Marvel movies, hooly whoops and sunny hours: takeaways from my visit to Texas

I’m not in the habit of deriving personal philosophy from Marvel movies, but the character Vision — portrayed by the ever-excellent Paul Bettany — is an exception. While in an existential debate with the villainous Ultron about the value of humanity, Vision notes that things “aren’t beautiful because they last.”

If anything, it’s the opposite: spring flowers, summer rain, sunny Autumn days. I appreciate all of them more because of their elusiveness. 

Especially sunny Autumn days. For the next two weeks or so, we’ll get to experience Georgia fall, that sliver of time Mother Nature slips in between 95-degree days and early gray winter evenings. 

They’re just the best, aren’t they? Pumpkin spice and scary movies, chill mornings and warm afternoons. We get the World Series, the start of the hockey and NBA seasons, college and NFL football (and plenty of pickleball for me).

It won’t last long. But I guess that’s the tradeoff for avoiding ice storms and shoveling snow off of our driveways.

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As faithful readers of this column know, I was in Texas last week spending time with my family. As I get older and my roots deepen in Georgia, I appreciate moments to head back to my native Texas, to take a breath, to feel at least the illusion of time slowing down.

And it is an illusion. Time waits for no one. I was reminded of that while on vacation.

My youngest nephew CJ turns 5 years old in February. He’s grown from infant to toddler to a little boy. He loves playing in the mud, racing his toy cars and competing in complex games he makes up on the spot (usually involving a ‘hooly whoop,’ or what the rest of us call a hula hoop).

He’s gregarious and funny and energetic (so, so energetic). I only see him a few times a year, and there’s usually 3-6 months between my visits, so every time I see CJ, he’s different. He can communicate more, his interests have changed a little bit, he likes different shows. The big change this time was school — he’s now in pre-k!

I love the process of getting to know a new version of CJ every time I see him, even if I miss the kid he was six months ago, just a little bit.

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Visiting Texas also gave me an opportunity to reflect on how I’ve changed. The teen who grew up in Greenville, went to college 15 minutes away, started his journalism career at the Herald-Banner designing pages, he’s gone. Thank goodness!

But I’m grateful, too, for the decisions he made. I’m glad he got a degree in journalism, that he worked at his college newspaper and his hometown newspaper. Never have I worked so hard for so little as when I first started in this business. I was nervous, naive and convinced of the absolute righteousness of my profession. I designed pages, took photos, covered high school football games, wrote features and breaking news and everything in between, helped the press operators and worked the inserting machine in the mailroom. Sixteen-hour days were common.

I think reflecting on your past is helpful. I sometimes wonder what 15-year-old me would think about 35-year-old me. He’d be impressed with my book collection. He’d love The Macon Melody.

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Did you know most sundials have a motto, usually inscribed on the rim of the dial? They’re often dramatic. “The clouds shall pass and the sun will shine on us once more” or “Come along and grow old with me; the best is yet to be.”

The most common motto also happens to be my favorite: “I only tell of sunny hours.”

I hope you get to enjoy some of those this week — and that you take some time to reflect on how you’ve grown this year — even if these sunny hours don’t last forever.