Arrhythmia

**Arrhythmia **

Went to see the Doc. The nurse took my vitals. Red flag! Surprise—an irregular heart beat. “You should have that checked out.” she warned. It's called Arrhythmia. Well, well, well. My dream of making it to my 90s may be just that—a dream. So now I walk around thinking keeling over is a real possibility. Every time I'm short of breath—could it be—now? Still, I don't trust western medicine. So I research foods, acupressure, and exercise to help my tricky heart. More health rituals for my daily routine. As you get older—and I mean past 70—you start thinking about your mortality—a lot. This thinking starts to change your values and direction in life—what's left of it. Besides becoming a cranky curmudgeon, you now have to face a likely time limit. Makes the saying “Nothing lasts forever.” take on a very personal meaning. Beat, beat, long pause, beat, beat, beat.