We are supposed to be serious at this age.. Serious for your life preparation when you grow old – assuming you have that time enough to grow old and assuming also that you survive those weird infirmities now plaguing this world like the swine flu (a.k.a. H1N1 strain); bird flu; Ebola virus; AIDS/HIV; the big C (cancer) , etc. 
and assuming finally that you survive those untoward man-made or man-caused incidents like crimes and quasi-delicts (legal term for accidents, negligence and reckless imprudence, whew!)… Then you can say you’re serious with your life preparations..
reliable bank it should be, because I had this friend who had a sad experience with his lifetime savings deposited in a small bank yielding high interests on time-deposits (13% quarterly). For no apparent reason, the bank later declared a “bank holiday” – right after the Christmas Holidays of 2008. When the said bank closed- its assets were frozen. Only the security guard on duty entertained all sorts of complaints from depositors and clienteles alike. Bank personnel were nowhere in sight. My recent news is that my friend could only hope that the Deposit Insurance Agency (PDIC here) would start calling them to withdraw their deposits. His experience serves as caveat to others who might deposit their life savings in small but usually unreliable banks, vulnerable to world economic up and downturns.As I was saying, life at 40 should be one that gives security when you get old, financially and psychologically. This is not difficult for me to figure out as I had witnessed my late father in this predicament before. He lost his job in his early forties. I was in my high school then and my siblings were in grade school. We never had our own home, we just rented out houses or bed spaces. It was a difficult life back then. My father tried his hand in business but lost interest in the stretch because of collection problems. In short, my prospect to get to college seemed murky at that moment. I had to sacrifice in favor of my younger brother and sisters because my father was not able to land another job in lieu thereof. It was our mother who provided the daily bread. I almost quit school, but fortune had it that I passed a scholarship grant at the Mindanao State University, Marawi City, Philippines. Free tuition, transport expenses paid, with a boys’ dormitory to house us state scholars. I don’t know how was I able manage then but I did – despite the odds, despite the self-supporting and self-sustaining kind of schooling. Better still, I earned a degree in college. My degree was my vehicle to further my studies.
Somehow, I’ve got to get into some kind of conclusion here…Let’s face it, the phrase “life begins at forty” doesn’t mean you get your ass started to prepare for life and be serious…I personally believe this phrase tells us to begin reflecting what have we done in our lifetime to deserve our future? 
This is the time to count our blessings, if there’s any. Time to reap the fruits of our life’s investment.
Hello Bottom Lines,
Nice article – about life. Wouldn’t dare add more to it.
A wise old man once told me that it is better to “suffer” life’s tribulations while one is still young. He added that it would be a curse if one had to “suffer” in one’s old age.
I guess your life’s story underscores the wise old man down-to-earth appreciation about how to control one’s destiny.
Cheers!
Thanks, Windmill, for the comment.
Really honored to get a comment from one of the best bloggers around…;-)
Wheew! Finally!
Welcome to the blogosphere, Sir! I am glad you were able to finally publish this one. I was actually waiting for this post
I truly admire you Sir for coming out victorious despite the odds. You are the person that you are today because you were able to hurdle life’s adversities with flying colors
[...] Lines is a mixture of everything. He also talks about his own personal life. The post entitled Why 40? would let you see a little glimpse of how he was able to hurdle life’s adversities while he [...]