It's not about how long you live, it's about how you live. In Roses in Catalunya (Spain), there's a bar where every sunday (when it's market in Roses), they serve tapas with the drinks.
On that day, the bar is extremely busy. A lot of people go there.
In the kitchen, theres an old dude, who makes the tapas. He not only makes them, but brings them from the kitchen to the bar.
The awesome thing about it is that he had surgery on his knees and he's had a problem with his wrists and hip. The guy can't even walk properly, his knees are a little bent and he can't walk fast anymore.
But every sunday, his making and bringing tapas.
I respect that person for still being able to do it and not complaining!
Like I said, it's not about how long you live, it's how you live.
I want to die when it's time for me to die. Not sooner. But before I die, I want to have lived a good life. And that last thing is the only thing of the two that's on my mind.
how long do you want to live?
A second for Nagerusu's comment. A story related by the author Don Aslett; the best strawberries in the farm country he grew up in were from a farm with no irrigation and a old paraplegic owner. He crawled through the rows, watering the stawberries by hand. I hope that the drive to do at least some good dies with me.
That said, I do have to say that many of the hale and hearty older folks are concealing things, sometimes keeping even terminal conditions from everyone. Sometimes to spare loved ones, and sometimes just for pride. After the public feats of age-defying derring-do, no one and I mean NO ONE will be allowed to see the recovery in the oxygen tent. Getting old shouldn't be feared, but it's no bowl of cherries.
That said, I do have to say that many of the hale and hearty older folks are concealing things, sometimes keeping even terminal conditions from everyone. Sometimes to spare loved ones, and sometimes just for pride. After the public feats of age-defying derring-do, no one and I mean NO ONE will be allowed to see the recovery in the oxygen tent. Getting old shouldn't be feared, but it's no bowl of cherries.
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webberchoked
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 4:22 am
those last two stories are so depressing and not a life id ever consider living. not being able to walk? wtf you're a cripple.
i guess a lot depends on ones current lifestyle also. id guess that a lot of these above examples of old people would have lived a boring earlier life anyway. (what id consider a boring life which isnt my current lifestle. grinding away working watching tv, etc just waiting to die)
i guess a lot depends on ones current lifestyle also. id guess that a lot of these above examples of old people would have lived a boring earlier life anyway. (what id consider a boring life which isnt my current lifestle. grinding away working watching tv, etc just waiting to die)
> those last two stories are so depressing
lol..you could say that i guess.
those two guys may have been laden with debt (or whatever) and hence forced to work..you never know. i think if anything that's only an example of the ability of old people to contribute to society, whereas the point of contention here is whether it is possible to have a fun-life in old age and not whether it is still possible to remain useful ( being useful sure helps towards happiness and self-worth, but in and of itself cannot account for a fulfilling old-life IMHO)
lol..you could say that i guess.
those two guys may have been laden with debt (or whatever) and hence forced to work..you never know. i think if anything that's only an example of the ability of old people to contribute to society, whereas the point of contention here is whether it is possible to have a fun-life in old age and not whether it is still possible to remain useful ( being useful sure helps towards happiness and self-worth, but in and of itself cannot account for a fulfilling old-life IMHO)
Thank you, Slacker & web. I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one who thought those stories of old people "living" their lives were rather not good examples. If they were doing it because they wanted to then they are decent examples, but if they were doing the work because they had to...well, then, they aren't really living their own lives.
@Chad: the old man I was talking about, was helping in the bar, but the bar belongs to his son. It's a family bussiness and he looked happy enough to be helping out.
Don't try to think to much about the future. Live now. And when you get old, you'll probably appreciate other things and be happy in different ways. What may look boring to you now, might not look boring many years later. You don't know what the future bring for you, so don't worry about it now...
Don't try to think to much about the future. Live now. And when you get old, you'll probably appreciate other things and be happy in different ways. What may look boring to you now, might not look boring many years later. You don't know what the future bring for you, so don't worry about it now...
Sorry guys, if all you got was the blues that's my error, which I regret. On the bright side, none of that has to be you 
I still think though, it just does no good to give up in advance.
@Webberchoked; a better example is a former boss who was (is) an adreneline junkie. He chartered helicopter skiing trips in the 1960s when no one knew such things existed. Last time I saw him, late in his 60s after mandatory retirement, he was on his way to another ski adventure, complaining that people thought he was going to play more golf (he did for business), which was way too tame and boring. He'd had more than his share of bad accidents too, nothing seemed to slow him down. Never gained or lost more than a few pounds though he could eat and drink enough to kill 10 people. You just never know.
I still think though, it just does no good to give up in advance.
@Webberchoked; a better example is a former boss who was (is) an adreneline junkie. He chartered helicopter skiing trips in the 1960s when no one knew such things existed. Last time I saw him, late in his 60s after mandatory retirement, he was on his way to another ski adventure, complaining that people thought he was going to play more golf (he did for business), which was way too tame and boring. He'd had more than his share of bad accidents too, nothing seemed to slow him down. Never gained or lost more than a few pounds though he could eat and drink enough to kill 10 people. You just never know.
See, here's the thing, when your 27 and able to ski double-black diamonds with elan for days straight, then the prospect of playing Scrabble with the young folks at 60 seems like a fate worse than death. But when you reach 50, even if you can still ski without killing yourself, you'd really much rather play Scrabble. It is genuinely preferable. And you want to be able to do it until you're 90 or older. Aging is all about adapting and those who are resilient age the most gracefully.
@webberchoked
My guess is that you won't be so angst-filled at 55.
People on my mother's side live/lived until mid-90s. People on my father's side until their mid-60s. I have the endomorphic features of my mother's kin, so I hope I get similar longevity. I like @MikeBOS take on end of life though: happy derrangement with a side of pistachio pudding.
@webberchoked
My guess is that you won't be so angst-filled at 55.
People on my mother's side live/lived until mid-90s. People on my father's side until their mid-60s. I have the endomorphic features of my mother's kin, so I hope I get similar longevity. I like @MikeBOS take on end of life though: happy derrangement with a side of pistachio pudding.
I agree about the quality of life being important. I've had 2 grandparents (paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother) make it to 90. Grandad played golf and bowls and did a lot of gardening and painting and was very active in his local community. I would be happy to live to 90+ with that quality of life. My Gran is still around but has dementia and has gone downhill rapidly since her mid 80s. Dementia/ alzheimers terrifies me more than other end-of-life scenarios.
@dragoncar & Mr Overlord - That is my boyfriend's plan! I'm not sure it appeals to me though.
@dragoncar & Mr Overlord - That is my boyfriend's plan!
I'm not sure it appeals to me though.I am 66.5 years old and have no desire to check out of the net.
I wish to be alive as long as I can function per usual, and experience life as I always have.
I have kept myself physically fit, so health issues are not a problem. I eat right and exercise and try my best to take care of myself. I am able to still do about anything I have in the past, maybe a little slower and more carefully. I am quite passionate about doing the things that interest me.
About the only thing I can say I have lost, by being my current age, is patience. This may be just a symptom of having already heard the BS for so long, it becomes too difficult to keep on listening to it. I hope that statement makes sense, it was the best way I knew to put it.
I am retired and I don't have to have a job making money. I can and have opted out of the work a day world, where one gets up and treads off to some kind of employment, in order to pay for roof/food. I am thankful I am not in that situation.
I do have several things on tap that occupy my time pretty fully, and that is what I consider to be one of the most important things of retirement. If you fail to use your muscles, you lose them, and if you fail to use your mental capacity you can also lose that. I look for challenges, even if it were something broken that I have to figure out how to repair. Think about that. You then need to explore the object or mission in question. You need to understand how it works, and why it currently needs attention. This causes you to function both physically and mentally, and when the object/thing/situation is back as it should be, and you did it, then you feel rewarded. This keeps you in tune and in many cases, it keeps you updated on various subjects.
Now I could simply get out of bed and sit by the window. If my water heater goes out, I have the funds to call for a new one, and have it installed. I also now have the time to drive somewhere, load up a new heater, and install it myself, saving a labor bill from a plumber. Were the installation strange to me, I could research how to install it, etc. This keeps you driving your train. A while back, I noticed my 76 year old neighbor working on his mower. He had it all jacked up and was pulling the deck to install new blades and a belt. He was slower than a 30 year old, but very deliberate and careful. He finished the job by asking me to hold one side of the deck while he attached the bolts.
Age is not important, it's how one is mentally prepared (at any age).
I wish to be alive as long as I can function per usual, and experience life as I always have.
I have kept myself physically fit, so health issues are not a problem. I eat right and exercise and try my best to take care of myself. I am able to still do about anything I have in the past, maybe a little slower and more carefully. I am quite passionate about doing the things that interest me.
About the only thing I can say I have lost, by being my current age, is patience. This may be just a symptom of having already heard the BS for so long, it becomes too difficult to keep on listening to it. I hope that statement makes sense, it was the best way I knew to put it.
I am retired and I don't have to have a job making money. I can and have opted out of the work a day world, where one gets up and treads off to some kind of employment, in order to pay for roof/food. I am thankful I am not in that situation.
I do have several things on tap that occupy my time pretty fully, and that is what I consider to be one of the most important things of retirement. If you fail to use your muscles, you lose them, and if you fail to use your mental capacity you can also lose that. I look for challenges, even if it were something broken that I have to figure out how to repair. Think about that. You then need to explore the object or mission in question. You need to understand how it works, and why it currently needs attention. This causes you to function both physically and mentally, and when the object/thing/situation is back as it should be, and you did it, then you feel rewarded. This keeps you in tune and in many cases, it keeps you updated on various subjects.
Now I could simply get out of bed and sit by the window. If my water heater goes out, I have the funds to call for a new one, and have it installed. I also now have the time to drive somewhere, load up a new heater, and install it myself, saving a labor bill from a plumber. Were the installation strange to me, I could research how to install it, etc. This keeps you driving your train. A while back, I noticed my 76 year old neighbor working on his mower. He had it all jacked up and was pulling the deck to install new blades and a belt. He was slower than a 30 year old, but very deliberate and careful. He finished the job by asking me to hold one side of the deck while he attached the bolts.
Age is not important, it's how one is mentally prepared (at any age).
from forbes:
"[L]ong distance swimmer Diana Nyad (age 61) is going to attempt a 103 mile long distance swim from Cuba to Key West Florida — the same swim she attempted 32 years ago. That is an amazing feat to attempt — even just the training in and of itself — for anyone much less someone in their early 60’s. Diana is quoted as saying she has no idea how old she is and doesn’t feel different in any way."
"[L]ong distance swimmer Diana Nyad (age 61) is going to attempt a 103 mile long distance swim from Cuba to Key West Florida — the same swim she attempted 32 years ago. That is an amazing feat to attempt — even just the training in and of itself — for anyone much less someone in their early 60’s. Diana is quoted as saying she has no idea how old she is and doesn’t feel different in any way."
Check out at 60? Way too young!
I just spent the weekend with a bunch of hikers, many over 60 years old. They still hike, run, raft the Grand Canyon, enjoy the outdoors, travel all over the world, some work at jobs, some are retired. They are slower than they used to be or have aches and pains from all their activities, but they're not just waiting to die by any means. We spent the weekend partying, drinking, hiking and camping out, sleeping either in pickups with campershells (for they luxury-minded) or in backpacking tents (the rest of us).
I'm 46 and hope to stay active and in the outdoors until I die. With any luck, I'll die being eaten by a mountain lion out in the wilderness rather than with tubes in a nursing home.
I just spent the weekend with a bunch of hikers, many over 60 years old. They still hike, run, raft the Grand Canyon, enjoy the outdoors, travel all over the world, some work at jobs, some are retired. They are slower than they used to be or have aches and pains from all their activities, but they're not just waiting to die by any means. We spent the weekend partying, drinking, hiking and camping out, sleeping either in pickups with campershells (for they luxury-minded) or in backpacking tents (the rest of us).
I'm 46 and hope to stay active and in the outdoors until I die. With any luck, I'll die being eaten by a mountain lion out in the wilderness rather than with tubes in a nursing home.
If you take care of yourself, not only will you live longer, but you'll feel a lot better even as you age. Some 80 or 90 year olds are out and active as ever, while some 50 year olds are morbidly obese, diabetic and in constant pain due to their weight on their joints. It mostly depends how you take care of yourself.
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Mr. Overlord
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2010 6:17 pm
@Webberchoked: For being an extreme sports guy, you ane an extreme wussy! Waaah, wtf, be a cripple, can't walk so I'll off myself, waaah!
I am disabled from birth and was an All American athlete in Freesyle wrestling at the national level when I was younger and another buddy of mine with no legs and no arms took 4th at nationals in the 15lb weightclass against totally able bodied people! Now, there are also the paralympics if you are into competing against other disabled people as well. My point is, don't be such a whinny wuss! If you are truly into extreme sports, then not being able to walk should merely be an additional challenge for you to overcome to really get that adrenaline pumping! Toughen up and quit whinning! Sheesh! I unapologetically say, I have been through a lot in my life, lots of severe illness and challenges but still love life and love to live as much as ever and so people who belittle the disabled or want to die just because they face difficulties are just totally annoying to me!
I am disabled from birth and was an All American athlete in Freesyle wrestling at the national level when I was younger and another buddy of mine with no legs and no arms took 4th at nationals in the 15lb weightclass against totally able bodied people! Now, there are also the paralympics if you are into competing against other disabled people as well. My point is, don't be such a whinny wuss! If you are truly into extreme sports, then not being able to walk should merely be an additional challenge for you to overcome to really get that adrenaline pumping! Toughen up and quit whinning! Sheesh! I unapologetically say, I have been through a lot in my life, lots of severe illness and challenges but still love life and love to live as much as ever and so people who belittle the disabled or want to die just because they face difficulties are just totally annoying to me!
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webberchoked
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 4:22 am