Dancing on Creaky Knees

 

"Happy birthday my dear old friend! "

"Thank you. How is it you never forget, year after year? "

"You know me. I have the memory of a fucking elephant. Especially numbers of any kind. And of course, every other random thing in the world. Did you know there was this boy in my class in the first grade, and for some strange reason I remember his birthday too! "

"Quite some memory. Lucky you! "

"Lucky? More like a curse.  Tell me, what plans for today? "

"Nothing much. It's a working day. Just order in some favouite food. "

"What about going out with friends for dinner or drinks or dancing? "

"Nah. I'm too old for that. "

"Old? You and I are the same age. "

"Yeah, but I don't drink anymore. I get acidity. Also heavy dinners outside don't suit my system."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha... "

"Why are you laughing? "

"Do you remember how we used to finish a whole bottle of vodka in one night? We never slept throughout the night, night owls that we both are. Listening to your LP player, reading poetry. You smoking your pipe... '

" That fucking pipe. I swear it could have killed me if I hadn't stopped. Yes, we used to listen to Cohen... "

"And Sinatra, Dean Martin, Simon and Garfunkel. And that woman I used to hate. What was her name? "

"Barbara Streisand? "

"Yeah.Yuck! Still yuck! "

"Why do you hate her so much? "

"All her songs are horribly mushy. Love isn't so simple. Love is messy and complicated. And dark, intense... Overwhelming... "

"Oh dear. Still the same, are we? "

"Still the same. "

"I remember your friend who drove twenty hours straight just to see you. "

"He's still my friend. Just my friend. See, that's what I'm talking about. Everyone's still the same and everyone's different in a way... But still the same. "

"Yes, in a way, you are right. "

"Do you still listen to Rabindra Sangeet? "

"Of course. "

"And still read Bengali, even though you're a Maharashtrian? "

"Even more fluently. "

"See, this is what I mean. You're the same. What is this rubbish about old age? "

"I'm not the same, I'm better. "

"Better does not mean adhering to what society expects you to be. It means living up to what you expect from yourself. "

"Like drinking and dancing? "

"What's so wrong about it? Last week, I went out with a friend and got reasonably drunk. I actually fell on the dance floor, trying out some stunts that my 40 plus knees could not support. "

"He, he, he... then? "

"Then nothing. I regretted it the next morning, but only because I was afraid someone I knew had seen me. Like a kid's mother or something like that. But only because of judgement. Otherwise, did I give a fuck? No. Would I do it again? Yes. ".

"Well, I can't... "

"Then don't. But this is our last chance. Come 50s and we start getting creaky knees. So if you wanna dance, just dance. "

"I agree. I already have creaky knees. This is the last call. ".

"But I hope to go dancing even into my 70s. And always doing things I might regret a bit. And take chances and risks. And chase life with both my creaky knees. ".

" Cheers to that. Just a cup of black tea though. No vodka."

"Black tea is good. I just discovered I'm allergic to milk. So no milk anything for me please. "

"Holy cow! Life is a dampner for sure. "

"A nut cruncher! "

"You don't even have nuts! "

"I may some day."

"You're mad. "

"Happy birthday to you. "

"Thank you. "

"Always."

The sounds of the city sifting through trees
Settle like dust on the shoulders of the old friends

- Old Friends, Simon and Garfunkel