“Summer has just begun and already they are talking Fall,” the old man said. “Why do we rush life?” I asked.

“Because we always want to be somewhere else,” he said. “Somewhere ahead in time where we think things will be better than they are right now.” “So we never live in the here and now. We live in the future,” I added.

“Some live in the past. You see, they thought back then that today would be better. It isn’t. Defeated now by broken dreams, they see no future, hate the present and have decided what they had years ago was the best they could do,” he said.

Looking at this man you would think he never let go of the past. He was dressed in a long sleeve white cotton shirt and pants, red suspenders, blue bow tie and yes, a straw hat with a blue band around it. His white hair, long enough to hold a wave around his ears, and slightly over his shirt collar, was clean, bright and well kept.

“So where are you today?” he asked.

“Right now I am here speaking with you and enjoying every minute of it.”

He smiled. “But I’ll admit there are times when “being here” isn’t good enough. I guess I float back and forth. I’ve enough great moments in the past to get me through some present day challenges and enough hopes and dreams to find myself lost in thoughts of tomorrow,” I told him.

“Someone once told me that it’s okay to look back at yesterday, just don’t sit there and stare,” he said with a chuckle. “The best place to be is here.”

“What about you? Where are you today?” I asked him.

We were interrupted just then, by the sweet sounds of a young girl approaching.

“Grandpa! Grandpa!”

He stood up and waved shouting “Over here, my love!” “That is my grandchild and my daughter. Today, right now, I will not think of yesterday, nor will I dream about tomorrow. Today is Friday and we shall picnic in the park.”

I sat there a moment longer and watched them walk down to the lake, picnic basket in hand. He was right. The best place to be was here. But oddly, I could see it all. There was the past, present and future right there before my eyes.

So, where are you today? Why not “picnic in the park.”

“I believe in you!” Bob Perks Bob@BobPerks.com Copyright (c) 2003, Bob Perks. I encourage you to share my stories with your friends but, when copying I ask that you keep my name and contact information attached along with this notice. Use of this story for commercial purposes is prohibited without direct permission from the author.