How does getting older compare to expectations?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
I still like the story of Jim Fixx. Promoted running as the key to a long and healthy life and made a fortune in books and appearances related to running.

Died at 52. While on a run.

You can't outrun Karma.
 
Always liked this quote from the movie "The Guardian" about getting old...

“Hell, I’ve always been old, Ben. You know what though? I don’t mind. I mean, if my muscles ache it’s cause I’ve used ’em. It’s hard for me to walk up them steps now cause I walked up ’em every night to lay next to a man who loved me.
I got a few wrinkles here and there, but I’ve laid under a thousand skies on sunny days.
I look and feel this way, well, cause I drank and I smoked, I lived and I loved, danced, sang, sweat and screwed my way through a pretty damn good life. Gettin old ain’t bad man; getting old – that’s earned.”
 
You know…
I always expected I would get old. Just didn’t think it would happen so soon.
 
psneeld said:
Always liked this quote from the movie "The Guardian" about getting old...

“Hell, I’ve always been old, Ben. You know what though? I don’t mind. I mean, if my muscles ache it’s cause I’ve used ’em. It’s hard for me to walk up them steps now cause I walked up ’em every night to lay next to a man who loved me.
I got a few wrinkles here and there, but I’ve laid under a thousand skies on sunny days.
I look and feel this way, well, cause I drank and I smoked, I lived and I loved, danced, sang, sweat and screwed my way through a pretty damn good life. Gettin old ain’t bad man; getting old – that’s earned.”
Click to expand...


That’s good stuff. Thanks.
 
ssobol said:
I still like the story of Jim Fixx. Promoted running as the key to a long and healthy life and made a fortune in books and appearances related to running.

Died at 52. While on a run.

You can't outrun Karma.
Click to expand...


About ten years ago in Tallahassee a man was driving on one of the canopy roads when a big tree limb fell onto the windshield of his car, killing him instantly. Before his death, he taught the defensive driving class at Leon High School.


Pretty funny, huh?
 
Not.
I am sure his lifes work saved many lives and injuries. Reminds us everyday is a Gift!
 
At 74, I now hire work out that I used to do myself, like changing batteries and other heavy stuff. My wife and I are in good health and try to stay fit by walking and riding bikes. I've quit downhill snow skiing after a lifetime of doing it...if I wack a tree at this age, recovery will be slow, or nil. We will continue to be out in the boat in upper BC and SE AK until we can't do it anymore. I'm aiming for 80, but it could be later than that. We are more comfortable during the winters these days having bought a place in Arizona. I feel like we are presently at a great part of our lives.
 
MYTraveler said:
Ironic or tragic, but I can't see the humor.
Click to expand...


Yes, it was a sarcastic reply to the poster who feels that Jim Fixx's death while running is somehow karma because he promoted a healthy lifestyle. I'm not sure he knows what karma really means.


I should have used the sarcasm font, sorry about that.
 
[FONT=&quot]

I'm at a place in my life where errands are starting to count as going out.Â
Â

I'm getting tired of being part of a major historical event.Â
Â

I don't always go the extra mile, but when I do, it's because I missed my exit.Â
Â

My goal for 2021 was to lose 10 pounds. Only have 14 to go.Â
Â

Ate salad for dinner. Mostly croutons and tomatoes. Really just one big round crouton covered with tomato sauce and cheese. FINE, it was a pizza.... OK!
Â

I just did a week's worth of cardio after walking into a spider web.Â
Â

I don't mean to brag, but I finished my 14-day diet food supply in 3 hours and 20 minutes.Â
Â

A recent study has found women who carry a little extra weight live longer than men who mention it.Â
Â

Kids today don't know how easy they have it. When I was young, I had to walk 9 feet through shag carpet to change the TV channel.Â
Â

Senility has been a smooth transition for me.Â
Â

Remember back when we were kids and every time it was below freezing outside they closed school? Yeah, me neither.Â
Â

I may not be that funny or athletic or good looking or smart or talented. I forgot where I was going with this.
Â

I love being 80, I learn something new every day and forget 5 other things.Â
Â

A thief broke into my house last night. He started searching for money so I got up and searched with him.Â
Â

I think I'll just put an "Out of Order" sticker on my forehead and call it a day.Â
Â

Just remember, once you're over the hill, you begin to pick up speed.Â
Â

Having plans sounds like a good idea until you have to put on clothes and leave the house.Â
Â

It's weird being the same age as old people.Â
Â

When I was a kid I wanted to be older . . this is not what I expected.
Â

It's probably my age that tricks people into thinking I'm an adult.Â
Â

Marriage Counselor: Your wife says you never buy her flowers. Is that true? Me: To be honest, I never knew she sold flowers.Â
Â

I see people about my age mountain climbing; I feel good getting my leg through my underwear without losing my balance.Â
Â

So if a cow doesn't produce milk, is it a milk dud or an udder failure?Â
Â

Coronacoaster: noun; the ups and downs of a pandemic.
Â

I'm at that age where my mind still thinks I'm 29, my humor suggests I'm 12, while my body mostly keeps asking if I'm sure I'm not dead yet Â
Â

You don't realize how old you are until you sit on the floor and then try to get back up.Â
Â

[/FONT][FONT=&quot] We all get heavier as we get older, because there's a lot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you can't think of a word say, “I forgot the English word for it.” That way people will think you're bilingual instead of an idiot.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Â
[/FONT]
21
<qz31Bpd4sevqEPb2L8Re



--


 
My experience exceeds expectations mostly because I had no expectation I would live to be 78!
:socool:


But considering the actualities, old age isn't as hard as I expected. I haven't forgotten anything, but remembering any of it clearly takes longer. Pauses in conversation while I rummage through my cerebral Rolodex for the name or date.


I am more easily diverted; start a task and interrupt for another because I thought about it.


Physically, I'm doing great. No longer chop wood; recently decided single-handing my trawler wasn't the best idea, but no real infirmities; I can walk farther than my labrador is willing to go. Have given up skiing because I am no longer willing to break long bones.



They say that in old age, every minute should be treasured...but I'm still more than happy to piss time away unproductively.


Genetically, I can't explain my current life; I've outlived my father's "pull date" and while my mother lived to 94, her last two decades were pretty joyless.



I believe one very big factor in the quality of my "golden years" has been my daughter who is now 23 (you do the math:)) and has truly has given me "new life."
 

Attachments

  • liv2.jpg
    liv2.jpg
    132.7 KB · Views: 52
Last edited:
Going to miss you up north, Bill. Great shot of your daughter.
 
Ken E. said:
Going to miss you up north, Bill.
Click to expand...

Not as bad as it seems, many of the places we enjoyed in BC are accessible by other means:

2022 Toyota: $31,000
MV Coho to Victoria: $91
buttery croissant at Barb's Buns in Ganges: priceless

...and, of course, this means more Giants games.

Great shot of your daughter.
Click to expand...
Thanks, one of many:
 

Attachments

  • liv-helm.jpg
    liv-helm.jpg
    91.7 KB · Views: 55
Last edited:
As I was approaching 70, I had no real plan to retire. Then my wife of forty years died very unexpectedly, turning my life upside down. I had an eighteen foot cuddly cabin in storage because I was too busy to enjoy it. Boating was not in my future or even in my dreams.

A chance reconnection with someone I had been close to before we went our separate ways led to a brand new life. We were aboard her brother’s boat in the Sea of Cortez when I proposed. She was living in another state in a community with its own marina. She had owned an eighteen foot boat similar to mine but didn’t enjoy boating by herself. I closed my practice, retired and moved to La Conner, Washington where we were married.

The day we returned from our honeymoon, we found the Bayliner 3288 that was going to be the only boat we would ever need. It was perfect for us, that is, until an automobile accident cost my wife most of her right hand. The Bayliner would no longer work for us so we started looking for a boat better suited to her new limitations.

We sold the old boat (to a couple in their mid eighties) and ordered a new Helmsman 38E pilot house trawler which is scheduled for delivery in the late spring.

Life at 77 is beyond anything I could have imagined even in my fifties.
 
BandB said:
Hubby B: Under duress and coerced by the woman laying beside me.
Click to expand...

I think you mean lying unless you guys are swingers. LOL. Sorry too easy and couldn't resist! My apologies, carry on.
 
How does getting older compare to expectations?

It happened a lot faster than I expected it to!
 
La Mer said:
Our mutual friends you met last October told me that in their view you both were in your fifties ; Don’t change your habit ? , Keep Up !
Click to expand...


Oh! They are so kind! :)
 
Reminds me of a time on active duty in California, on the weekend nothing to do so I decided to walk the docks at a local marina. Came upon an older gentleman doing some sanding on his old wooden sailboat. I stopped and complimented on what a beautiful boat he had. He told me that he had been living on her for the past 45 years. He was shaking his head and saying always something to do on an old wooden boat. Then paused and said " I would have died peacefully years ago if it weren't for the stubborn old bitch." He was 88 years old. Got to love his moxy.
 
I'm tempted to relate my own experiences been then think, who really cares? We all have unique stories and experiences and what happens to one person has nothing to do with what will happen to another (in general). So I could go on about my life and things I would have changed, but does it really matter? Nobody will or should change their lives based on what I've done and how it worked out, so I think I'll sit this one out. I think this sums it up for me:

"Youth is wasted on young people"
 
BandB said:
Wifey B: Health declines are generally not linear but more like shelves with some form of acute exacerbation leading to the next shelf. :)
Click to expand...


This is an interesting observation / analogy. When I look what my grandmother went through making it to 99, I can recall the "shelves" clearly. Same with my father, who made it as far as 97 (after managing to renew his FL driver's license at 94, just before he went blind). An amazing side note to this, at least in my opinion, is that both of them died with VALID licenses! I can remember my grandmother telling me she got her first license from Sears & Roebuck...
 
At 76, I have come up to some existential questions that have yet to appear in this discussion. When should I quit driving? When should I stop cruising alone? Or sell the boat? Should wait for an accident to tell you you’ve waited too long?
I expect that significant others will have opinions, but I expect I’ll have to make most of these myself. An then there is that garage full of boat stuff…
 
As that great American Philosopher, Toby Keith says, "I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Lammy
Insurance on Older Boats
Replies
3
Views
686
SteveK
SteveK
B
new boater need some idea on how to fix or set up some stuff
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
Bacchus
Bacchus
N
New to trawler life!
Replies
6
Views
1K
Delta Riverat
Delta Riverat
B
How often to start the engines?
2
Replies
32
Views
5K
Bacchus
Bacchus
Irish Rambler
GREEK ISLANDS.
2
Replies
51
Views
4K
Irish Rambler
Irish Rambler

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom