DOOLEY Observed: "Hey old timer, what's it like being 80?"Not

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies."

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."-- Thomas Jefferson

"When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout." .... jbd

"When once a job you have begun, do no stop till it is done. Whether the task be great or small, do it well, or not at all." .... Anon

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein

Television is one daylong commercial interrupted periodically by inept attempts to fill the airspace in between them.

If you can't start a fire, perhaps your wood is wet ....

When you elect clowns, expect a circus ..............

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

"Hey old timer, what's it like being 80?"Not

We had some visitors last night, had a nice evening of chatting, and one them, a young rather brash, outspoken lad is his 20's looked at me and asked that question, "What is it like being 80." I laughed and made some comment, and we went on talking about something else.

But, it got me thinking, still on my mind this morning.

First of all, I guess, I am sitting here looking out the window, no TV or radio or stereo or HiFi or whatever these new contraptions are that produce volumes of music that I cannot even comprehend. It is quiet and I like that. I will be on this laptop for a while, and then I will go back and wake up my wife. She is almost 80, carrying a boatload of physical problems. Breast cancer, defibrillator, she is a "high risk" patient, heart problems, dizziness, and as I walk back to awaken her, I will be praying that when I call her name, she will arouse and be well and alive. That happens when you are in your 80's.

During the day, my heart may miss a beat now and then, I will get dizzy as I stand, taking the trash down to the dumpster, is an adventure in walking, sometimes that walk of 50 yards is no problem, other times, a challenge.

There will be a number of times during the day that I will wonder if my next breath may be my last, and I will contemplate a bit, what dying may be like. Does it hurt or is it just like a light switch being turned off. Or, as I have heard from some, the bright light, the ascent, all the glorious things we have heard about.

You don't dwell on this things when you are 80, but being rational I know that 80 is old. Many don't make it that far, and I wonder, at times, why He has allowed me to take this long journey. Sometimes, I optimistically think that some live to 90 or even 100, but I concern myself with the "quality" of my life, not the quantity. I have been blessed with reasonably good health for my 80 plus years.

I don't look to the future that often, I prefer the past. The future for an 80 year old can be rather foreboding, to say the least. Future options are rather limited. Rather not even go in to them.

I'm going to end this here, I am getting depressed thinking of being 80 .... I guess, the worst part of it is wondering about the next breath, knowing I am using a lot of "old" parts to keep me going .... enough of this, going to turn the radio on and listen to music from the 30's and 40's ..... my kind of music......