Wild and Unpredictable

Max and I were watching The Maltese Falcon together last night for about the seventh or eighth time. Something stirred in me when Brigid O’Shaughnessy said to Sam Spade, “You do such wild and unpredictable things.” I did a wild and unpredictable thing yesterday morning.

Todd Payne, my life coach, thinks I am extremely risk averse. I would like to quibble with him, but really cannot. The only really wild and unpredictable thing I ever did before now was buying a house and moving across the country when I retired. It felt like a cataclysmic event, but I know most people do things like that all the time. When it comes to everyday life, I am even more staid. I like spontaneity, but I like my spontaneity to be planned and scheduled. I like adventure, but I like my adventure to be carefully controlled. I think risk of litigation is a powerful moderating force in our society. When I contemplate doing something scary, I consider whether I could successfully sue the entity offering me the scary option if something goes amiss. If it seems likely that I would prevail, I figure the entity offering me the option must be confident that no tragedy will occur.

Yesterday, though, I slipped my leash and ran hellbent for leather off the trail. I went to pick up my new eyeglasses.

After I picked up the glasses, I realized that I have been wearing spectacles for over 50 years. That just seems inconceivable to me. Fifty years seems like such a long time. I guess I never thought about wearing glasses this long when I got my first pair of brown-rimmed cats-eye spectacles in the sixth grade. I estimate that I have worn at least fifty different frames since that time, counting both regular glasses and sunglasses. The number of frames I have tried on in that period must count into the hundreds. That is wild.

The other thing I noticed is that all those frames, especially those in the past 20 years, have been pretty similar. I always pick sunglass frames for durability because I am hard on sunglasses, so they do not really count. The regular glasses are my fashion statement. The regular glasses have always been smallish rectangular metal frames in some shade of gold, silver, pink, or blue. Once I had lilac, which was a real walk on the wild side. My goal was to have frames that were like eyeshadow. You were not really supposed to notice the glasses themselves, but the color and shine were supposed to enhance the beauty of my eyes.

This time, though, I was wild AND unpredictable. My new glasses are rose gold metal. They are large, squoval, and funky. They are unlike any other glasses I have ever owned. It is impossible not to notice them. Rather than serving as eyeshadow, they are more like jewelry for my face. I love them.

What is happening to me? The next thing you know, I will be ziplining. Oh yeah, I did that already.

What is the most wild and unpredictable thing you have ever done? Please share your perspective by leaving a comment. In the alternative, you can email me at terriretirement@gmail.com.

Have a wild and unpredictable day!

Terri/Dorry 😊