Old faithful

I’m in my late seventies. I like to point this out on a regular basis. This time, because I want to talk about my body, to thank it for all the long years of faithful service, for tirelessly performing day in and day out so wonderfully well. No one ever had a better companion in this life.

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, I first want to thank my brain. Thank you for letting me think. And create. And imagine. The spectacular leaps, connections, solutions you came up with—amazing! You’ve been responsible for coordinating the whole shebang, my entire form, working efficiently and well. You never let me down. Somewhere in there is memory, preserving experience on demand. My great, heartfelt gratitude.

Heart! What can I say? How unstintingly you pumped my blood to the far reaches of me, supplying me, from head to toe, with nourishment and centering me with your beat. The engine room, still going strong. Is there anything on earth that works this well, when healthy, without fail, for so long?

Thank you, lungs, for your tireless day-in-day-out bellows work. When I slept, you never did. I’m so grateful for the great swell and release of air, 24/7.

Thank you, stomach, kidneys, liver, for the impossibly complex work, the alchemy, you’ve performed for me. Cleansing, converting, filtering, regulating. I could spend days reciting your greatness.

Thank you, eyes for letting me see the world. For letting me see my daughter’s face. And for being able to weep. Thank you tongue for the letting me taste peaches. Ears for letting me hear the singing of birds. Fingers for letting me touch a woman’s hair. Nose for letting me smell an ocean breeze. For the many daily miracles I’ve experienced, I’m in your debt.

Thank you, arms for making me so versatile and for the hard work we did, lifting and pulling. Thank you, hands for letting me grasp, push, and pull. And hold a pen, move it across the page, write words. Thank you, legs for taking me near and far and for giving me so much steed-like pleasure. Thank you, skin for keeping it all together and for sweat. Thank you, lips for letting me kiss. Thank you voice for letting me speak, for letting me issue words of comfort, praise, and affection.

Thank you, penis, for pleasure and relief. For your help in engendering a new life, my daughter’s, who has brought so much light into the world.

Thank you intestines, large and small. Your work may not be as glamorous as your colleagues, but it’s no less complex and miraculous. You represent inherently what my entire body demonstrates daily, hourly—efficiency.

I am at the podium with my extended list of thank-yous. The other parts of my body to thank are just so numerous. But I at least have to mention blood, that great mystery. And I can’t forget spine, neck, back. Back, of course! So mighty and responsible.

Hips, feet, nerves. Shoulders, bones, muscles. How much time do I have? Let me not leave out all those unheralded and unseen microbes that have, for three score and nineteen, been mixing, converting, breaking down and doing astonishing things men and women in white are still trying to figure out.

Pardon me for what I’ve left out, body. It was all so important.

You’ve been the best body any person could ever want. I know I’m fortunate. You’ve worked well for so long without a hitch. I’ve never taken that for granted. I know you’ll be getting tired soon. Parts of you will begin to break down, to give out. Of course. Then I’ll become even more aware of the essential role you played in my life. But what a ride you’ve allowed me to have. All of it, every single part of it, a gift.