Philosophy for Old Age

[Midpack]

From a PowerPoint Show that I could not attach here. Nothing you haven't seen or heard before, I know I benefit from a periodic reminder...

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them'.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever... never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop' and the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell people that you love them, at every opportunity.

 

[rescueme]

At a (much) older age, sex is wonderful ...

You get to replace "quantity" for "quality"...

 

[Chuckanut]

The happiest older folks I know are those who accept their limitations and keep on going. When the motor home gets to big to handle, they use the car and rent rooms, when driving long distances is a problem, they use the plane or train. One guy I know did not like left turns, so he plotted how to make his usual neighborhood trips with mostly right turns even if he went out of his way. (Note: I believe UPS/FEDEX followed him in this idea a few years ago.)

 

[rescueme]

The happiest older folks I know are those who accept their limitations and keep on going.

I represent that remark ...

 

[NW-Bound]

Fine. Whatever you say. But stay off my lawn!

Oops. I forgot I no longer have a lawn, but a xeriscape front yard. Sorry.

 

[TromboneAl]

Numbers 1 and 8 seem inconsistent with one another.

 

[Amethyst]

I thought so, too. I'm not even sure what No. 1 is really about. To me, saying "Don't worry about your health - you pay doctors to worry about it for you" is even sillier than saying, "Don't worry about taxes - you pay a CPA to worry about them for you."

A different take on No. 1 might be that age allows you to stop comparing yourself with others and wondering how others will judge you for your "numbers" (height-weight-dress size - income -IQ points- home square footage-number of degrees - number of children, and so on).

Numbers 1 and 8 seem inconsistent with one another.

Amethyst

 

[braumeister]

I agree that #1 is kind of strange, but maybe the idea is just "don't obsess about it." That makes more sense to me.

I thought so, too. I'm not even sure what No. 1 is really about. To me, saying "Don't worry about your health - you pay doctors to worry about it for you" is even sillier than saying, "Don't worry about taxes - you pay a CPA to worry about them for you."

A different take on No. 1 might be that age allows you to stop comparing yourself with others and wondering how others will judge you for your "numbers" (height-weight-dress size - income -IQ points- home square footage-number of degrees - number of children, and so on).



Amethyst

 

[farmerEd]

You get to replace "quantity" for "quality"...

Isn't that just something old folks tell themselves to make them feel better?

 

[Khan]

Resident curmudgeon: Bunch of crap.
Aging is painful and depressing.

 

[braumeister]

Thanks, Khan.
Nothing wrong with being reminded that every silver lining comes inside a dark cloud.

 

[Walt34]

Aging is painful and depressing.

Yeah, but it's better than the alternative.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Eh, get off my lawn, Khan .

Always good to be reminded to have a positive attitude.

No. 1 is the old saying "Age is just a number" with more numbers added to it.

And no. 3--so that's what causes Alzheimers! If only Pat Summitt had done some crossword puzzles instead of coaching the Lady Vols to record after record in basketball.

 

[Midpack]

Numbers 1 and 8 seem inconsistent with one another.

True enough WRT to weight, but not so much age or height.

Just meant to be a pleasant reminder, and seemed mostly worthwhile in that regard. Cheers...

 

[NW-Bound]

And no. 3--so that's what causes Alzheimers!

I don't know what causes Alzheimer, but about using one's mind, now, people might, just might, understand another reason why I enjoy some part-time work.

Why, in a recent job, I needed to evaluate an definite integral as a function of several parameters (needed as part of an optimization problem). OK, OK, so I did not do it myself, but after writing the equation down and staring at it for 15 seconds, I reached for Mathematica...

Well, Mathematica couldn't come up with a closed-form solution either.

So, I resolved to writing a little program myself to evaluate it numerically. For the PC to crank out this integral with tens of thousand of potential parametric values took a bit of time, but as I took the time to write the program to show the progress graphically, it was extremely gratifying to watch the numerical graph undulate, then slowly converge to a beautiful and hopefully optimal curve. The program run-time took one lunch time on the PC!. All this computing power did not exist 10 years ago, although earlier people would have done the same if they had the tools. Sweet!

 

[Khan]

Yeah, but it's better than the alternative.

In what way?

 

[Walt34]

In what way?

Better than being dead.

While I can't do some stuff I could 35 years ago I can do most of them. And having learned from a lot of mistakes I can avoid doing those things again, and am better able to see pitfalls coming.

We're financially better off now than ever and that gives us more options. Zero Debt is a great place to be. And I don't have to work if I don't want to. Twenty-six years ago I was in debt a little over 2.5x my annual income. I don't want to ever be there again.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I don't know what causes Alzheimer, but about using one's mind, now, people might, just might, understand another reason why I enjoy some part-time work.

Why, in a recent job, I needed to evaluate an definite integral as a function of several parameters (needed as part of an optimization problem). OK, OK, so I did not do it myself, but after writing the equation down and staring at it for 15 seconds, I reached for Mathematica...

Well, Mathematica couldn't come up with a closed-form solution either.

So, I resolved to writing a little program myself to evaluate it numerically. For the PC to crank out this integral with tens of thousand of potential parametric values took a bit of time, but as I took the time to write the program to show the progress graphically, it was extremely gratifying to watch the numerical graph undulate, then slowly converge to a beautiful and hopefully optimal curve. The program run-time took one lunch time on the PC!. All this computing power did not exist 10 years ago, although earlier people would have done the same if they had the tools. Sweet!

But people who can do what you enjoy doing may still get Alzheimers.

 

[Nemo2]

But people who can do what you enjoy doing may still get Alzheimers.

I once read a comment by Margaret Thatcher's daughter about Mrs Thatcher, (who used to have a remarkable vocabulary and an almost 'photographic memory'), saying that, as she deteriorated, she'd get extremely frustrated trying to complete a crossword puzzle, because, at that time, she still remembered that she used to know words that she was now unable to recall.

 

[NW-Bound]

But people who can do what you enjoy doing may still get Alzheimers.

Very true. So, I've just got to do more of that work while I still can. I just cannot quit now.

 

[Nords]

I once read a comment by Margaret Thatcher's daughter about Mrs Thatcher, (who used to have a remarkable vocabulary and an almost 'photographic memory'), saying that, as she deteriorated, she'd get extremely frustrated trying to complete a crossword puzzle, because, at that time, she still remembered that she used to know words that she was now unable to recall.

Yep. Common phenomenon in Alzheimer's, and I wonder if that's what makes them so stubbornly determined to live independently. It reminds me of that classic short story & movie "Flowers for Algernon".

Of course I have the same problem with crossword puzzles now, and I'm pretty sure that I'm not suffering from Alzheimer's.

Very true. So, I've just got to do more of that work while I still can. I just cannot quit now.

I hope you love it. You'd hate to do it for your whole life hoping to avoid dementia and then find out you're suffering from dementia.

 

[TromboneAl]

Aging is painful and depressing...

...and then you die.

 

[TromboneAl]

I agree that #1 is kind of strange, but maybe the idea is just "don't obsess about it."

That's the excuse I use when I don't want to go to the doctor.

 

[Walt34]

Here's a song about the phenomenon. Well done:

Memory-a spoof by Pam Peterson - YouTube