Column Chronicles
 
Seven regrets you may have later in life
 
 
Frank Cotolo
July 10, 2014
 
I don't consider myself old, I consider myself seasoned. Still, it remains true that I cannot sprint to the local saloon as quickly as I did twenty years ago. So, I offer a timely list compiled by timely list-makers concerning ----- you will regret when you become - ahum - seasoned.
 
1. Not traveling more, even though you couldn't afford it.
You may find yourself realizing that being a stowaway on a ship to Greece would have been worth trying, especially if you had gotten away with it. Who knows how many ships you could have taken to far away places without having gotten caught?
 
2. Not learning Latin.
Although even the Catholic Church gave up using Latin in public, you could find yourself feeling badly that you always thought you knew Latin because you knew Spanish based on calling Spanish people Latin people.
 
3. Remaining in a marriage.
When you awake one morning to the sight of your long-time wife winding up to smash you with a sledgehammer while your grown children are urging her on, you may remember some years back when you wanted to go out for a pack of cigarettes and never come back.
 
4. Missing John Denver in concert.
While sauntering down a country road as you chew on prunes, you may feel deeply sad that you thought you would listen to John Denver perform in a theater near you, even though there was no way for you to predict his fate. This feeling of never being able to fill up your senses is a heavy one.
 
5. Staying in a profession you abhorred.
Sure, you may have made a million dollars as a psychotherapist over the years but more than once you thought of changing professions. Then, once you retired you realized you have repressed anger because you never expressed your emotions to your father, who ran away with your mother and left you to grow up alone.
 
6. Refusing to admit to certain people that you loved them.
As good friends pass on, you are given to the urge to tell them what you never said to their faces, that you loved them dearly. You can only rationalize by being happy that you told those you hated to go f--- themselves.
 
7. Being self-absorbed.
With your days numbered, you wonder why you spent so much time feeling like a victim, wishing things were better for you and thinking that your life was wretched and unfulfilling. You see it all from a different perspective now and it depresses you to be unable to join the Peace Corps at your age.
 
Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.

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