By Davan 
SOMETIMES DULL:
Everyone here claims to be dull but we aren’t. We just march to different drummers. Until my life imploded I was pretty dull. Then everyone died at once (various reasons) including my husband of 42 years. I cried for a year, then realized the life lesson: if a bad thing can happen at any time without warning, aim your focus at Right Now. I poked my head out of my hole, experimented with all sorts of silly activities, and stopped worrying what people think. Now I do many fun things, none of them well, but who cares? I love steam engines so I applied for a job on a steam locomotive and to my total astonishment was accepted. So at age 76 I’m training to be a steam locomotive fireman. Last weekend I had my first 10-hour training shift. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done—like running a marathon while simultaneously working all the machines in the gym and driving an 18-wheeler. When my energy levels drop (like, after a shift – I’m not a spring chicken) I laze around the house for days, reading. After recharging, I’m back at the firebox, or harp, or garden, or whatever’s next.
So we can charge into the World, trying everything – or simply sit quietly and watch it go by. Or both. At any age. Peace to all.
Pics below from my first full 10-hour shift. I thought I would die. Size 10 in steel-toed boots. Bananas don’t survive long in a steam cab.