So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[ChiTownScion]

With a few exceptions, such as those here on the Lounge, I've come to realize that I don't particularly like most people my own age, because I just don't have much of anything in common with them -- and the thought of being warehoused with them in a room full of jigsaw puzzles as I wait to die is enough to make my blood run ice cold. No thanx.

Being around old fogies who are constantly griping about how rotten these Millennials today are, how this country has lost its traditional faith based family moral values, how things were so much better in the past, etc., etc.,... that is the LAST thing that I want around me in my golden years. Which is why my wife & I are retiring to Portland Oregon and not Florida, Arizona, or some other geriatric magnet. I want to be around the young. Hipsters a fraction of my age and their artsy funkiness. Eccentric literates. Hell.. I'll even take crying babies over crabby old people (except perhaps, on long airline flights).

I get sick of hearing from aging baby boomers (my own demographic) who wasted their own youth by indulging in one material pleasure after another, did not prepare for the foreseeable realities of the future through preparation, hard work, and education (formal or otherwise), and who now are having to deal with lowered life expectations that, according to them, must be the fault of someone else, usually their particular scapegoat de jour (Minorities, immigrants, the young, take your pick or fill in the blank) . Anything to avoid standing before that bathroom mirror and laying the blame for their own misery on the one in the reflection who did the most to deal the hand they have to now play. (And yes: some folks are struck low by forces beyond their control. I respect that reality. But those true unfortunates are usually the last to serenade us with the litany of blame, at least in my experience.)

Nuts to all of that! I much prefer being around those who will inspire me- even force me if necessary, as a matter of survival- to push myself out of my comfort perimeters to learn new things and experience new achievements. And if there are those of any age who can keep up that pace, well, they're welcome to join me. There's still a lot that is enriching, uplifting, and exciting in this wide world to discover. More than any man or woman can experience in a lifetime, perhaps. But what fun to die trying!

 

[tonyb]

With me, it isn't so much about the physical aspects of it -- although the steady deterioration of my vision is not pleasant -- as it is not wanting to get shoved into a home because I can't live on my own anymore. With a few exceptions, such as those here on the Lounge, I've come to realize that I don't particularly like most people my own age, because I just don't have much of anything in common with them -- and the thought of being warehoused with them in a room full of jigsaw puzzles as I wait to die is enough to make my blood run ice cold. No thanx.

Know that among the most pressing concerns of the disability rights activists is that they remain in their own homes rather than institutions of any sort. "Our homes, not nursing homes," is among the more frequently heard chants at rallies.

"Jails for cripples and old people" is how nursing homes are characterized. An ongoing battle is against the pro-institution bias in insurance coverage -- Medicare and Medicaid, particularly -- for attendant care. In many and perhaps most cases it is actually less costly to provide services at home, but the nursing home industry has a strong lobby and deep pockets and, well, I don't have to tell you what that means for public policy.

I hope you live to at least 100, Ms. McLeod, living in your own modest little house, and that you expire at a union rally with your right fist thrust skyward.

 

[GHT]

Nuts to all of that! I much prefer being around those who will inspire me- even force me if necessary, as a matter of survival- to push myself out of my comfort perimeters to learn new things and experience new achievements. And if there are those of any age who can keep up that pace, well, they're welcome to join me. There's still a lot that is enriching, uplifting, and exciting in this wide world to discover. More than any man or woman can experience in a lifetime, perhaps. But what fun to die trying!

I shall look forward to seeing your name here shortly. http://www.businessinsider.com/100-amazing-accomplishments-achieved-at-every-age-2014-3?IR=T

 

[tonyb]

Being around old fogies who are constantly griping about how rotten these Millennials today are, how this country has lost its traditional faith based family moral values, how things were so much better in the past, etc., etc.,... that is the LAST thing that I want around me in my golden years. Which is why my wife & I are retiring to Portland Oregon and not Florida, Arizona, or some other geriatric magnet. I want to be around the young. Hipsters a fraction of my age and their artsy funkiness. Eccentric literates. Hell.. I'll even take crying babies over crabby old people (except perhaps, on long airline flights).

I get sick of hearing from aging baby boomers (my own demographic) who wasted their own youth by indulging in one material pleasure after another, did not prepare for the foreseeable realities of the future through preparation, hard work, and education (formal or otherwise), and who now are having to deal with lowered life expectations that, according to them, must be the fault of someone else, usually their particular scapegoat de jour (Minorities, immigrants, the young, take your pick or fill in the blank) . Anything to avoid standing before that bathroom mirror and laying the blame for their own misery on the one in the reflection who did the most to deal the hand they have to now play. (And yes: some folks are struck low by forces beyond their control. I respect that reality. But those true unfortunates are usually the last to serenade us with the litany of blame, at least in my experience.)

Nuts to all of that! I much prefer being around those who will inspire me- even force me if necessary, as a matter of survival- to push myself out of my comfort perimeters to learn new things and experience new achievements. And if there are those of any age who can keep up that pace, well, they're welcome to join me. There's still a lot that is enriching, uplifting, and exciting in this wide world to discover. More than any man or woman can experience in a lifetime, perhaps. But what fun to die trying!

I long ago passed the point where a realistic person comes to terms with the knowledge that he will never do most of what he dreamed in his early years.

Truth is, it's too late in life to acquire real expertise in anything other than the matters I already know well. At this point, I would be little more than a hobbyist, a dabbler, a dilettante. And that's fine, really. I know enough about enough things, I've put in enough years honing my skills, to know that I still have something of value to offer. And I know what I don't know, which is just about everything else.

None of which is to say that I'll give up on learning new things. I can't imagine NOT wanting to know more than I do. But, having witnessed the damage done by people who knew a whole lot less than they thought they did (the stories I could tell), I know to defer to the real experts. Cuz, you know, that's just respectful, and I can't ask for what I won't give.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I took up the ocarina at 50. It's never too late to do something absurd.

 

[2jakes]

...Nuts to all of that! I much prefer being around those who will inspire me- even force me if necessary, as a matter of survival- to push myself out of my comfort perimeters to learn new things and experience new achievements. And if there are those of any age who can keep up that pace, well, they're welcome to join me. There's still a lot that is enriching, uplifting, and exciting in this wide world to discover. More than any man or woman can experience in a lifetime, perhaps. But what fun to die trying!

My sentiments as well.

 

[2jakes]

I took up the ocarina at 50. It's never too late to do something absurd.

Lizzie....it's never too late!
I have several spare rackets and a
plethora of tennis balls in case you hit the ball into the street.
I'll make sure you have fun.
Main thing is to....

 

[Fading Fast]

Your first sentence and your last sentence are at odds with each other. My guess is that if you are going strong at 80, you won't even think about, time up. It's true that you don't even consider your age if you have all your faculties, even when you find that they are slowing down a little.....

You are correct and I knew that when I wrote it. Rather than a contradiction, it's just that two parallel thought streams run though my mind. The first - like almost everyone - if I am physically or mentally deeply impaired, I want out.

The other is that I've noticed that I care less about living each decade. I'm not depressed (far from it), but I am mentally and physically more tired. Life is hard - you have to work and fight to earn money, maintain your health, help those you care about, adjust to our rapidly changing world and - and this is enervating -hear all the same political battles being fought around you as you see your political philosophy marginalized.

At twenty, I enthusiastically grabbed a gun and ran to the front lines to fight, but now in my fifties, I fight because I dislike the alternative, but I'm tired not enthusiastic about it. I'm glad I've had the life I've had, but would be terrified - horrified - if a fairy touched my head and gave me an additional 100 years on earth. Hence, I assume if this trajectory continues, by my 80s, I might not be willing to fight anymore and will just want out.

 

[Fading Fast]

I took up the ocarina at 50. It's never too late to do something absurd.

And I looked up the word "ocarina" at 53 for the first time.

 

[ChrisB]

Given what the world is likely to be in 40 years, I’m not sure I would want to be a part of it, healthy or otherwise.

 

[2jakes]

So trivial, yet it ticks me off:

Waiting room at clinics are kept cold!

Oh-oh...I think they are ready for me!

 

[tonyb]

So trivial, yet it ticks me off:

Waiting room at clinics are kept cold!
View attachment 109448
Oh-oh...I think they are ready for me!

Make sure they get your good side. (Yeah, I know, 10,000 comedians are out of work ... )

 

[ChiTownScion]

Given what the world is likely to be in 40 years, I’m not sure I would want to be a part of it, healthy or otherwise.

Meh. Heard the same thing 50 years ago, Chris. Trust me: even at its worst, life beats the alternative.

 

[ChiTownScion]

I took up the ocarina at 50. It's never too late to do something absurd.

And one of my good friends is learning electric bass at 66.

The key is to keep your mind active as you age... and somehow, I cannot see you sitting quietly in a dayroom playing with picture puzzles. At any age. So long as there are twenty- somethings who need someone to show them the ropes, you'll be there.

 

[sheeplady]

I have no desire to die anytime soon. After being diagnosed with cancer at 31 (I'm now 36), my perspective has changed a bit. I always wanted to live until 93. My grandfather lived till 96 with a good quality of life. My great-grandparents on my mother's side all topped out in their late 80s or 90s. My great-grandfather dropped dead milking cows at 89.

Now, looking at it realistically, I'd be happy with 75. I've got a funky valve in my heart thanks to chemo/radiation and decreased lung capacity too. I get tired more easily, and find my mental edge is slightly duller. I would love to live healthy beyond 75, but realistically, I don't know if that will happen. In my oncologists opinion, the goal is to get someone to survive 30 more years, maybe 40. They don't know with the high doses of chemo they give now if anything beyond that is realistically possible.

If we stay in this community, there is a really nice graduated care community right next door. I want to buy into that. I don't want my kids or husband to be burdened with my care, and I want to be able to move in while I can still socialize and meet people.

And I like doing puzzles. Certainly did a lot of them at my oncologist, while waiting for treatment.

 

[GHT]

So trivial, yet it ticks me off:

Waiting room at clinics are kept cold!
View attachment 109448
Oh-oh...I think they are ready for me!

Mea culpa time. There was a good friend of mine studying medicine back in my student days. He had this enormous crush on a young lady, who was also studying medicine. She rebuffed every advance that he made.
We set him up by suggesting that he lay very still in the hospital morgue's cold drawer. We would then get his heart's desire to pull the drawer open and when she pulled the cover back, he was to shout "boo," very loudly.
He was up for that, thought it was a wonderful wheeze.
After about five minutes of being in the drawer and getting as concerned as he was shivering, a voice suddenly said: "Cold here, isn't it?"
Realising the set up, he took it on the chin. Students, I tell you.
Just a post script. We all got admonished for that silly prank, so, every year there was a silly prank week we called rag week. Students used to do things like try and drink a bar dry. But following that admonishment, we all got together and went to the blood donation centre, and filled the blood bank. I was a donor for life after that.

 

[ChrisB]

Meh. Heard the same thing 50 years ago, Chris. Trust me: even at its worst, life beats the alternative.

Since I would be 100 years old at that time, it does not keep me up at night!

 

[2jakes]

Doc removed one small polyp and said...
“You’re good to go...see you in 5 years.
Cute nurse gave me this before leaving to avoid dehydration
and for energy!



Fading Fast...you’re right.
The worse part is the preparation the night before.

 

[Fading Fast]

Doc removed one small polyp and said...
“You’re good to go...see you in 5 years.
Cute nurse gave me this before leaving to avoid dehydration
and for energy!
View attachment 109462


Fading Fast...you’re right.
The worse part is the preparation the night before.

That is great news - so glad all is well.

How wonderful was the sleep they induced?

 

[Harp]

And one of my good friends is learning electric bass at 66.
The key is to keep your mind active as you age....

I recommend The Mere Bones of Latin by Reginald Foster OCD. School boy Latin exponentially powered.