“… Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

So make the best of this test, and don’t ask why

It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time

… It’s something unpredictable

But in the end, it’s right

I hope you had the time of your life

… So take the photographs and still frames in your mind

Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time

Tattoos of memories, and dead skin on trial

For what it’s worth, it was worth all the while

… It’s something unpredictable

But in the end, it’s right

I hope you had the time of your life

… It’s something unpredictable

But in the end, it’s right

I hope you had the time of your life

… It’s something unpredictable

But in the end, it’s right

I hope you had the time of your life”

Good Riddance by Green Day, written by Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool, Mike Dirnt.

The above lyrics came from a song titled “Good Riddance,” released by the group, Green Day, in 1997 and is from their album, Nimrod.

Green Day is an Alternative Rock, Folk Music, Acoustic Rock, Folk Punk, Folk Band. It’s said that the meaning of the lyric, “I hope you had the time of your life,” is a hope for someone to have had a great experience while a relationship or experience existed, but for whatever reason (break-up, death, a significant life change, etc.) the situation, experience, relationship, or life ended, and/or the parties each went their separate ways.

The lyrics signify that it was good while it happened, and is sometimes delivered sarcastically, or as a reminder to cherish the memories of the now ended experience or relationship, and is often expressed after a graduation, or other nostalgic situations, despite it’s often cynically delivered sarcasm.

All of us have been in situations with which we have been fortunate to have been involved, because of an activity, or certain people with whom we shared a special experience or relationship. I have had many from long ago, some of those which brought anger and ill feelings if they ended abruptly, and some I have been able to say that they were among some of the best days of my life.

As I’m now in my golden years (wow, that was hard to say), I look back to the events and situations that brought some of the anger and sarcasm, and I realize that all of those situations made me a better person and many of the people with whom I shared the relationship, were, and still are wonderful people, some of them I consider and call, close friends.

My parents always emphasized to all of us to “count your blessings” as we were growing up. Being a hot tempered, loud, animated kid growing up, I often forgot how blessed I was, with the things I had at home, the opportunities I was given, and the people whose paths had crossed mine as I grew up.

As a teacher and sports coach, I have compiled what might be considered a book of sayings (I call them Food for Thought) that I shared with my own kids, my students, and athletes. Sometimes, I have to go back and read them over, when I get the “Woe is me,” blues, to remember how truly blessed I have been in this life I’ve lived. One of the quotes I always will remember, is from the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig’s, address to the fans in Yankee Stadium on the Fourth of July, in 1930, when he spoke the words he is remembered for as he walked off the field for the last time, “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

Like everyone, I’ve lost loved ones, I’ve not gotten jobs I’ve interviewed for, I’ve been part of more that a few break-ups, my favorite professional teams have never won a championship in my lifetime, I have no regrets, but wished that I did some things a little differently, but I definitely count the blessings of friends and people I was able to share with others in the same relationships as me, (whether the relationships were successful, or not), that I have been given in my lifetime, the opportunities that were made available to me and the wisdom and strength, I was blessed with, to take advantage of those opportunities. That includes family, friends, co-workers, co-coaches, co-officials, students, players, church friends, baseball friends, The Browns Backers, people I’ve met volunteering at church, my doctors, the gang at the “Cheers of Jamestown” (The Pub), our friends at Waddington’s, and The Lakewood Rod and Gun Club. I also count my blessings of the friends I haven’t met, yet, because I seem to meet and make friends fairly easily (my kids say that it’s because I love to talk.)

So, as I look back at all of this, I can honestly say that in almost all of what I’ve done, and most all those with whom I’ve shared experiences, no matter what they were, I’ve, most definitely, had the time of my life. My wish today for everyone reading this, and those not reading it, to look back on your lives, use your own system of checks and balances, as I pray you all can find enough to say you too have had the time of your life.