When I was in my Prime

by Terry Broxson

Prime. The first thing to come to mind is Amazon Prime.

Then there is Prime Time, Dion Sanders. Who is a legendary American football player; and a legendary coach in the making.

A book, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark.

A movie, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, starring Maggie Smith. She won the Academy Award for best actress in 1969. The film featured a song, "Jean," written by Rod McKuen.

Considering Miss Smith's performance and the movie's message, there is no doubt Maggie Smith was in her prime as Miss Jean Brodie.

But, there is the bigger question, at least for me. Exactly when was I in my prime?

There is a corollary question. What happened to it?

One thing is for dang sure. I ain't in my prime no more. There were little tell-tell signs. I couldn't open the jar of pickles. I had to run hot water on the jar. I had to use one of those good grip things to twist the lid off. I don't even like pickles.

When I read my kindle, I don't need reading glasses. But the other day, I was reading Sally Law's, What the Blind Girl Saw. I had to get my glasses. It could have been a psychological identification with the heroine's condition. Or another clue my prime had departed.

A friend of mine asked me, "When was the last time you were with a woman?"

My first reaction was, why was it any of his business?

But I answered, "I will have you know I was with a woman this morning at the grocery store. It was in the produce aisle. I was getting grapes ($12 for a bag). She was examining apples. I didn't speak to her because I figured if she was that picky about apples, there wasn't any use in me talking to her."

My friend said, "Oh, for crying out loud, you are way past your prime."

Well, if he understands I am past my prime, why would he ask me about a woman? With friends like him, I don't need enemies.

So, when was I in my prime? It was undoubtedly when I was nineteen, a sophomore in college. I had spent the summer working in the oil patch, swinging a bush axe, clearing the line of sight to survey oil wells. I was six foot three inches tall, had one hundred ninety-five pounds of muscle with curly red hair.

I could knock over trees, throw boulders, run-down horses, and catch girls.

In truth, I never did knock over a tree, throw a boulder, or catch a horse or a girl when I was nineteen. My prime, in the beginning, was about the concept, not the application.

My other question about when I lost my prime may center on the story of Samson and Delilah. One morning, I looked in the mirror, "What happened to my hair?" My hair was not cut. It just went away.

Somewhere between nineteen and losing my hair, I was in my prime. I had both concept and application.

Amazon Prime costs $139 a year. I did read the details of the membership. Sadly it does not cover Concepts and Applications.