Outliving your money may not be all that bad...

[W2R]

NOTE>>> sidetrack


Can anybody show me a study to prove that clams are happy

Ever been clam-digging? Seems to me that at low tide, clams are extremely happy to be dug up. After all, it's not like they put on little clam-sized running shoes and race away, or protest in the slightest. They just sit there in happy anticipation of being the center of attention when uncovered.

How happy are they? Well, happy as clams, y'know.

 

[simple girl]

If I live to 100, and I very much doubt that I will, I will have many more things to think about than money to spend on frivolous materialistic things. If I can shuffle to the bathroom by myself, instead of laying there in a dirty diaper to wait for an orderly, I will be happy. If I can feed myself with a spoon, I will be grateful. If I can still bathe myself, I will feel like king of the heap.

Most people do not spend much time with elderly relatives in nursing homes to see what people in that stage of life care about.

So hell, I'm happy I can still walk across the room and get myself a glass of water and I can still spell my name.

Compared with issues like those, how much money is in the bank or what my living expenses are seems trivial.

So true...

 

[Tesaje]

Centarians tend to be healthier and part of that is keeping their wits. The unhealthy tend to die off sooner. So if we can live that long, it will probably be with no drugs and our wits intact. That translates to lower costs.

I wonder how much for the poor at that age is being subsidized by their families. My mother retired below the poverty line quite happily but her house is subsidized by 2 brothers at far below market rents and I paid for any emergency expenditures like car repair. None of that is counted as her living expenses.

My great uncle lived to be almost 105. He looked younger than most people at 70. At 98 he stopped climbing 7 stair flights daily and dropped to 2 for the rest of his life. His hearing and eyesight got bad but he was as sharp at 104 as he was at 40. If you live that long, it's because you are healthy. Cognitive impairment is from serious illness. It is not a part of normal aging.

 

[samclem]

Cognitive impairment is from serious illness. It is not a part of normal aging.

But serious illness (including illnesses that cause loss of brain function) is part of normal aging.
- Approx 45% of people who are 100 years old have dementia of some type. (Source)
- Centenarians are less healthy than 90 YOs, and 90 YOs are less healthy than 80 YOs. People get sicker as they get older. From an evolutionary standpoint, we're just not built to last as long as we're living these days.

Getting old ain't easy.

 

[rescueme]

Umm...
Tower of London?

Nope ...

 

[rescueme]

I think the more interesting question is what type of RV is that?

That was a clue to "where in the world am I" (OK, mentioned previously in this thread)...

 

[NW-Bound]

Be sure to post us a photo once you get there.

Sure I will. Bragging rights, you know?

About happy clams, sure they are. "Happy, happy", like Emeril Lagasse says all the time.

Happy, happy, in my chowder, that is.

 

[Meadbh]

OK - test time. Where am I?

I'll guess: Fort Amherst, Prince Edward Island:

Parks Canada - Port-la-Joye- Fort Amherst National Historic Site - Port-la-Joye—Fort Amherst National Historic Site of Canada

Why: PEI was one of only three places mentioned in the thread so far, and you wouldn't see a red doubledecker bus at any of the others. The ramparts are typical of 18th century British maritime fortifications.

PEI is the only Canadian province that I've never visited, so I'll eat humble pie if I'm wrong!

 

[deserat]

Hadrian's Wall? The double decker bus might be a clue - but then I'm in Europe so would think along those lines. I just got back from Rome and am still awed by how much of the buildings are left - I walked the city for three days - has New York City feel (people are edgy and hog the sidewalks, which are much smaller). I love the ruins, the cobblestone streets, the 'leftover' ruins just incorporated into the newer buildings, the layers - Roman antiquity, medieval, Renaissance, modern, the food......yummmm!

OK - back on post - I just read an article where centenarians have a specific set of genes that help them get that old. As for attitude/etc, that's partof it, too, I'm sure. Heck, the thread about the Kaderli's show them living on "poverty-level" and yet it sure looks like they had fun on their 105 day odyssey.

 

[Moemg]

One big thing that I think helps someone live to 100, is to know their physical limits. As people get older, certain activities just should not be done, if health is their concern.

This is what is frustrating my Mom who is 93 . She knows her limits but she doesn't like them .She still wants to do things she did years ago which are unrealistic now . As for consumerism ,she has QVC on speed dial and still dresses well and has her hair done once a week .