they are frozen they should be good indefinitely. Seriously, they are digging up frozen Mastodons in Siberia and that meat is better than anything at the Outback Steak House. Why must our waffles become questionable after a few months?

And, just between you, me and Mrs. Butterworth, I think that using the term “best” in regard to frozen waffles at anytime is a bit of a stretch.

But if I bought them mere moments ago to where did the intervening time vanish? Is it hiding out in that place that holds all of my missing socks? Or has Tony Bennett been snagging them up, because he looks pretty good for 90 years of age – and he is still working. He and Lady Gaga, of all people, have been sitting on the top of the charts for a very long time.

I’m beginning to suspect that there may be a “Best if used by” sticker on us. Deep in the genetic code I think that there is a tag that tells the body that, “Sorry, but it’s all downhill from here.” If so, there must be clues strewn about to give us a hint. I think I uncovered one of those clues this morning while driving.

I was tooling down Wabash Avenue and I started to sing. The radio was not turned on, but that didn’t stop me. At the red light I started warbling an old Mills Brothers song (If you are under 60 – look ‘em up.). I haven’t heard that song in decades. I haven’t heard the Mills Brothers in decades. The fact that they are long dead may account for that, but I was cookin’!

It wasn’t until I got home that I began to wonder if there were more serious implications than just a musical memory. After spending a couple of hours on it I concluded that I needed a nap and, “I’m gonna buy a paper doll that I can call my own…”

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