Author Topic: getting old, part 2 (Read 2940 times)

Monkeyleg · « **on:** September 19, 2006, 01:50:17 PM »

Yesterday was my wife's birthday. Ever since we met in 1968, we'd go out for dinner and a romantic evening to celebrate.

Last night we went out for dinner...along with her mother, her uncle, her sister, and two of her brothers.

When we got home, she changed into her house clothes and slumped on the sofa to watch a few minutes of TV before going off to sleep.

I checked out APS, THR, and TFL for a few minutes, then headed off to bed as well.

I laid awake, though, thinking about how much has changed. We've both changed very much physically (me to the point that people who knew me years back don't even recognize me). Neither of us is able to do the "party all night" gigs anymore. And birthdays are no longer something to be celebrated; rather, they've become a reminder of the past, and the shrinking number of years left to go.

While I'll confess that this post is in part melancholy, it's also one of overdue naive surprise: I wasn't expecting to be old. Years back, when I looked at someone in his 50's or 60's, it was as though I thought he was just born that way, with the bulging middle and the shiney spot on the top of his head.

That thought was still with me when I awoke earlier than usual this morning. Rather than roll over and go back to sleep, I said, "hey, pal. If you're concerned about the number of days you have left, you'd better get up and make the best of this one."

If it were possible, I'd give everything I have to trade ages with the likes of Fistful or Winston Smith. Since that's not possible, I can only write posts like this that will, I hope, encourage them to take full advantage of their youth.

Maybe I should write a book, and steal a little bit from writer Joe Galloway: "We Were Party Animals Once...And Young."

BozemanMT · « **Reply #1 on:** September 19, 2006, 02:21:33 PM »

You mean people actually go to bed later than 9pm? Huh?

??
I have no idea how I used to stay up til midnight or even later.
and I'm not old yet dammit.
I swear i'm still 25. Wink

Lee · « **Reply #2 on:** September 19, 2006, 02:57:57 PM »

Your words ring TOO true for me as well. On the bright side - We don't have to worry about all the endless, and mostly useless, BS that runs through young men's heads. We all get old, we all die. You and I are young men by many standards. Enjoy what you have now, and the things you can still do...before you can no longer do them.

grampster · « **Reply #3 on:** September 19, 2006, 03:01:14 PM »

My dad died when he was 92 in 1999. A couple of years before, we were sitting around sipping on a little brandy and talking about this and that. He said that when he was shaving in the morning, he'd look in the mirror and wonder "who in the bloddy hell was that old man in the mirror." He went on to say that in his mind he was still in his twenties. I'm 63 now and am beginning to grasp the old man's context.

Why, I walked through the bedroom the other day, nekkid from the shower. I happened to pass in front of Swmbo's full length mirror and I damn near dove under the bed and grabbed my Beretta in order to shoot the wrinkled, sagging, hoary old prevert that I saw. Tongue

Preacherman · « **Reply #4 on:** September 19, 2006, 03:04:13 PM »

Not to worry, Grampster. At your age, you'd probably miss!

cheesy

cosine · « **Reply #5 on:** September 19, 2006, 03:04:50 PM »

Hey Monkeyleg!

You can have my age, (18), if'n I can have your wisdom. Cheesy

The Rabbi · « **Reply #6 on:** September 19, 2006, 03:58:24 PM »

In talking to people I find out my experience is not unique. When I picture myself at work or talking to someone or whatever, I picture this guy in his 20s, just like I used to be. I have to remind myself that the other person is not seeing the same thing. They are seeing a rather distinguished looking man in his mid-40s. It is funny in a way.

Winston Smith · « **Reply #7 on:** September 19, 2006, 04:22:02 PM »

Trust me, Monkeyleg, I'm working on it.

Sindawe · « **Reply #8 on:** September 19, 2006, 05:10:26 PM »

What all this? Did somebody spike the Geritol again? : neener :

I hear what you're saying grampster. Even though I'll not see the dreaded 40 again in this incarnation, I'm still 27ish in my head. Fortunatly, aside from the thinning of the thatch on the head, the males of my lines don't really start to show their age until well into their 60s.

grampster · « **Reply #9 on:** September 19, 2006, 05:40:00 PM »

I might miss on the first pass, but my riccochet's are spot on, padre. Wink

Sylvilagus Aquaticus · « **Reply #10 on:** September 19, 2006, 06:06:18 PM »

I turned 48 Friday. I don't recognise the tired old bastage in the mirror every morning. It kinda looks like my dad. I figure I've got a half-dozen years left in me yet, all things considered, which ticks me off..a lot. I'm at terms with it for the most part, though.
I used to feel like I was 26 on the inside, although the outside didn't look it and the picture on the driver's license doesn't. Most days it feels a lot closer to 86.

I'm just gonna keep on living until I don't anymore. I don't give it as much thought as I used to these days.

Regards,
Rabbit.

grampster · « **Reply #11 on:** September 19, 2006, 07:17:39 PM »

Rabbit. 48? Your not even a Journeyman yet, still an apprentice.

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #12 on:** September 19, 2006, 08:05:56 PM »

Lee: "We don't have to worry about all the endless, and mostly useless, BS that runs through young men's heads."

Oh, those thoughts run through my head, alright. I just can't speak them. Wink

In fact, I'm not sure I can even act on them anymore. Wink

Grampster: "Why, I walked through the bedroom the other day, nekkid from the shower. I happened to pass in front of Swmbo's full length mirror and I damn near dove under the bed and grabbed my Beretta in order to shoot the wrinkled, sagging, hoary old prevert that I saw."

Absolutely. I don't recognize the guy I see in mirrors. He's scary. He looks like somebody unearthed a grave, and brought the corpse back. Ugly. Even worse. Damn ugly. Even uglier than Will Munney after Little Bill kicked the heck out of him in "The Unforgiven."

Cosine: "You can have my age, (18), if'n I can have your wisdom."

I am many things, Cosine, but a swindler is not one of them. Wink

If I get a chance in the next few days, I'm going to scan a photo of me when I was in my 20's, and then my most recent photo (renewal for my FL CCW shocked

).

Then the folks like Fistful, Cosine, Winston Smith and others can get a real dose of just what this is all about.

Guest · « **Reply #13 on:** September 20, 2006, 12:44:04 AM »

Bah. Age beats the alternative. Spend your time working on the parts of you that don't get wrinkled instead of worrying about those that do. Who you are is a lot more important than the color of your hair.

280plus · « **Reply #14 on:** September 20, 2006, 02:26:16 AM »

Bah, don't give up till you're dead. Some of you sound like, "Life's over, just waiting around to die." My grandfather was like that, retired at 65 and then sat every day in the corner in the kitchen waiting for his time. Trouble is it took another 20 years before that happened. 20 years is a long time to sit in the same chair every day. Don't ask me how anybody could do it. The only thing I learned from THAT little family episode is how NOT to be as I get older. Funny part of that was every day he would put a TIE on just to sit in the kitchen in the corner. rolleyes

Tallpine · « **Reply #15 on:** September 20, 2006, 07:22:41 AM »

I don't mind the years so much as the pain and the loss of ability Sad

I look a lot younger than I am but I feel a lot older.

A year ago, I was taking long walks in the hills with my dog - today I don't even feel like walking down to the mailbox. I did some fairly heavy work a couple days ago (loading, unloading, and setting up steel fence panels for a corral) and now my legs and knees hurt a lot. I was going to go ride this morning, but I just don't feel like it ... maybe this afternoon ...?

Everything I have now to enjoy is about 30 years too late.

I dunno about age being better than the alternative - I've seen too many people in nursing homes. Sad

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #16 on:** September 20, 2006, 07:35:18 AM »

Mys suggestion...

Run down to the local record store and buy Confederate Railroad's "Keep On Rocking" album (you will probably have to look in the used CD rack).

Find some kid with a kickin' stereo in their car/home/whatever.

Insert media and set to track one.

Turn up volume.

Listen repeatedly.

Brad

HankB · « **Reply #17 on:** September 20, 2006, 09:04:48 AM »

Don't be sad about growing old . . . it's a privilege denied to many.

AJ Dual · « **Reply #18 on:** September 20, 2006, 09:12:14 AM »

I think Monkeyleg should vote for Doyle in the upcoming WI Govenor's race.

Everyone knows Doyle supports stem-cell research which could one day reverse aging...

Wink

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #19 on:** September 20, 2006, 10:40:29 AM »

AJ, only if we freeze Doyle and use him for stem cells. Wink

AJ Dual · « **Reply #20 on:** September 20, 2006, 11:02:07 AM »

I doubt Doyle has any stem cells.

Plenty of sleaze cells, but no stem...

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #21 on:** September 20, 2006, 01:04:29 PM »

Quote from: AJ Dual

Plenty of sleaze cells

I know this is off-topic, AJ, but did you read about the ads that Doyle is going to begin running tonight, inferring that Green is corrupt? He's saying in the ads that he's spent years fighting corruption in politics.

Man, that guy is a real piece of work. Good news is that his favorable rating is just 39% and his unfavorable is 52%.

CAnnoneer · « **Reply #22 on:** September 20, 2006, 05:23:54 PM »

Aging is annoying but does have its benefits. Wisdom and experience are the most important. If you do not want youth to be wasted on the young, teach them what you know, so they can use it while they can.

Art Eatman · « **Reply #23 on:** September 20, 2006, 05:42:07 PM »

Hey, coffee and Aleve for breakfast, and I'm good to go!

My gripe with growing old is that I'm losing too danged many friends.

I have no regrets. I've had too danged much fun, and I'm still having a ball. So mountains are steeper and creeks are wider. So what? Plenty of other stuff to do.

I went out yesterday and put in some three hours on the backhoe before shutting down for maintenance. Got out the pressure washer and cleaned the beast, and got all the clay and gravel where the front edge of the loader bucket had separated. Then cleaned the engine compartment of my Toyota. Mailed off a scope to Leupold and visited some folks and caught up on gossip.

Went out this morning and welded the backhoe lip. Ready to go back to work. Did some chores, ran some errands.

Off to Alpine, tomorrow to pick up a new tire for my grader; that'll have it back in action. Then, some carb work on the dumptruck. That'll have me ready to haul a couple or three dozen loads of gravel for my roads.

Being 72 just means I do less on any given day, not that I don't do a lot of the same stuff I've been doing for the last umpteen years.

And there's reloading and some shooting, and some buddies are coming out for some hunting...

"If I had it to do all over again, darlin', I'd do it all over you."

Cheesy

, Art

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #24 on:** September 20, 2006, 07:10:48 PM »

Art: "If I had it to do all over again, darlin', I'd do it all over you."

Whoooo, boy. That can be read so many ways that I don't think your Grammaw would even approve of that comment. Wink

I don't have an encylopedic memory of my life, which is to say that I remember vignettes, moments in time that I'll cherish forever.

My wife and I have been very blessed with good friends, and many, many very good times. She's given me more than I ever hoped for.

Still, though, it's weird to look in the mirror.

It's like somebody hit the fast-forward button in 1980, and just clicked on "pause" today.

News:

Author Topic: getting old, part 2 (Read 2940 times)

Guest