Category Archives: Growing Old

Plan Goals?

Posted in Growing Old by
Daily writing prompt
How do you plan your goals?
View all responses

Planning goals? Now that’s a new one. I thought they just sort of happened. I mean, what you do is you put your shoulder to the, now let me see. What is it that we are supposed to put our shoulder to.

Well. It doesn’t matter. One thing I do know. If you plan goals, stand by. Those goals are just very likely going to be obliterated. I mean look at those folks over in Hawaii. Many of them had goals. A lot of them thought they were going to see their dreams come true. I mean, they were living in a tropical paradise. Then, whoosh. In less than a night, they see those dreams literally go up in flames.

Actually, I have been trying to avoid the subject of that fire. I hear enough of that on TV and radio. I couldn’t help it though. It just kind of spilled out. Yes, I do make plans. I do set goals. The thing is reality keeps stepping in the way.

When I was still reasonably young I hoped to buy one of those nice motor homes and I’d just go around from city to city and state to state and see this country. Well, as I said, reality got in the way. It is wonderful how computers have grown small, inexpensive and reliable. However, my job used to be fixing the things and I made a good living at it. Then one day the boss called me in and told me my services would no longer be needed.

I was actually quite good at fixing the things. I could tell you stories, but it would just bore you.

After that, for three years, I had one one of the best jobs in the world. I taught electronics at the Navy base. Now that was wonderful. It didn’t pay that well, but it combined two things I really, really liked, electronics and teaching. I dare say, I got good at it.

However, one day, President Reagan said tear down this wall, so they did. Suddenly, peace broke out. Don’t get me wrong. I like peace. It is far better than war. However, out of the 11 instructors, they they kept 4. Almost everyone there had been there longer than me. The odds were against me. A few months later and I was again looking for a job.

The point I am trying to make, not so eloquently, is that sometimes, it is not enough to have goals. Sometimes you have to be ready for that day when reality hits you in the jaw and the goals are shattered. The ones who really succeed I guess are the ones who succeed when their goals don’t

Almost bought one of those motor homes a few years ago, a used one. In a way, I wish I had. Then again, I figured if I did, and something went wrong with it, it would just be another case of reality getting in the way.

Nowadays, as old as I am, my goals are simple. Hold on till I die, and do what I can to help others ovoid the little mistakes I made. And, oh yes, sell a few books; maybe a million or two. Maybe then I could get my motor home.

Fifty!

Posted in Growing Old, Memories by

I am going to do something I rarely do. I’m going to get personal. Whenever possible, since we were married, I insisted that my wife scratch my back for a short time every day. It’s only fair considering what all I have put up with. (Read Newly Married post about burnt boiled eggs and grease fire.)

At any rate, come June 1, she will have been scratching my back for fifty years.

So. With your permission, I would like to publicly wish my better half an early happy anniversary. As a special treat for her, I’ll do my own backstretching on that day.

Thing is, I hope she will be scratching my back for a long time more. I really hate the idea of having to do it myself.

Nothing Is Ever Lost

Posted in Awkward Situation, Growing Old by

As I get older, I misplace things more frequently. However, I’ve learned that nothing is ever truly lost. It’s still in the same place as I left it. I just don’t remember where that is.

Then, some day in the future, while looking for something else, i find the other thing I misplaced. Then, I have a whole new problem…remembering why I wanted it.

Oh, well. I am always careful to place it somewhere where I’ll easily find it, even if I never again need it.

A Word on AARP

Posted in AARP, Advertising, FOC, Growing Old, Uncategorized by

I noticed AARP has started an ad campaign, for purposes I know not why. However, before you blindly buy their line, permit me to explain what they did for me.

They endorsed Obama care, which very likely pushed it over the edge of success, which caused the American health care system to take a huge nose dive.

However, as I said, this is about what they did to me. It was sort of bad timing. After I retired, my wife was required to subscribe to Obama care. That meant on average, one grand a month for over three years. The math is simple; $36,000. It drained a good percentage of my IRA.

Thanks Obama.

Thanks AARP.

Thanks dems.

Needless to say, I don’t believe their ads. Needless to say, I flat don’t believe them and their ads. Besides all this, I refuse to do business with any organizations they endorse. When I sign up for insurance, I tell my agents I don’t want anything to do with AARP, no matter the cost.

I would hope others would do likewise.

I don’t want any apology. I don’t want any compensation. I just want AARP to just go away.

A Five Word Search

Posted in Awkward Situation, Computers, Fine Actors, Good Memories, Growing Old, Little known info, Memories, Newly Married by

Perhaps one of the greatest side benefits of the internet is the way we can search out songs, some that are long forgotten. Last night I was watching a segment of an episode and the character was sitting at a piano playing a toon. I said to myself, “self, I know that tune. I’ve heard it a time or two.

The problem is that I couldn’t remember the words, or hardly. I couldn’t even remember who recorded it. I certainly didn’t know the title of the tune. As I started to search, I had no success. I have heard that a search can be recognized if I can hum the melody. I suppose that might be possible, that is if I can hum the tune. The problem with that is that I couldn’t hum any tune if my life depended on it. I might manage to whistle a bar or two but no more.

Finally, after four tries, I managed to remember 5 words… sort of. It was kind of a guess of a guess. The words I searched were, “Wedding bells will ring so merrily.” To my surprise the song appeared. Even more, i could hear Doris Day sing it. I suspect the song, “Till We Meet Again,” seemed to be written for Doris Day. It brought back some very nice memories, and I played it several times, some by other singers. I still think Doris played the best, but they were all good rendering.

I don’t think those who built the internet such a thing in mind. But I am very grateful that someone put together the feature. If they hadn’t helped me find the tune, I’d still be going nuts with the five words still going through my mind and trying to figure out the title. Do you have a hint how bothersome such a thing can a thing can be?

Oh, and by the way, I’d not be able to pass such a nice, pleasant thing along to others. And by the way, it would likely make a very wonderful song for a wedding…that along with “True Love.” [I think first sung by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in the movie, “High Society”]

Growing Old

Posted in Biden, Growing Old, Memories, Retirement by

I write this for those who have not yet grown old. No matter what you might think it will be like, you’re wrong. It is no one thing but rather a collection of little things.

As you grow old, the first thing you will likely notice is that the person looking back at you has become a stranger. Fight as you might, your face changes, seemingly overnight. Yet, as you think it over, you will realize it was gradually, not sudden.

Perhaps, the most devastating birthday will be your 40th. This is when you will awake to the realization that you will never become president. Most will face the reality of never becoming rich and famous. I’d settle for rich.

On my 49th birthday, I never had surgery. Since, I have had a list as long as my arm. One indication of aging is when yoy sit around talking of hospital visits. We old folks are always trying to outdo the others about our trials and illnesses.

Closely associated with hospitalizations are the meds. At 40, the only meds I took were for my alergies. Now, before retiring for the night, I take 10, most reqireing scripts. I mentioned to a doctor that I feel as if I have my own drug store. He laughed and told me of a patient he had that received a transplant. He had shelves of meds, many very expensive.

I guess 65 is also another big transition for most of us. It’s when we start dealing with Social Security. Personally, my transition went well. The people were nice and very helpful.

I have heard of some real problems, though. My wife’s grandfather was born on an Indian reservation and he had a very difficult time proving he was born.

At 72, my hair is turning white and starting to thin. I can’t complain about that. Most men my age don’t have much hair at all. Look at what President Trump did to conceal his balding. On the other hand, the current occupier of The Oval Office had expensive hair transplants, only to lose most of it anyway.

One of the biggest giveaways that we are older is that we start losing friends, relatives and neighbors. I look around and I realize I have lost many acquaintances. I hear about this one having a heart attack or this one a stroke.

I have known a few who died from alkzheimers disease. I lost 2 brothers to brain cancer. It makes me wonder why I have been permitted to live this long.

One day, I needed to get down on the floor to do something. Next thing I knew, I couldn’t get up, regardless of my best efforts. I found it utterly ridiculous. It was something I just took for granted.

Nowadays, I am far more careful. Moreover, I suggest, anyone who is able, exercise by getting on the floor and standing 10 times a day. You must realize, being able to stand is important.

You might find this odd, but you should cough regularly. The muscles used for coughing are very important. If you’re unable to cough, you won’t be able to clear your lower respiratory system.

Getting old is learning to think of such things.

My Dream Vehicle

Posted in Climate Change, Electectric vehicles, Growing Old by

Back in the 60’s I had to put my car in to have the engine rebuilt.  The place provided a loaner, a van.  Ever since, I wanted a big window van.  The one they provided was a Dodge with a V8 mounted between the two front seats.  To me it looked like the perfect van.  But, alas, every time my wages went up, the cost of the van went up even more.  It would seem I was not the only one that decided the van was a really nice vehicle.

I was always a person who preferred utility over appearance, but the van wasn’t that bad looking.  More important, 8 or nine could fit comfortably in it.  Or, If I wanted, I could put a lot of stuff in it.

To this day, if I could have such a van, I would really like it.  However, nowadays, they don’t build vans like that.  There are a few that are close, but even they are out of my price range.  I mean, I am living on social security.  I don’t know if I can even afford the insurance.

However, if we are going to talk dream vehicles, let’s put an electric motor on each wheel, making it a four wheel drive with very good traction.  Let’s replace the engine with a turbine and put it in the back.  By using generator and electric motors, the turbine engine could run at a constant RPM.  Then we could add some battery power to provide extra power for short durations.  It likely wouldn’t need it, but it is a dream vehicle.

Because of the turbine, the intakes would need to be high and on the side, to keep it from ingesting to much dirt and debris.  The exhaust would be through twin pipes at the back and on the sides.  Naturally, some defusing should take place.  Most jet exhaust is at least 900 degrees.  That is a little too much to allow directly into any overhanging trees.

The neat thing is that it would run on almost anything.  That just might make the green people happy.

Noise it not a problem.  With proper baffling, a jet engine makes less noise than almost any type of motor when it is designed to run at one RPM.

One added advantage, such a vehicle warms instantly.  That means, even on the coldest day, the heater would produce nice warm heat right after the engine is started.  That is especially nice for an old 72 year old man who grew up in southern California.

Now, I wonder.  Just how much would I have to pay for my dream vehicle.  Guess I’ll just have to wait till Volkswagen comes out with their electric van and be satisfied with that, if I will be able to afford that.

Oh.  One more thing.  I would make sure all lights could be changed with in five minutes with nothing more than a screwdriver. I just noticed the other day that my headlight went out and that will cost me a bundle.  The light costs 50 dollars and it is another 50 to install it.  (Well, it might be more than that now.  It’s been a few years since the last time I had it done and you know about inflation.)

The Summary of the Last 4 Dem Presidents

Posted in Abuse of Power, Biden, Deceit, FOC, Growing Old, Liberals, Pelosi, Politcal Opinion by

Obama forced Obama Care down our throats with the help of Nancy. (what a pair) Of course, being a former pres, he doesn’t need Obama Care. Isn’t he the lucky one. He can use his savings to build that sea wall he is going to need when the seas start getting deeper.

Obama forced Obama Care down our throats with the help of Nancy. (what a pair) Of course, being a former pres, he doesn’t need Obama Care. Isn’t he the lucky one. He can use his savings to build that sea wall he is going to need when the seas start getting deeper.

The only thing Jimmy Carter did was to give away the Panama Canal. Really wish we had that back.

Bill Clinton’s fame to claim is that he felt our pain. I’m pretty sure he didn’t. Regardless, he certainly doesn’t now. He’s living high on the hog and has a nice big house. If you ask me, he belongs in the big house.

Obama forced Obama Care down our throats with the help of Nancy. (what a pair) Of course, being a former pres, he doesn’t need Obama Care. Isn’t he the lucky one. He can use his savings to build that sea wall he is going to need when the seas start getting deeper.

Now Joe. I guess his main theme is that he has specialized in causing pain. The bad part is that I don’t know if he even knows it. Could someone please tell him?

Empty Nest

Posted in Empty Nests, Growing Old by

I guess you could say that we now have an empty nest. We have grandchildren that now drive. Both of our ‘kids’ live close to a thousand miles from us. So, nowadays, when Christmas comes around, we just try to find a restaurant open.

The problem is, with the Chinese virus this year, there are even less places open than normal. So, this year we decided to eat at home. It just so happened I was in a convenience store one night to buy milk and I saw these serving sized BBQ briskets that were chopped up bite sized. It looked pretty good.

Usually we eat turkey or ham for Christmas but this year we had brisket for a change. Nice thing was they were all set for the microwave. In four minutes, the main course was done. In fact, it took about the same time to make some mashed potatoes and heat some canned green beans.

Now I’m not going to say that it was a dinner for royalty, but it was good and we did enjoy it. Moreover, when we were done, cleanup was a minimum, about three minutes.

However, the two dogs also had Christmas dinner. I gave each a half can of dog food sprinkled with small kibble. On the side, they each had a half a can of spam. They each enjoyed their dinner, I dare say more than we enjoyed ours. The hitch was, they didn’t enjoy theirs nearly as long. I suspect they were done with theirs inside two minutes. Then, of all things, they wanted us to share ours with them.

Dogs! Really!

Well, the kids are nowhere around. I suspect after a year or two the dogs won’t be either. One is twelve, the other over thirteen. Both of them are have health problems. Then we will have an empty nest. With us being so old, we don’t dare get any more pets.

About the Numbers

Posted in Confessions, Dummycrats, experience, Good Memories, Growing Old, Politcal Opinion by

In 1968 I stepped off a plane in Memphis, TN.  I was about to go through some concentrated electronics training.  At the time, I did not know that.  Indeed, I was going to go through 16 weeks of training in thirteen weeks.

Back then, they didn’t have calculators, leastwise not anything like we have today.  They had adding machines that weighed about 20 pounds.  Most of them didn’t even have the ability to multiply.

When I went through the school, we all carried slide rulers, often called slipsticks.  At best they were accurate to 4 places and we had to keep track of the decimal on paper.  Of course, we could simply perform everything on paper.  That would have likely taken 10 or 20 times longer.  Some operations (such as algorithms and trig functions) would have been virtually impossible.

This afternoon, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and started messing with it.  I noticed it has a calculator.  Moreover, it could be set to scientific mode.  WOW.  I thought how nice it would have been to have something like that when I was learning electronics.

Bottom line is, back then I had the problem without a solution.  Now I have the solutions without the problem.  I haven’t had to solve any trig functions in decades.

Of course, they have very advanced, programmable calculators nowadays.  They can solve problems in a few seconds that I spent three or four minutes on.  Not only that, the calculation can have an accuracy of 10 to 14 places.  Makes me wonder all the more why the dummycrats can’t do basic math.