Boundaries

An orange grove at the end of the street

A busy boulevard at the other end

Magnolia Avenue Elementary School

About a mile down the boulevard.

How far can I go?

To school I must go.  If I dare

I might go to the second row of orange trees

Maybe even the third row.

English, German, football, and track

Occupy my days at Petaluma High School.

My 1929 Model A Ford gets me around.

How far can I go?

Anywhere I want

So long as I am up at 5:00AM and back by 5:00PM

To milk the cows.

Twenty-two units,

Thirty hours a week at Hewlett Packard

Washing dishes for my meals

I am a busy student at Stanford.

How far can I go?

I am too busy to think about going anywhere

Except, maybe, going home and milking the cows.

Develco, my own aerospace firm

Twice-monthly TWA to DC and United home

San Jose to Burbank and back, again and again

How far can I go?

Maybe I can take the kids to the beach

But I would rather stay home.

Retired, living happily with my third wife

Enjoying our pets

And the maintenance of our home.

How far can I go?

Almost anywhere I want

But our annual family outing to Mexico

Is about as long as I want to be away from our home

And Alexander, Chico, Lil Maya, and Sebastian.

To address “How far can I go mentally and philosophically” is another, much longer study.

Robert Niel Beatie – February 23, 2013