I’m getting old, and it sucks.
We’re in Oregon now, in the motorhome, and I climbed a ladder to allow me to put our satellite dish on the roof. I had just finished off a couple of margaritas, and wasn’t thinking straight, figuring that this install was going to be a piece of cake.
I fell off the ladder and banged myself up pretty good. The main injury was a deep muscle bruise to my left quadricep muscle (above my knee), so I’m limping around like “Chester” (from the old Gunsmoke TV series). I also bruised my ribcage, and it hurts when I sneeze or cough. I’m 75 but feel 105 today.
I used to be an athletic guy, and never gave a thought to the time that would come when I couldn’t just jump over a stream, heft some heavy object over my head, throw a baseball to a grandkid, or see well enough to play billiards. Every part of me is slowly deteriorating from those salad days when I could do most everything with ease.
I was a pitcher in Little League, lettered in Cross Country and Basketball in high school, swam competitively and was a lifeguard/swim instructor, and water skied, snow skied, and played pool at a proficient level. I was a certified scuba diver and a single-digit handicap golfer. I held a 200 average in bowling and rolled four perfect 300 games. I hiked Mount Whitney several times, Half Dome once, and the Crazy Horse Monument, as well.
Easy peezy… those were the Good ‘Ol Days.
Slowly, over the past ten years or so, my strength, agility, coordination, and confidence have diminished to the point that I’ve virtually given up any athletic pursuits other than an occasional hike or walk with the dogs. I recently gave up golf, sending my Scotty Cameron putter to son Jonathan and the rest of my clubs to son Jeff. It had gotten to the point where I was only playing a few times a year and it was hard to shoot a respectable score.
What’s left to do at this point?
I can still write my blog, tend to my landscaping chores, perform “Honey Do” fix-it duties, and love my wife and dogs. Luckily, my eyesight and concentration are still good enough to allow me to drive the motorhome without crashing or injuring people. Who knows how many more years I have doing that?
Luckily, my brain still works. I can read books and the news, watch TV, and carry on a conversation. I have my opinions, which I try to keep to myself, and occasionally (every day?) something I read in the news totally annoys me. It often seems like the U.S. is going down the toilet intellectually, but maybe that’s just the Old Man in me failing to be “modern”?
I’ve done a lot and seen a lot. The things that I am most proud of are the kids that I helped raise and my rock-solid marriage to Charlie, with whom I have shared many wonderful memories over the past 50 years. I also had a very rewarding career in local government and have done a lot of traveling around America and the world.
I will be 76 years old in December. If I ran for President in 2024 against Joe Biden and Donald Trump, I would be the YOUNGEST candidate on the ballot!
People need goals, even old geezers