Crazy Old Man

[slepyhed]

Do men go slowly insane starting around age 50 and go downhill from there? Is there a name for this phenomenon? Are there any good websites to observe this behaviour? Because it seems to happen frequently and I'm fascinated by it.

The craziness takes many forms. In fact, it can take any form. The common themes I see are closed-mindedness, fixation and some kind of desire to change things and/or bitter resentment towards the way things are. In most cases that come to my mind, this "Crazy Old Man Attitude" usually does not lead to real action.

Open the paper and look at the letters to the editor - the best ones are written by crazy old men.

Stop into the coffee shop at 9 am on a tuesday - you might spot a gathering of old cranks sitting around complaining.

I'm wondering if I should plan on going crazy when I get older? Of course I won't realize what I've become - because I'll just be muttering about how "This Country has gone downhill!" BTW, I'm planning on retiring to a different country, but I won't let that stop me.

Maybe I'm halfway there already. I ought to teach my wife to re-balance the portfolio so that if I loose grip with reality, at least there will be money comming in for food and heat.

Does anyone have any examples of old men who didn't become unhinged in late life?

 

[Martha]

Embrace the curmudgeon. Resistance is futile.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Do men go slowly insane starting around age 50 and go downhill from there ?

Well yes they do show their life experience...Crazy/downhill ? - Well I wouldn't call it that. I would call it seasoned !

The common themes I see are closed-mindedness, fixation and some kind of desire to change things and/or bitter resentment towards the way things are.

Well yes... Are you suggesting that this is a bad thing ?

The way I see it is that older guys overcome youth with it's persistance/enthusiasm by using cynicism and grumpyness.

 

[TromboneAl]

What a lot of crap! Just bullshit like everything else in this stupid country!

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

It's posts like this that really get me riled up. In my day, we'd never post craplike that. Any Tom, Dick or Harry can see that noboday gives a sh#% any more. God d&*@ kids think they can run the nation. Ain't gonna convince me. Everyone's a comedian. Well let me tell you something, wise-guy...

Huh? What's that? Oh - yeah. Coming dear...

I gotta go.

 

[TromboneAl]

I beat you to it, Rich.

 

[slepyhed]

You guys crack me up. Thanks! I needed it.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I beat you to it, Rich.

As usual, you miserable #$%^.

 

[Andre1969]

One of these days you're going to hear one gigantic flush. And that's gonna be the good old U S of A goin' down the terlet.

 

[REWahoo]

Nothing drives me up the wall like a bunch of old curmudgeons complaining about every damn thing under the sun and whining about the country going to Hell in a hand basket! Why don't you old b*****ds cut our your grousing and try looking on the f***ing bright side for a change!!! Cheer up, dammit!

Sheesh...

 

[slepyhed]

In my house (I pay the mortgage, so I make the rules!!!), we have a simple rule:

If you have a complaint, you must do something about it. Not just jibber-jabber. Action!

If my plan backfires, I'll end up with a house full of politicians...

 

[MikeD]

I grew up in the country. About a mile from our house was a gas station that I hung around and did odd jobs. When I was about 15 or 16 an old man, about 85 or 90 would often stop by and shoot the breeze. A frequent refrain of his was all about how Hoover had ruined the country. He would explain in careful detail to us all the bad things Hoover had done. I thought it was interesting but was more concerned about the Viet Nam war.

Mike D.

 

[MasterBlaster]

So it was Hoover...

I was a wonderin' bout that. So now I know. Thanks for setting me straight !

You should've asked him for tips to meet chicks !

 

[ladelfina]

Hey you kids geddoff my lawn!!

I dunno, I think I've met a few older guys who aren't curmudgeonly (and a few younger ones who are).

Maybe it has to do with men, in particular, aging and feeling increasingly less powerful? They no longer have the world by the tail. Old ladies can get batty, but maybe they are less likely to be true cranks since they mostly never had the same power issues/hangups/preconceptions to begin with.


Remember SNL and Dana Carvey's Grumpy Old Man?
".. that's the way it was, and we LIKED it!!"

 

[ladelfina]

"Grumpy Old Man: I'm oooooold! And I'm not happy! And I don't like things now compared to the way they used to be. All this progress -- phooey! In my day, we didn't have these cash machines that would give you money when you needed it. There was only one bank in each state -- it was open only one hour a year. And you'd get in line, seventeen miles long, and the line became an angry mob of people -- fornicators and thieves, mutant children and circus freaks -- and you waited for years and by the time you got to the teller, you were senile and arthritic and you couldn't remember your own name. You were born, got in line, and ya died! And that's the way it was and we liked it!

Life was simpler then. There wasn't all this concern about hy-giene! It my days, we didn't have Kleenex. When you turned seventeen, you were given the family handkerchief. ... It hadn't been washed in generations and it stood on its own ... filled with diseases and swarmin' with flies. ... If you tried to blow your nose, you'd get an infection and your head would swell up and turn green and children would burst into tears at the sight o' ya! And that's the way it was and we liked it!

Life was a carnival! We entertained ourselves! We didn't need moooovin' pitchurrrres. In my day, there was only one show in town -- it was called "Stare at the sun!" ... That's right! You'd sit in the middle of an open field and stare up at the sun till your eyeballs burst into flames! And you thought, "Oh, no! Maybe I shouldn't've stared directly into the burning sun with my eyes wide open." But it was too late! Your head was on fire and people were roastin' chickens over it. ... And that's the way it was and we liked it!

Progress?! Flobble-de-flee! In my day, when we were angry and frustrated, we just said, "Flobble-de-flee!" 'cause we were idiots and we didn't know what else to say! Just a bunch o' illiterate Cro-Magnons, blowin' on crusty handkerchiefs, waitin' in lines for our head to burst into flame and that's the way it was and we liked it! "

 

[HFWR]

So it was Hoover...

Was not!!

 

[Nords]

The craziness takes many forms. In fact, it can take any form. The common themes I see are closed-mindedness, fixation and some kind of desire to change things and/or bitter resentment towards the way things are. In most cases that come to my mind, this "Crazy Old Man Attitude" usually does not lead to real action.
Open the paper and look at the letters to the editor - the best ones are written by crazy old men.
Stop into the coffee shop at 9 am on a tuesday - you might spot a gathering of old cranks sitting around complaining.
I'm wondering if I should plan on going crazy when I get older? Of course I won't realize what I've become - because I'll just be muttering about how "This Country has gone downhill!" BTW, I'm planning on retiring to a different country, but I won't let that stop me.

I'm not so sure that it's a gender-specific phenomenon-- I'd be happy to introduce all of these guys to my mother in law.

Elderhostels must be a never-ending party!

 

[Lazarus]

Well I am 49, I plan to go crazy sometime in August next year. Don't try and stop me I have earned it!

 

[Caroline]

ladelfina, I can barely type this through the tears rolling down my cheeks.

that's a real TALENT you've got there! If you ever need another j...j...job...

 

[farmerEd]

..All I know is that before I die I'm gonna get my gun and kill me some liberals....

An actual quote from a crazy old man I am related to....

 

[LRS]

Quote from my dad: "Lock the doors and they'll just come down the @$#% chimneys, the $#@%$@s!

Dad had 5 or 6 guns, including a sawed-off shotgun. It used to make him feel good to refer to himself as being armed and capable of fending off "them", whoever they were (take your pick from a wide range of ethnic and racial groups.) After he passed, we got into the gun cabinet and inspected the arms. All were non-functional. Oh well, they helped him to sleep at night!

 

[audreyh1]

Man, I sure do hear a lot of these folks call in on talk shows. Just LOVE to bellyache! I guess it's a favorite past time.

And aren't there a few "news program" hosts who fit the bill?

But I think most of them are WAY over 50!

Audrey

 

[audreyh1]

Quote
..All I know is that before I die I'm gonna get my gun and kill me some liberals....

An actual quote from a crazy old man I am related to....

Oh that is so scary! I think I'm related to him too!!!

Audrey

 

[whitestick]

"Grumpy Old Man: I'm oooooold! And I'm not happy! And I don't like things now compared to the way they used to be. All this progress -- phooey! In my day, we didn't have ... that's the way it was and we liked it! "

we didn't have these newfangled telleephonneies that cause people to ignore each other and not talk, since they are listening to songs, watching moving pictures, and sending them text messages. Heck we had to say Hello, carry on a conversation with the operator to catch up on the neighborhood news, and then talk to our neighbor, before saying goodby and hanging up to allow someone else to use the line. And the telephone was sturdy enough to be used to hold down the newspaper and keep it from flying away.... and we liked it.
And speaking of moving pictures, we had family quality time, where we gathered after Mom made a home cooked meal from ingredients not a box, to listen to "the Great Gildersleeve, The Green Hornet, and other classics, ... and we like it

 

[savedapile]

Once I turned 50 I became afraid to leave the house because DH would change how everything was hooked up and I might never be able to turn the TV on or watch a movie. I was doing pretty good up until then.