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--> --> Sept. 5: Beware of the hikers By Patty Perrin He was a beautiful young man walking down the street in my direction. He never noticed me. If he had he would have only seen an old woman. But I saw him. And he was a joy to behold. For those few moments as we passed, I enjoyed every second of him. I am a very fortunate old person, but I am old. Most of the time I accept being old and don't complain. But when I saw this handsome specimen of manhood I was reminded of how much I miss the youthful charge of appreciating the opposite sex. During a recent hike I got telling my four hiking buddies (average age 74) about spotting this guy on the street and how it effected me. We hikers know each other well. During our time together we give up the facade of being mothers and grandmothers and return to just being a gang again. When we stop for lunch we talk. We talk about everything. We've been known to become earthy as we sit on our rock, tree trunk or whatever while we eat. We are tired from the climb, satiated with our peanut butter sandwiches and usually resting in a glorious spot on a hill. It's an ideal, safe place to share, dream and confess. "You know, generally I don't mind being old until I see something like that guy and then I miss being young." I feel a longing as I throw out the idea. The others all respond. "I wouldn't be a teen-ager again for anything." "My twenties were one big emotional yo-yo. Holy cow, everything was a big deal. No thanks, not again." I agree with them. "I don't want to be young again either but I do regret some missed opportunities. There were a couple of guys I wish I had known much better." "But you knew you'd get pregnant." An old voice repeats the fear of our early lives. The fear that kept most of us "good girls." This group of women had matured before The Pill and we are very aware that birth control didn't always work. I'm sure that among us there was more than one "surprise" child. "I have always wondered if men are all alike." Even I hesitate at admitting my curiosity, but I go on. "I'll never know how it would be to sleep with different guys, like today's women can." "I think maybe it was easier for us that we didn't have so many choices." Everyone agrees. "The young ones don't seem to be any happier." "Yeah, but sometimes I think about Curt and try to imagine what it would of been like with him." The speaker's laugh softens her wrinkles. Each of us recalls someone, or maybe a couple of someones, we were sorry we had not "known better" when we were young. And on the high mountain we let fantasy reign. The girls in each of us laughs as we remember old flames, old desires, things we wished we'd done but couldn't even talk about as young women. "One guy - I'd been married about 10 years - he really sent me off. Boy, talk about chemistry." "I know what you mean. I remember a man who got on my elevator and all we did was look at each other. I could hardly walk off when I got to my floor." Laughter rolls across the hillside. "I just wish I'd had the nerve to have an affair." "No, you'd have trouble living with it. And if George had found out it would kill him." "It might have killed you too." The conversation gets raucous and we begin to use words not common in our "down hill" lives. We pack up to start back. When we walk single file, even if we put the two hikers with hearing aids in the middle, we have to talk loudly to be heard. This day the trail is uneven and I am watching where I walk. I am the last in line, what we call the bear bait position. "Well damn it anyway," I am concentrating on my feet and yelling. "I wish I'd had the nerve to screw somebody else." Heavy silence. I look up and into the eyes of a stranger who has stepped aside to let us go by. It's a middle-aged woman with very blue eyes and a very startled look. I have never seen her before and hope never to see her again. But that isn't important. What is important as I stumble along is that for the first time in a long time I am fighting the giggles. And I feel like a high school girl caught doing something she shouldn't. It feels good. Patty Perrin lives in Ashland and writes a monthly column for the Tidings. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing