A man back home used to say "I never met a man that was 50 that wasn't hell when he was 25."

The more I think about that the more sense it makes.

There are not many people that don't look back fondly on their younger days.

I notice that every time I go home and hang around with old friends.

We always talk about how we had the hardest football practices humanly possible and all of the things we did that no one from another place would have ever thought of.

The way we talk, Butler used to be the center of the universe and we were the reason.

I never really gave much thought to why it was so much fun to look back on the old days and not just enjoy the present.

But the other day I thought about that old saying. After that it all made perfect sense.

In most of out minds the best times of our lives were the younger days when we had nothing to worry about.

All we really had to deal with was getting out of bed in time for school, getting our homework done and not getting caught at whatever we were up to at the time.

They were good times, but they can't last forever.

There's a reason for that. If life were always that simple we would have nothing to shoot for.

There would be no reason to have goals or no challenges to face. Things would be pretty boring.

Life throws us curveballs once in a while. There's really no getting around it.

But we can benefit from it. The tough times give us character and make us stronger.

There are very few people that accomplish great things who don't go through some turmoil or overcome some kind of obstacles.

They are people that learn from the hard times, toughen up and drive on.

It's always fun to reflect on the "good old days." There's nothing wrong with looking back with a smile on your face.

The important thing is to remember why we can't stay there forever.

I don't think my friends and I will ever stop talking about the things we used to do when we get together.

Reflecting is too much fun to ever stop.

As long as we remember to keep looking forward I think we will all be okay.

Rick Couch may be reached at

383-9302, ext. 132 or

via email at rick. couch@greenvilleadvocate.com.