Time

Decades of our Life

Time

The Great Ray Price

By Stephen L. Wilmeth

                        ‘At a bar down in Dallas, an old man chimed in and they thought he was out of his head, and … all being young men they just laughed it off when they heard what he said. He said, “I’ll never again turn the young ladies’ heads or go running off into the wind. I’m three quarters home from the start to the end, and … I wish I was 18 again.”’

            The Great Ray Price

            We sat some thirty five feet from him as he methodically made his way onto the stage. At 86, he looked frail. Those droopy blue eyes glanced only once out into the crowd.

            Then, there it was that rich voice that has made such a lasting impression on his fandom. It clearly revealed it was Ray himself. He apologized he couldn’t stand for the performance. He would have to sit on his stool, but, if we would indulge him that courtesy, he would share some time with us.

            For the next hour and fifteen minutes, we were all 18 again … transported back in memories. We were young for a few precious moments. The years that had turned so many heads in that crowd gray were challenged, and they became our common, shared theme. We were all children transformed by his musical genius. That was our house … the lyrics and the tunes were our roadmaps, and … Ray Price was our maestro.

            Setting the stage

            For those of you who have followed the Price music over the last decade, you must recognize that his work over this period may be the best of his career. The problem is it receives no radio play and, as a consequence, you have to hunt for it. If 30 years were erased, his ‘Time’ and ‘Prisoner of Love’ albums would have no less than a half dozen number one songs. They are that good and his ability to project nuances and expression have only grown with time. His voice is a national treasure.

            If you could take your eyes off of his performance, you had to see the unity of emotion in the crowd. Couples who had forgotten the once constant attention to their relationships were holding hands. Dry eyes were few at moments of lyrical familiarity. There was an earthly bond that reminded each of us that our lives had substance and that the lines on our faces had been earned with shared understanding.

            In time, all of us face consequences that make us wonder what life is all about. Perhaps our current surroundings, the uncertainty of societal and personal calamities, have made such thoughts more commonplace.

            The defining highlight of the Price performance wasn’t simply hearing those timeless songs. It was the elevation of snippets of memories that referenced time with positive emotions. That is what made it special.

            The time line

            I’ll challenge you to a more objective assessment of our earthly journey. The approach is to view the journey by identifying markers describing each decade of maturity. For the purposes of definition, the summary judgment will be done on the basis of the conclusion of each decade. Let’s start with the first ten years and see where the exercise takes us.

            As a grandparent, I know what the first decade in the lives of my grandchildren has brought to me. As such, I am the expert.

            The years of the first decade bring the novelty of a brand new, completely unique being. There is freshness, an unblemished promise, of all life that can fulfill. Innocence, open minds, affection, and boundless loyalty surround those first years. That progresses to the commencement of physical growth. Little computers are being programmed at warp speed pace. Relationship building expands and the foundations are constructed. The decade ends with an individual who is primed to learn, susceptible to all influences, imaginative to unequaled horizons, and vulnerable. A blank page prevails.

            From the cattle business, the next decade can be described as a prolonged weaning process. Personalities more strongly emerge. Bodies mature. Muscles and coordination expand. Emotions give rise to structured and unstructured calamity. Independence is tested and expanded. Sexual development develops and accelerates. More calamities erupt. Massive processing of detail and data evolves. Learning processes spin, at times, out of control. Friendships evolve and sputter. This is a decade of high energy, high emotion, and controlled and uncontrolled forays into the limits of reason. Physical speed and eye hand coordination emerge to highest levels. A clearly defined and energetic candidate … for something … is about to emerge.

            The decade of the 20s is now front and center. More concentrated study of the life journey takes place. Full sexual maturity prompts commitments and life long responsibilities variously. The aptitude and willingness to accept responsibility flickers to life. That reflects in new commitments and directions. Separations in various forms occur and reoccur. High road and straight and narrow selections are mixed with easier routes to unknowns. The first glimpses of success or failure are demonstrated. Winners and losers emerge. At that juncture, candidates of life stand waiting for next, bigger challenges. Physical maturity, strength of heart and character, and natural intelligence stand ready for what comes next. The real tests are ready to begin.

            The decade of the ‘30s is an experience in reality. Family obligations, career entrenchment, physical stamina, and life reality all combine in a paradigm that ebbs and flows. Young leaders are starting to emerge in real definition. It is a decade of polishing all that has come before. Physical maturity has come and passed. Uphill and downhill are within sight at once. Strength of character is on its own. Gifts of advice and opportunities are offered and taken away. The speed horses are faltering and the plodders are starting to appear. Life is at hand.

            I had a mentor who told me repeatedly ‘a man is not worth a damn until he is 41’. I disagree. I think the age is 43. At that point, the convergence of strength and endurance equates to mental toughness and insight. Everything is coming together. Life is speeding up and yet clearly defined if diligence is perfected. This is at once a dangerous time and the best of times. The real horse race is in process. Domination of those things that can be managed is taking place. Life is at once at it peak, but is starting to be challenged by thinning or graying hair.

            The decade of the ‘50s is a glass that is half full and yet half empty. Ostensibly, you are in control of everything, and, yet, you recognize you are no longer in control of most things. Your children are on their own and engaging and yet discounting your importance. Your earning potential is at it zenith and yet the times have placed that in severe jeopardy. There are all or nothing traps and hazards. The condition of prime is starting to loom in the rear view mirror. Dexterity and strength remain in a relative sense, but both are not what they once were. Perhaps surprisingly, patience and wisdom may be emerging. Relationships are coming into full focus. They can be revealed to be true or false. That outcome is either reassuring or disappointing. You are viewed as having all the cards, but the deck is harder to shuffle.

            I am not yet any expert on the conclusion of the decade of the ‘60s hence I don’t want to venture there. Quite frankly, it frightens me. I would hope that wisdom and patience become yet more focused, but I can’t confirm that.

            Beyond is yet a bigger unknown. It is more frightening, but there is a curious tugging of comfort in some of that veiled unknown. What is it? Is it real or is it the mere mortal preparation for deteriorating facts of life?

            The summary

            Indeed, Mr. Price … ‘Time is a monster that lives in our clocks. It’s heartless and shows no remorse … consuming our future as we fight that 100 year war’.

But, what if … into that great unknown we could carry forward out of this life the best of each stage? There would be a blank page that prevails … and presents a clearly defined and energetic candidate … with physical maturity, strength of heart and character, and natural intelligence that stands ready to … face life at hand … and dominate those things that can be managed … with patience and wisdom … that, collectively, are complimented by all the unknowns and yet promises of our spiritual quest yet to come.

If those things held true, we would certainly have a much different view of our life’s campaign. We would embrace it all with added gusto and hope, wouldn’t we?

We would …we would indeed.

Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “The genius of Ray Price has always been … underestimated.”

THE WESTERNER sez:

This is so true: You are viewed as having all the cards, but the deck is harder to shuffle. 

Or I should admit it used to be true.  Now its more like 52 pickup.