~ Musty Figs Rule ~

I recently had a discussion with a radio DJ friend of mine. He's a legendary broadcaster in country & bluegrass music and is well known as one of the great historians of the genre and its pioneers. A wonderful old soul even though he's only 44 years old. His face looks young but he carries himself much differently. He's one of these people that should have been born in another era. You meet him and shake his hand and immediately feel like you've been transported back in time, talking with a man from Walton's Mountain in the 1930's or 40's. He'll tell you that too. We got to chatting about our grandparents. His grandfather will turn 96 years old this coming New Year's Eve, "if he's able to hold on," he says. His Grandmother just passed away this past winter at the age of 90. They were married for 74 years. Unbelievable.

My grandfather, soon to be 89, is one of two remaining siblings from a large family of about 10 children, I think. His brother Joe isn't doing very well and I've often wondered what it would be like to be older and slowly say goodbye to the people that you've known all your life, eventually finding yourself as one of the remaining few. I have alot of admiration, love and reverence for my Grandfather and for older people in general, for that matter.

Eddie and I talked about how we wished people had that same level of interest and respect for people of older age groups. I certainly have always loved my grandparents with all my heart but was younger and didn't get to know each of them in the same way. That's human nature I suppose. I was in elementary or high school and life would go on forever and so would the people around me. Of this I was sure.

I think certain lessons are just meant to be grasped once we've matured a little bit. I admire younger people who "get it" early. And for me, the history that my relatives embody is one of those lessons. Eddie said he and his brothers have always been old souls although he's "sicker" with it than they are. He's a musty, old fig and always has been, he said. Ending his sentence with a rousing exclamation of "Musty Figs Rule!"

Today, our society teaches us that we are self-reliant and that we know everything about everything. I'm pretty convinced however, that if we would all just take a moment to realize that we really don't know that much, then life would be alot easier. Stop putting so much faith in just ourselves. I think wisdom is learned and inherited from those that go before us and if I don't take the time to really pay attention, a lesson will disappear. Maybe loss is a good teacher. When you experience loss in your life, these lessons start to seem more important and worthy of our time.

I like the stories of yesteryear. I learn from them. I'm intrigued by people who have come through decades of experiences and want to pass their history on to the next group of people that will grow old. It's the circle of life.

I told Eddie that we hope to instill this in our son. I want him to be comfortable around older people. I want him to be excited to hear their stories. I want him to know that musty figs really do rule.