I always write about things that are on my mind – always with the intention of striking a chord inside of at least one person.  Here I go again – telling you, my loyal reader, to look around and ingest your surroundings, soak it all in. The people in your lives, the old and the young. The places where you spend your time; the dreams you dream today and the dreams you had in the past. The music you listen to, words that you read and the art that surrounds you. Art from the souls of artists, art from God – within the eyes, mountains, little children, old men and women and the snow falling over dirt roads and run down cities – making all that is soiled fresh again.
I know I can get preachy, sappy and repetitive at times but my intentions are sincerely meant to express myself in a way that can possibly touch at least one person and change the way we all look at life.  If there is one piece of advice it’s this – soak it up.
Life is fleeting.
Time holds no captives.
Like a river it just keeps going onward never moving back.
How else can i put it? Time goes way too fast. Before you know it a week passes, a month then a year. The past can never become our present again.
This can be a good thing when you are going through some issues you know that only time can heal. It can be a good thing when you are looking forward to a specific event or an anticipated change in plans or when you have a stressful period of time in school or work.
It can be a nuisance on weekends or holidays when you want time to stop to a crawl. Or when you are in the middle of one of those perfect times that happen as if a gift for all the rocks and branches that the river has taken away. I have been blessed with a lot of those times, some I remember and some poke me and remind of them just when I catch a scent, or hear a song or run into an old friend.
An example of this popped into my head one day as I caught a glimpse of a girl who was a partner in one of those, “Perfect Times.”
I was around 16 or so years old and I was sitting on the porch of my house on east 2nd street. I had just finished playing stick-ball and was just hanging around watching the day pass. I was tired, sweaty and drinking a big glass of water.  The sun was out; the soft wind was bringing a soft warm sensation with scents of spring flowers and unnamed aromas. Living across from the park I could hear the late spring sounds of balls hitting bats, children playing and radios blasting through open windows of cars.
There were girls walking around in groups of twos and threes – giggling, pointing and then looking away. Boys walking back from one game or another – limping, tired and exhilarated. I saw this one girl that I had developed a crush on after a short conversation about music and movies. She was walking across the street and looked my way. I waved and she walked over. She sat with me and we spoke for a long time basically beginning our dating period. My brother came down and sat with us and then my sister and her friends. We kept talking, laughing and calling people over to join us on our porch. That was a perfect time. As the sun went down and the breeze took on a cooler feel I draped my sweat jacket across her shoulders and she smiled. We stood up and I walked her home. At her house we smiled as he father watched through the front door. She ran inside and then waved. We went out a couple of times after that but it could never measure up to those four hours on the porch. Time ran out that afternoon but not before leaving us with its precious souvenir – a memory.
Then there are the bad times when you can’t wait for the time to pass – a divorce is an example of one of those times. The arthritic pains of  loss on so many different levels will  subside with time – is what you are told and only the passing of the time will confirm this.
Panic attacks, Depression, broken bones, broken hearts – most things broken do heal with time. What is lost with time are the moments when you are running quicker than time itself. When you can’t even focus on what’s in front of you or hear the opportunity knocking at your door.
Death is the ultimate thief of time. It takes away any chance for reconciliation, goodbyes or hellos. The young lose out on being too young to appreciate the ones around them before it’s too late and they end up missing a faded photograph or a shadow of the missing person.
by Freddy S. Zaltatime

I remember as a child of ten years or so, going to shul with my father and seeing all of his brothers lined up in a row. I didn’t  realize it at the time, how many people would let alone a ten year old, but those scenes of the brothers all there at one time, sitting in the “Zalta” row would soon be lost. I can be honest that I did not have much of a relationship with most of the brothers as I was too young to appreciate them and they didn’t seem eager to get to understand another nephew who couldn’t sit down for a minute at a time. When I go to that shul on Ocean Parkway and Avenue S, I can still see the faces and hear the voices of the old men who occupied the row.
In my life I can tell you that there are so many people who I wish I could spend another day with, another hour with. Lost friends and relatives I would love to spend one more afternoon with, have one more conversation or one more laugh with. Although time has robbed us of the opportunity we can take solace in the fact that, time has left us its souvenir called a “memory”.
My message here is simple – grab a hold of life and enjoy each and every second of your time here.