by H. James Williams

Created on: August 07, 2009   Last Updated: August 09, 2009

DAYS OF HIS NUMBER

From the time he was old enough to understand neophyte concepts of space and time, he wondered how many days he would come to know and experience within his lifetime. He remembered once as a child when he thought he would be cheated by time because a calendar for a particular year ended in days on December 31. At the time, he asked a living aunt, now since deceased, if December 31 would be the end of the world for mankind. She, with the nurturing of an angel, explained that the world would not necessarily end on December 31 and that if God and our Creator would be so generous, the calendar year would begin again on January 1, New Year's Day. He thought to himself: Thank you God and Happy New Year indeed! His aunt, based upon life experience, had provided him with an answer for what he had not before understood about living and time.

Still as a child, he wondered what his number would be. Biblically he later contemplated that if one were to be so fortunate, one might expect to live in mankind's space of time for about 70 years (+/-) or the length of man's days on earth. Considering this model for length of days, on average, 365 days multiplied by 70 years, one might expect to live for approximately 25,550 days. He understood, of course, that there are many variables in life and considerations of health too numerous to fathom that affect such a life expectancy.

He reminisced about his life now that he had lived to be an elderly man. He had been fortunate to live beyond the summit of reasonable life expectancy (12,775 days). The first 5,500 days or so, he remembered enjoying the innocence of childhood and youth. Growing up he daily heard the counsel, admonishment, teaching and advice of adults whose ages and titles ranged from young blue-collar workers to older urban professionals to include school teachers and clergy. There were times he cried childhood tears of pain from accidents and from parental discipline and there were times he laughed and wondered about life with childhood excitement and amazement. He wondered and pondered the miracle of life and questioned many about why and how; much like the childhood questions of why is the sky blue, why do zebras have stripes, how do birds fly and how did I get here?

The next set of 5,500 days, he had in that span of time become a soldier, a husband, a father and an uncle to a host of nieces and nephews. He climbed with ambition and enthusiasm career ladders in the pursuit of constant and continual

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