Navigating senior years.

[Grumpy Bear]

3 hours ago, KARNUT said:

I just pointed out the obvious. Not wishful thinking. I only want to know what it’s good for. It’s definitely not everything. I will believe the rags on that one. You seem to buck conventional wisdom. You always have a reason. I don’t see a good one here. I listen about oil change intervals. Because it makes sense. This not so much. 

 

 

Often and hard. 

 

And that's okay. We don't have to agree on everything. But I will take exception to the childish part of any disagreement. 

 

Talk to me and not about me if you have something to say. We eventually hammer it out and yea, sometimes it isn't prudy. 

[Grumpy Bear]

3 hours ago, Likarok said:

As True Blue said, Old Age sneaks up on you. Boy does it ever. I am 68, retired at 57 or I might have done something dangerous to the HR Dept.

 

Have never regretted early retirement and kept busy for several summers mowing roadside ditches for local county. Now for the last 5 years I have ran a combine harvesting in the fall. I just love it and getting back to my roots in agriculture.

 

I don't consider myself real old for sure but I can sure see it over the knoll I am standing on. lol

 

Yesterday I helped an old fellow in Home Depot look for something he couldn't find. Together we found what he was looking for. Kind of made me feel good that I just spontaneously helped him. 

 

Hope someone is there to help me when I am older!

 

Sometimes it's a Bull Rush.  I retired at 55. Wasn't really looking to but they didn't appreciate my attitude. The one you get when they lose the leverage, they have over a younger dummy who stays in debt to the eyelids and hasn't saved enough for 'that day'. Meaning they couldn't intimidate me anymore and they hate that. 

 

Now 71 in a few days and kiddo, the last two years have been falling out of the plane without a chute. I might have been that old fart you helped...

[Donstar]

Over the past couple of years, I have also been looking for a parachute.   Sometimes just talking with others normalizes my fears and makes the freefall more acceptable!   We looked after a 4 yr old grand nephew yesterday.  He is a big city child c/w condo living and daily daycare.  We took him to a local ranch that was having a pumpkin festival.  His eyes were like saucers the whole time and we likely made for lifelong memories for this young boy.   Last night my wife and I mused about our respective paths from 4 - 70.  Every stage has good and bad memories and thankfully the good ones stick!  We won't have the advantage of time to look back on our senior years so we have to enjoy the good in real-time!  

[KARNUT]

It would have been nice if my older relatives would have given just a clue about abusing your body will come back to haunt you. Of course the group I grew up with looked at showing any pain was a sign of weakness. Little things like wearing sunglasses, the proper shoes and maybe climbing down instead of jumping off equipment. Simple things like walking for exercise instead of jogging. We don’t need to live in a bubble. A little extra caution while young will pay benefits when you get older. My biggest regret was as simple as wearing the proper shoes when I jumped out of a tractor and popped out my knee. Work boots instead of cowboy boots would have saved my knee. Seat belt wearing in my tractor. Instead of bracing with my leg would have helped with my back. Only sissy’s wear seat belts. That was the time I grew up in. So when my grandkids look at me funny when I make noises standing up. I explain not taking precautions when I was younger. Just adds to the pain of getting older. 

Edited October 13, 2024 by KARNUT

[customboss]

3 hours ago, KARNUT said:

It would have been nice if my older relatives would have given just a clue about abusing your body will come back to haunt you. Of course the group I grew up with looked at showing any pain was a sign of weakness. Little things like wearing sunglasses, the proper shoes and maybe climbing down instead of jumping off equipment. Simple things like walking for exercise instead of jogging. We don’t need to live in a bubble. A little extra caution while young will pay benefits when you get older. My biggest regret was as simple as wearing the proper shoes when I jumped out of a tractor and popped out my knee. Work boots instead of cowboy boots would have saved my knee. Seat belt wearing in my tractor. Instead of bracing with my leg would have helped with my back. Only sissy’s wear seat belts. That was the time I grew up in. So when my grandkids look at me funny when I make noises standing up. I explain not taking precautions when I was younger. Just adds to the pain of getting older. 

Great sharing and wise.

My experience was USN against Iran combat but we were taught to wear proper flying and swimming gear for late 70’s and early 80’s. Which means very little. I wore ear plugs a helmet cap then a flight helmet but still lost most of my hearing and am blessed with severe tinnitus. 
I suffered cracked and compressed lumbar and sacrum joints  but it was treated with morphine and ice baths after swim missions. No treatment essentially to my then 19-22 year old body. At 64 I can barely walk. I must use a cane now or fall. 
Both wrists broken many times, both elbows damaged so that all 4 joints need surgery for carpel and cubital nerve damages. 
RPG schrapnel to right side of head took out my helmet when I was covering swimmer with airborne M60 pig machine gun. That over pressure and shrapnel left a dent in my right frontal lobe. no treatment ever until VA put me on PTSD meds a few years ago. 
 

I can’t drive any longer than 30 mins without severe cramping and pain. 
 

Once in wetsuit or UDT shorts and super rocket fins , sitting door ready to get three shoulder taps to jump you had no hearing protection. Combining gearbox and main rotor gearbox not to mention 2 T58 GE jet turbines whining after 900 hours made a dent in hearing. 
 

I later flew helicopters in army and then flew for airlines 14,000 hrs. Most of my bodily, damage was serving in the cloth of my country. 

I did not volunteer for combat. A judge in Indiana gave me a choice. USMC,USN,or Indiana state boys school since I was 17 when I decked a fat cop that decided to abuse me. His partner had a weighted billy club that silenced me quick in the solar plexus! 
 

No regrets. 

  

[KARNUT]

26 minutes ago, customboss said:

Great sharing and wise.

My experience was USN against Iran combat but we were taught to wear proper flying and swimming gear for late 70’s and early 80’s. Which means very little. I wore ear plugs a helmet cap then a flight helmet but still lost most of my hearing and am blessed with severe tinnitus. 
I suffered cracked and compressed lumbar and sacrum joints  but it was treated with morphine and ice baths after swim missions. No treatment essentially to my then 19-22 year old body. At 64 I can barely walk. I must use a cane now or fall. 
Both wrists broken many times, both elbows damaged so that all 4 joints need surgery for carpel and cubital nerve damages. 
RPG schrapnel to right side of head took out my helmet when I was covering swimmer with airborne M60 pig machine gun. That over pressure and shrapnel left a dent in my right frontal lobe. no treatment ever until VA put me on PTSD meds a few years ago. 
 

I can’t drive any longer than 30 mins without severe cramping and pain. 
 

Once in wetsuit or UDT shorts and super rocket fins , sitting door ready to get three shoulder taps to jump you had no hearing protection. Combining gearbox and main rotor gearbox not to mention 2 T58 GE jet turbines whining after 900 hours made a dent in hearing. 
 

I later flew helicopters in army and then flew for airlines 14,000 hrs. Most of my bodily, damage was serving in the cloth of my country. 

I did not volunteer for combat. A judge in Indiana gave me a choice. USMC,USN,or Indiana state boys school since I was 17 when I decked a fat cop that decided to abuse me. His partner had a weighted billy club that silenced me quick in the solar plexus! 
 

No regrets. 

  

WOW 

[Likarok]

1 hour ago, customboss said:

Great sharing and wise.

My experience was USN against Iran combat but we were taught to wear proper flying and swimming gear for late 70’s and early 80’s. Which means very little. I wore ear plugs a helmet cap then a flight helmet but still lost most of my hearing and am blessed with severe tinnitus. 
I suffered cracked and compressed lumbar and sacrum joints  but it was treated with morphine and ice baths after swim missions. No treatment essentially to my then 19-22 year old body. At 64 I can barely walk. I must use a cane now or fall. 
Both wrists broken many times, both elbows damaged so that all 4 joints need surgery for carpel and cubital nerve damages. 
RPG schrapnel to right side of head took out my helmet when I was covering swimmer with airborne M60 pig machine gun. That over pressure and shrapnel left a dent in my right frontal lobe. no treatment ever until VA put me on PTSD meds a few years ago. 
 

I can’t drive any longer than 30 mins without severe cramping and pain. 
 

Once in wetsuit or UDT shorts and super rocket fins , sitting door ready to get three shoulder taps to jump you had no hearing protection. Combining gearbox and main rotor gearbox not to mention 2 T58 GE jet turbines whining after 900 hours made a dent in hearing. 
 

I later flew helicopters in army and then flew for airlines 14,000 hrs. Most of my bodily, damage was serving in the cloth of my country. 

I did not volunteer for combat. A judge in Indiana gave me a choice. USMC,USN,or Indiana state boys school since I was 17 when I decked a fat cop that decided to abuse me. His partner had a weighted billy club that silenced me quick in the solar plexus! 
 

No regrets. 

  

The Love and admiration for what you have done for all of us can not be stated in words!

[txab]

9 hours ago, customboss said:

Great sharing and wise.

My experience was USN against Iran combat but we were taught to wear proper flying and swimming gear for late 70’s and early 80’s. Which means very little. I wore ear plugs a helmet cap then a flight helmet but still lost most of my hearing and am blessed with severe tinnitus. 
I suffered cracked and compressed lumbar and sacrum joints  but it was treated with morphine and ice baths after swim missions. No treatment essentially to my then 19-22 year old body. At 64 I can barely walk. I must use a cane now or fall. 
Both wrists broken many times, both elbows damaged so that all 4 joints need surgery for carpel and cubital nerve damages. 
RPG schrapnel to right side of head took out my helmet when I was covering swimmer with airborne M60 pig machine gun. That over pressure and shrapnel left a dent in my right frontal lobe. no treatment ever until VA put me on PTSD meds a few years ago. 
 

I can’t drive any longer than 30 mins without severe cramping and pain. 
 

Once in wetsuit or UDT shorts and super rocket fins , sitting door ready to get three shoulder taps to jump you had no hearing protection. Combining gearbox and main rotor gearbox not to mention 2 T58 GE jet turbines whining after 900 hours made a dent in hearing. 
 

I later flew helicopters in army and then flew for airlines 14,000 hrs. Most of my bodily, damage was serving in the cloth of my country. 

I did not volunteer for combat. A judge in Indiana gave me a choice. USMC,USN,or Indiana state boys school since I was 17 when I decked a fat cop that decided to abuse me. His partner had a weighted billy club that silenced me quick in the solar plexus! 
 

No regrets. 

  

[Donstar]

Thank you, Customboss, for your service and sharing your story.  The support you provide to me and other forum members comes from a place of profound wisdom.   Your perspective on this stage of life motivates us to appreciate the good that we face.

[customboss]

Thanks all. Everyone of you receiving training and a Monroe county IN judges assignment would have done same. If you swam well and UDT / SEAL psychos didn’t drown you in SAR school. 🫨

 

BTW I’m sure Karnut and Grumpy Bear would have been better than me. They are tough guys. 
LIKAROK is a farm boy like me and gets it! 

[customboss]

5 hours ago, Donstar said:

Thank you, Customboss, for your service and sharing your story.  The support you provide to me and other forum members comes from a place of profound wisdom.   Your perspective on this stage of life motivates us to appreciate the good that we face.

You are also a wise former educator. BTW the Canadians saved a group of US hostages secretly at the risk of their own life then. 
WILD TIMES 

[customboss]

@Grumpy Bear since we are 

Kum by ya ing  here I want to publicly apologize for demeaning  your beliefs. You are big and tough physically and probably the smartest guy on this site. You still owe me and Jeannie a Cracker Barrel lunch!

 

@KARNUT I want to publicly apologize for demeaning your political beliefs. I look up to you in heavy equipment advice and respect your work for so many hard years.  

OK @txab I warned ya!  

[KARNUT]

50 minutes ago, customboss said:

@Grumpy Bear since we are 

Kum by ya ing  here I want to publicly apologize for demeaning  your beliefs. You are big and tough physically and probably the smartest guy on this site. You still owe me and Jeannie a Cracker Barrel lunch!

 

@KARNUT I want to publicly apologize for demeaning your political beliefs. I look up to you in heavy equipment advice and respect your work for so many hard years.  

OK @txab I warned ya!  

Well Gee. I try to give my experience with a disclaimer. This is what works for me. My family and myself have accomplish a lot by using individual talents without being jealous. That’s hard for people to do. And for most of our lives my father didn’t put up with nonsense. The strong male figure does make a difference. 

[Grumpy Bear]

2 hours ago, customboss said:

@Grumpy Bear since we are 

Kum by ya ing  here I want to publicly apologize for demeaning  your beliefs. You are big and tough physically and probably the smartest guy on this site. You still owe me and Jeannie a Cracker Barrel lunch!

 

@KARNUT I want to publicly apologize for demeaning your political beliefs. I look up to you in heavy equipment advice and respect your work for so many hard years.  

OK @txab I warned ya!  

 

Having a good day, eh?  I'm happy for you. I know they are few and far between.

 

You have Cracker Barrel out there? Bet ya all have something quieter and just as good.  Yes, I'm assuming it's my turn to come that way. 

[Grumpy Bear]

3 hours ago, customboss said:

You are big and tough physically and probably the smartest guy on this site.

 

Laying on a bit thick, aren't you? 

 

For those that don't know us.....In a room of 'average' people I can see over the heads of most or used to. (age shrinks ya, darn gravity) and yea, I tip over 210 lbs. But standing next to the Boss, I'm kind'a small. Pretty sure he sees the top of my shinny head and casts a shadow over me.  Tough? To look at maybe. To be around? Maybe. Mentally tough? Perhaps. Physically? Not in decades. I'm in no hurry to get hit by those bearpaws of his.  

 

Not even sure I can out crawl him. 

 

As far as smart. There is a line in Jack Reacher about training making a guy look smarter that he is. Tactical awareness I think he calls it. I have a few topics I study the daylights out of, and I enjoy writing and reading about them. On those topics and to those who don't, maybe to them, I seem smart. To an Inuit Indian, I'm an idiot that wouldn't last an hour on their turf. It's all relative, right?