Letters from North
America
This
morning I woke up and
thought that I was
finally ‘Four score and
seven years old’. The
same number that Abe
Lincoln talked about in
his Gettysburg address.
I was wrong, that would
have made me 87 years
old and I am only 67 as
of today. So there.
There’s a lot to be said
for getting older and
having more birthdays.
The main thing is that
you’re still alive. Any
day above ground is a
good day for me. When I
was a teenager I thought
anyone 25 years old was
really getting up there.
As I progressed in age
my vision shifted higher
and higher. You now hear
people talking about
someone dying at 70 and
often they say… ‘He was
so young’. 90 is the new
60 as far as I’m
concerned.
With age comes a new
sense of liberty and
freedom. First off no
one can make fun of you
because you wear plaids
and stripes or shoes
without socks. My
thought is that if the
shirt and pants or
blouse and skirt make
you feel better….than go
for it. Use some of
those things you were
‘saving’ for that
‘special’ day. You may
not ever get another
day. Do it now. Use that
stuff before it gets too
old or you do.
I’m holding off on
buying hearing aids for
as long as I can. One
reason is that it gives
me an option on a
multitude of things. I
can choose to answer
when I want to if I like
the question or I can
choose to opt out and
say I couldn’t hear the
question which gives me
time to formulate a
better opportunity for
me. This comes in handy
especially when someone
is asking you to
volunteer for something.
When you were 25, if
anyone asked you to come
over next Saturday and
help them move, you’d
have immediately said
something like… ‘Sure,
what time?’ Now you can
fudge and ask what they
said which gives you an
opportunity to back out
with something like….
“I’d love to, but I have
to go the doctor to see
about my (fill in the
blank). Maybe next
time.” No one is going
to ask you about your
doctors visit later
since they don’t want to
hear old people talking
about their aches and
pains.
The older you get also
brings you the ability
to ‘voice’ your opinion
with a greater sense of
authority. By the time
you reach 60 or more,
those around you seem to
sense or at least think
you must have some sense
or you couldn’t have
lived this long. It may
just be blind luck that
has kept you alive but
the fact remains that
you’re still here and a
lot of those in your
high school graduation
class aren’t so what you
think must have some
relevance. I try to
listen to the questions
and nod at the right
times while looking very
serious and pensive as
if some earth shattering
comment is about to
erupt from my mouth.
Sometimes when I can’t
really hear the
questions, I tend to nod
off to sleep, but then
that’s an accepted
practice as well so no
one really cares.
The best thing I’ve
found is the freedom you
enjoy when you go to the
gym to work out. I
recently started back
after having knee
replacement surgery a
couple of months ago.
When I was younger I
noticed that you are
more conscious of who is
looking at you than you
are at working out. Your
workout clothing had to
be the latest style and
color and you tended to
suck in your breath to
hold in your gut
whenever any females
were around. Also you
ended up hurting
yourself by adding or
more weights than you
could handle since you
would be embarrassed to
let anyone think you
weren’t strong enough.
Now I find that I wear
whatever I want to, use
the weights that feel
good and that I think
are doing me some good
without killing me. The
best thing is that I am
on my own and totally
oblivious to anyone
around me. I don’t have
to suck it in or be
macho on any of the
machines. I can just do
what I want without any
outside interference.
Everyone is friendly and
amazed that this old guy
wants to stay in shape
as well. It’s a
different mindset and
one that I truly enjoy.
The best part is that
I’m making progress and
getting in better shape.
It’s a shame it took me
this long to figure it
out.
Oh well, live and learn.
One day at a time.
