Senior WHAT???

I suppose it had to happen someday. Somehow I thought it would be years from now. Perhaps that was wishful thinking. It had a devastating effect on me - so devastating I can barely talk about it without ranting. I'm holding in my feelings.

What happened you ask? I'll tell you...

Some young woman in a clothing store asked me if I wanted the senior discount. Can you believe it????

In the not-so-distant past if a clerk asked me such a question it was always with a 'I-know-you-can't-POSSIBLY-be-old-enough-but-my-boss-says-I-have-to-ask' attitude. I much prefer that attitude. This clerk's demeanor of there being no question about my being old enough ticked me off. The young whipper snapper! Someday she'll fade and I only HOPE I can be around to ask her the evil question.

The little twerp!

Overreacting you say? Perhaps, but that is my prerogative. I much prefer my niece's comment to me on my birthday about 60 being the new 40. I'll take that instead.

Warning: switching gears now to another subject...

I suppose there are some small perks to growing older, one of them being the time to sit and smell the roses. I've started to notice nature and the natural world around me more than I ever have before. In fact, I've become a little obsessed with eagles. I had never seen an eagle in Oregon. I'd seen one in Puget Sound and tons of them in Alaska, but never one here. I happened across a photo on a local web page of a beautiful eagle perched on a post. It was glorious, so majestic and proud. The caption below the picture noted that it had been taken just a few miles south of me. My obsession began. I began watching the area as I would drive past, even taking little side trips to look in more remote areas, but no luck. I even made my brother Jim ride along on a site-seeing trip south with the idea that we were looking at all the lovely views of the Oregon coast. I can now admit that I was on eagle patrol. As we sat at one particular roadside looking at the churning sea I casually mentioned to my bro that eagles had been sighted in the area but that I'd never seen one. As we drove away in the wind and rain I saw something just overhead. It looked to be a large dark bird with a white head. Could it be???? But even as I yelped and pulled the car over again it was gone. I'm pretty sure Jim thought I didn't know the difference between an eagle and a seagull. I wasn't sure either.

Months passed and I found myself pulling into the wayside anytime I drove south to Newport. I'd spend a little while watching the trees, then looking out to sea for whales. Finally...the day arrived. As I scanned the trees (by now I had heard that the eagle pair was nesting in a snag in this particular neck of the woods) I saw it. On the highest tree there it sat. Too far away to get a photo with my camera, but not so far that I couldn't see it clearly with my binoculars. I watched it preen and watch for about a half hour. Then it just flew away. I was in heaven.

The next time I went to watch for it I was completely prepared. I had a camera with a better telephoto lens and a spotting scope. I scanned the trees for probably an hour with no luck. Darn.

Then last week I stopped on my way home for my usual watch. I sat for probably 10 minutes and was just starting the car to drive away when it flew over my car! I screamed (in a closed car its not as embarrassing to do) and pulled back to the curb. As I scrambled to get my phone camera ready, the bird flew quickly out to sea. It wasn't long before it was out of sight. As is often the case, I had taken my good camera out of the car, so all I had was my phone. Figures, right? I got a lovely photo of...nothing but sea. . I waited for 10-15 minutes hoping the eagle would return to no avail. With a heavy heart I started the car again and began to drive away when - THERE IT WAS!!!! Flying right over my car as if to toy with me! I quickly turned the car around (it wasn't safe to stop where I was) and got settled again. I scanned the skies and the trees, but it was gone. Drat! I sat for another few minutes, but nothing.

I gave up and started the car to back out of the parking spot. As I reversed, I glanced up to the trees again, out of habit by now, and there it was! Perched on a tree just a few hundred yards away from me! I pulled back into the parking space (briefly wondering what people were thinking if they noticed this crazy woman...) and pulled out my iphone and my binoculars. Through the binoculars the bird was magnificent. Just as regal as I always imagined them to be. I got a few photos with the iphone, but the distance was too great to be clear. After several minutes the eagle took off and sort of circled my car. I was enchanted. It was almost as if it was giving me a gift for my persistence. It circled my location twice and then headed out to sea.

I headed home feeling as if I'd been given a great prize.

I've tried to interest my grandkids in my eagle hunts and I usually get an "uhhhhhh...maybe tomorrow." I guess I'm the only one who finds it exciting. Maybe this is the type of excitement you get when you become a senior-discount kinda gal.