Country music rarely appeals to me, but Toby Keith wrote a song for Clint Eastwood’s film “The Mule” that I found very appealing. The name of it is “Don’t Let the Old Man In.” Being an old man myself, I took the song personally (plus, it was perfect for the movie). I’m about to turn 78 years old but, most days, I don’t feel my age. I begin each day with an hour walk from 6 AM to 7 AM. I’m no speed walker, but I’m not ambling either. Anyway, there’s a line in Keith’s song that goes like this: “Ask yourself how old you’d be / If you didn’t know the day you were born.” I don’t think that I’d have guessed 78, although perhaps there is an element of wishful thinking there. Of course, never having been 78 before, how would I know what it feels like to be this old? The point, obviously, is to not be ruled by the number. Or you might be lucky, like Satchel Paige: “I don’t know how old I am because the goat ate the bible that had my birth certificate in it. The goat lived to be 27.”
Hello Henry M.
On one of your previous posts about dopplegangers, I explained that I grew up with two older brothers and we were identical to each other so, I was always presumed to be of an age the same as them. We never 'celebrated' birthdays so I lost track of how old I was many years ago. However, for bureaucratic purposes, every now and then I work it out by the year of my birth and it seems that you and I are approximately the same age. Very few people are able to guess my age and as I am still working, fit, active, and extemely busy, most will assume that I am not yet of retirement age. None of this matters much, as I lean towards the maxim of 'you are as old as you feel'. Plus, I have never been much of a one to take too much notice of what other people think about me or any of my attributes so the 'age' thing has never figured highly on my list of important factors in life. Also, because the males in our family never lasted over 60years, I grew up thinking that this would be my lifespan. Thus I lived it as fully as possible and valued every day as if it was my last. Interestingly, this did have an effect on the books I wrote as I often felt that they would never get finished. But there you go! I'm still here and still living every day as if it may be my last.
Best wishes
Bill
We, on this site, look forward to daily poetry and prose from the two of you for many more years!
Laurie
Bill wrote; "Also, because the males in our family never lasted over 60years, I grew up thinking that this would be my lifespan. Thus I lived it as fully as possible and valued every day as if it was my last."
Wow Bill........the day you hit 60 it must have come as a revelation that you COULD and DID break the barrier!And once broken there is no longer any perceived limit to bound you. What a great feeling that must have been!
I've got a very good friend who figures he will live to around 85, based on the lifespan of others in his family and what he views as the general condition of folks once they reach that age (meaning he doesn't consider just breathing but not being able to move or think much as being "alive"). So to remind himself to enjoy every day left......he counts down from 85 rather than using a traditional birthday (which is pretty irrelevent). The other day he reminded me that he'll soon be "15 away from 85". It's an interesting take on things that DOES remind you not to dawdle. I typically keep a running count of the number of weekends I have left if I live to be 100.
regards,
bob
Hello Bob. I think you must have missed the bit where I said I don't celebrate birthdays. When I reached 65 years, I didn't even notice it had come and gone. It's a bit like my take on 'time' -I don't have a watch and I tend to drift along in time with my bodyclock. Sometimes I think it's still 30oclock and sometimes I wonder if I might be getting older. I realise that parts of my body are wearing out, but I also realise that this could have happened at anytime in my life. Indeed, the time I felt worst was in my (true) teens, when I felt absolutely exhausted and fatigued for much of the time. I must have been in my (true) fifties when, on one hospital visit, they told me that my blood pressure was abnormally low. Only then did it all fall into place and I realised that feeling exhausted could be part of that condition. I also found out that I had sleep-apnoea and started using a CPAP machine. After that, I took on a new lease of life and have never felt better! I am now a firm believer in trying to find out what is actually wrong with you, rather than relying on diagnosis and misdiagnoses from some of the medical profession.
Best wishes
Bill
