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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Voyageur" data-source="post: 1044485" data-attributes="member: 17953">There comes a time when we have to pass the torch. It's true in sports, and every day life. We've done our part, now it's time for someone else to carry on the tradition. The way we protected the younger and older generation becomes the job of those who have picked up our torch. It took me years to accept that. It's like the belief I realized; "My mind says I can still do this, but my body is betraying me." It's better if I don't try, and let someone who can actually do the task handle it, because I might interfere with it being successfully completed. I think you're beginning to come to terms with it. It's not an easy transition. A few years ago, I went with one of my Sons to a sports bar in Austin, TX, to watch a Packer game. Earl Campbell, the great RB was there, in a wheel chair. I was sitting at a table when he came in. I'd never met him, but he kind of migrated in my direction because I was a lot older than the normal patrons. Plus, I was kind of sitting out of the way, at a table, not in the middle of the beaten path. We began idle chit-chat. People kept coming up to him and saying things like; "You look like you could still gain 100 yards a game Earl!" He smile, shake their hands, and when they walked away, the smile would disappear. As we talked, he indicated that those comments by people were intended to make him feel better, but in reality, it made him feel like he was letting himself and others down. Essentially we were both facing the same crisis in life, when "the game" had passed us by, and we were now on the sidelines, as spectators. No matter what your life history is, this is going to happen to all of us, who live full lives.Neither of us said we learned anything from the conversation, but in all honesty, I did. I came away with the feeling that I'd done my part, now it was someone else's turn. I could enjoy the rest of my life knowing that I had made a mark in my lifetime. Like Earl, I was one of the guys who could make things happen, and did. That's when I learned to accept the fact that I'm no longer the guy who could take down a guy who attacked me as a cop, but someone who should accept protection from a cop, who could do the job just like I did, before him. Like my #2 son said. "Dad! You've paid your dues. It's someone else's turn."Yeah. I'm not a modern music fan either. But when I heard the song, and listened to the lyrics, it seemed to fit into how I feel as I get older. We aren't immortal, and how we handle ourselves in the middle of the journey are the keys to how we will be treated ourselves, near the end. It's why I listen to that song at times. Usually when I feel depressed about not being able to do things I still want to do. It's a reminder of how life works.</blockquote>

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