Delivered a survey plat to an "old widow woman" tonight.?ÿ At least, that is how I would have described her in my youth.?ÿ But, I have aged over the many years since then and that label definitely was not a thought in my head tonight.?ÿ You see, when I was still 21 with a college degree, starting my first REAL job, already married for four years with a 16 month-old daughter, she was turning 10 years old.?ÿ She is one of the lucky females who was born cute and has never lost her fine looks.?ÿ Her husband was a good friend and repeat client who succumbed to his inherited pre-disposition for early death due to coronary ailments in the male side of his family.?ÿ He has been gone for nine years already.
There was a time when spicy food was great.?ÿ That stopped over 40 years ago.
Playing softball and swinging for the fences meant fun.?ÿ Now it would probably involve significant pain and a possible trip to see my physician.
Five o'clock came twice a day years ago.?ÿ Now only once a day.
Delivered a survey plat to a buddy earlier today who is two years older than me.?ÿ He said that recently he turned to look at his wife as they were getting in bed and he asked her, "Can you remember what we used to do if we both woke up in the middle of the night?"?ÿ She told him to shut up and go to sleep.
Same guy mentioned the name of an old lady I knew when I was a youngster and asked if I ever knew her.?ÿ Of course, the answer was "Yes".?ÿ But, I added, "You are referring to your grandchildren's great-great-great grandmother, right?"
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?ÿ Yes I've seen lots of changes as the years roll past.?ÿ Even though the world is changing, I feet a lot of those changes are from within me.?ÿ I'm thinking those changes might just be me dealing with the world changing.?ÿ But I really couldn't say.?ÿ I used to love pizza.?ÿ You could chase me to Tulsa with a pizza nowadays.?ÿ I used to love beer.?ÿ I never drank more than one or two of an evening but a cold one always took the edge off of a hot summer day's work.?ÿ I haven't had a beer in years even though there are two still in the fridge.?ÿ Don't miss them a bit.?ÿ I guess if I ever want one I'll drink one.
The one thing I do miss in my old age is my patience.?ÿ I was once very tolerant of other people's sloppy and inconsiderate consumption of my time.?ÿ I get short with folks in a heartbeat nowadays.?ÿ It can get troublesome.?ÿ So I avoid numb skulls like the plague in my day to day life.?ÿ This simply means I see fewer and fewer people.?ÿ I could be headed toward becoming a reclusive old grump. Even though it seems comfortable I wonder if I shouldn't be dealing with it differently.
I feel fortunate to have made it this far in life.?ÿ I've seen things change for the better and I've seen things change for the worse.?ÿ The other day I realized that I still cling to the belief there is a world somewhere out there that I remember, things like a helpful store clerk or actually talking to a human when I call the utility company.?ÿ Those things are long gone, but I cling to the memories.
Someday I will realize that I'm living in a world that is unrecognizable.?ÿ I guess that will be the day I will find peace with my own demise.?ÿ Until then I'll just have to be happy with running people off of my lawn.?ÿ ;)?ÿ?ÿ
There was a time when spicy food was great.?ÿ That stopped over 40 years ago.
My wife and I are eating spicier food now than ever, to overcome diminished capacity to taste as we age. Food of India is great. Our stomachs still tolerate it.
For some reason, though, I don't tolerate mustard well. As a young guy it was fine. Then for a few years I was on and off prednisone. Then I could eat half of a pepperoni pizza but could no longer tolerate mustard on a sandwich.
I can eat anything as long as I have a bottle of Maylox with me. I think I'm finally figgerin' out the pleasure ain't worth the pain. My main gripe these days is opening plastic like zip bags everything comes in these days. The friggin instructions say "tear here". OK so I tore "there", now what? The damn thing still ain't open, fused together just below where you "tear here". They should just show a picture of scissors or a blow torch or dynamite. ?????ÿ
@flga-2-2 My 87 year old mother in law lives with us so our menu is somewhat limited.?ÿ To top it off she was born and raised in England where the food is somewhat....bland.?ÿ To her the only spices acceptable are salt and sugar.?ÿ If I put ANY pepper in a dish she has to get out the sour cream to cover it up.?ÿ I love spicy food, Mexican, Creole, etc.?ÿ I keep a bottle of Tabasco and a bottle of home made pepper sauce on the table to give my food a little taste.?ÿ Other than the rest of my body gradually falling apart my stomach is okay.
Andy
As far as I'm concerned English food is inedible. I'd have to slather it with sour or whipped cream before eating. ?????ÿ
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Speaking of change, I just now called to cancel my land line and DSL internet.?ÿ I've been paying Century Link, Qwest, Northwestern Bell, or whoever they were since going to college 53 years ago.?ÿ I hate to see all that copper in the ground going to wast, but it was past time to cancel.
We rarely got useful calls on the land line since relatives started calling our cell phones.?ÿ It will be a relief to miss the junk calls.?ÿ DSL was giving me 5 or 6 Mbit/sec download, which was just adequate for most of what we do but sometimes would freeze for buffering when my wife watched movies.?ÿ We switched to T-Mobile 5G home internet which gives 40 to 100 Mbps for 40% of the monthly cost.
@flga-2-2?ÿ
Beans and toast for breakfast.
I just now called to cancel my land line and DSL internet.?ÿ
OMG how am I going to know when my auto warranty expires?
There is hope.
It took many hours of training and practice,,,,,,now I can stand in the middle of the room and put my pants on without holding on to anything.?ÿ
Seems impossible I know, but it can be accomplished.?ÿ?ÿ
I almost completely destroyed my bedroom the other day putting on a pair of trousers.?ÿ They had a hole worn above the knee.?ÿ As I slipped my foot into the trousers it got caught in the hole.?ÿ I knew I was going down for sure.?ÿ My only hope was to hop around on one leg trying to free my foot.?ÿ It got violent.?ÿ Dogs were exiting the bedroom with fear on their face.?ÿ Pictures were falling off the wall and a dresser was shedding the clutter perched on its top.
By the time SWMBO made it in there I was sitting down on the edge of the bed.?ÿ My trousers were on but I was shaking and sweating.?ÿ She demanded to know what the hell was going on.
I told her I was just getting dressed, that's all...
I have several bottles of very fine scotch. Can't even look at them now without going into a full blown headache.
I get what is called "cluster headaches" aka, "Suicide headaches". Migraine x 10.
That happened to me about 9 months ago.?ÿ My outcome: freed my foot but was falling forward toward the footboard of the bed. Stepped out fast to prevent a fall, and kicked the 4x4 rail post.?ÿ I think I woke the astronauts on the International Space Station with my cussing....?ÿ
@flga-2-2?ÿ
Beans and toast for breakfast.
And Haggis* for din-din, tea or whatever they call dinner(supper in the South). ?????ÿ
*(A pudding thing made from sheep heart, liver, and lungs)
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/well/move/the-right-way-to-fall.html
It works, believe me. ?????ÿ
Think of yourself as a pilot and use the two to three seconds going down to actively plan a soft landing.
- Lean forward into the fall??this gives you some control over direction.
- Fall sideways, if possible.
- Aim toward open areas and toward grass or dirt rather than concrete.
- Aim away from other people and away from objects that can cause puncture wounds or fractures.
- Swing your arms sideways to direct your fall.
- Twist your shoulder to protect your head.
- Keep your knees bent and your feet down.
- Fall like a sack of beans??relax everything.
- Fall on the soft, fleshy places, like your butt and thighs. These areas have more protection and are lower to the ground.
- As you complete the fall, try to roll to your side in a ball. This will spread the impact to reduce injury and stop you from rolling further.
@flga-2-2?ÿ
- Fall like a sack of beans??relax everything.
That's the practice my mother adopted during her 70's.?ÿ She wasn't going to just sit around like some old widow woman dusting the knick-knacks on the what-not shelves all day.?ÿ She would go wherever she felt like around the farm.?ÿ If she tripped somehow, she would relax and roll with it.?ÿ Then get herself up and keep going wherever she felt like.?ÿ She was following her own mother's practice.?ÿ Grandma went fishing nearly every day somewhere.?ÿ Normally farm ponds, but sometimes lakes and creeks.?ÿ All by herself with no one knowing where she was.?ÿ She would relax and roll with it, sometimes landing in the water.?ÿ No big deal.
