UNDERSTANDING TO BE OLD

UNDERSTANDING TO BE OLD

The old rusty Nail

AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

Russell Burton, an Old Person

What it is like to be old can only be understood by old people.  I touched on this in my first article ‘Being Old’.  But, I did not get into the thoughts and feelings of old people.  What we are thinking and how we feel about various things are different I know than those of younger people and even different than those I felt a few years back.  And, I don’t have to go back to very many years to see how my thoughts and feelings have changed now that I am an old person.

Like I wrote in my first article I am not being condescending about using the word ‘old’ for its meaning is clear and I like clarity when I am communicating with my fellow old friends.  Of course crossing that threshold when a person becomes ‘old’ varies among all of us.  For me, it was about the age of 80.  And, one slips into it without knowing it at least that’s what happened to me. But, I finally realized that I was a different person.  That is, I had entered into my final stage of life.

Further I defend this age as an appropriate beginning of old age because it is the point where I have lived a bit longer than most of the people born in 1932.  In an earlier article I call this living on borrowed time.  That is I have borrowed these years I am living from my fellow birthers who died early before they reached 80.

Of course there are many older people who refuse to ever use that word and perhaps they never feel changes in their mind and body.  I salute them if they really do not feel anything different.  I hope they are not kidding themselves – that is not accepting these feelings and thoughts of being old so as to understand and enjoy them.

Now, I am not saying this is the end of the world for me when I refer to myself as old.  It is just a word that names another chapter in my life.  What I am trying to write is that I am profoundly different in mind and body than I was not many years ago.  And, those changes are hard to describe – but I will try.

Also, when I write that I am enjoying old age, I mean that it is a new experience and I do enjoy new feelings, thoughts, and pain.  What, did I just write the word pain?  Yes, pain is with me all of the time which reminds me that I am alive and living in the old-age stage of life.

Okay why should I attempt to describe my feelings of old age?  Well, I think my feelings should be described so that younger people can perhaps begin to understand them in general but more specifically to better know me.  I wish my folks had talked to me more about being old for I did not understand their thoughts and feelings as they entered into the last phase of their lives. Perhaps I would have treated them differently – you know helped them more, I don’t know how but maybe. And, we old people are now in the last phase of our lives.

Some how, I fear that it will not be easy to capture my feelings and thoughts about being old, so I will underline each of them as I stumble across them as I write this article.  Clearly, there is no order in their discovery.

Now, I am not saying that being old is bad, disgusting, terrible, rather be dead, etc.  In fact, I can honestly say that I am in a sense enjoying this phase of my life – not that I have any choice.  So what is there to enjoy I can hear old people ask.  Well, first in retirement I have a feeling of serenity that I never had before.  But, that feeling is clouded a bit for I still have to face problems. I do not have the duty bound feeling that I have to get up in the morning and go to work.  But, with that ‘relaxed’ feeling comes some ‘regret’ that I will not be working around my friends such as going to lunch with my best work buddy.

Listening to NPR the other day, someone noted that retirement is not a requirement of life and that it is something that is relatively new in the lives of Americans.  But, he added that it was important because it allows time to be with the family more and reflection on one’s life.

Certainly, my grandfather did not retire.  He worked his farm until the day he died in his late 80s.  And, I think he would not have had it any other way for that was what he knew.  I don’t think he did much reflection on his life. I have been fortunate in that I have had a much richer life.

I mention his work was all that he knew.  Well, I can say that petty much about me when I retired.  Oh, I had done some stained glass art work and a little water based paining, still what I really knew was my job.

I do reflect on my life and with a feeling of accomplishment with my life’s career as a scientist helping fighter pilots survive in a complex very physical environment.  I know for sure that my work saved some pilot’s lives.  Robert Kennedy remarked once that everyone reviews their life so it is important that it is well spent with accomplishments which are rewarding to that person. I experience that wonderful feeling each and every day!

I suppose an evaluation of ‘rewarding to that person’ should include the benefits to our society.  You know some strange people who might do terrible things in their lives but are rewarding themselves now because they did them well.  An example would be a ‘hit man’ that killed fifty people during his ‘career’ with the mob without being caught.

When I first retired, I suppose like most professional people I entered in a state of mild depression.  Of course, I suppose that should be expected because as I just wrote your job is most of what you know.  And, loosing your job you lose your identity.  I was a major government scientist and immediately I was not that person anymore.  Suddenly, who was I?.  Now, I am not saying this was the beginning of old age – absolutely not. I retired when I was 68 and only then because my job would have changed and I was not interested in that change.  My goodness that was 13 years ago and during those years I have lived a wonderful retirement life.

For a couple of years after I retired I got back into scheduled activities and hobbies which satisfied my curiosity and ambitious and creative nature.  The most important thing I did and still doing is to write.  I get a great feeling of pleasure sitting down to my computer and writing.  For some strange reason I find myself in another world.  I guess that is the case because my ‘working mind’ is transformed into that world and brains do enjoy work. I say, I move into another world when I write, I surely hope so for I do my writing in a closet in my bedroom.  But, when I begin writing I am immediately transformed into that other world where I am most comfortable.

There is an argument that a working brain is important in old age to fight off forms of dementia. And, I think it is working for I believe that my mind is as sharp as it was many years ago.  At least, I hope so. But, I do wonder on a regular basis about the health of my brain.  I do little tests with my memory to see if I have lost my edge.

Another thing about writing I have found is that it helps me think things through with what I perceive to be a problem.  For instance, I am writing this Blog on old age because I do not understand what it means and that troubles me.  I do not like to have something going on in my brain that I do not understand.

Of course, thoughts of dying for me are more common than they were just a few years ago.  You know, I had too much on my mind to worry about something that I assumed was in the distant future – and fortunately it was and I hope still is.

In that regard, for the past several months I have been writing about religion from a personal perspective.  You know trying to figure it out because there are two ways to go either you believe in a deity or you do not thus placing religion into the category of superstition.  It took me over 60,000 words and over 40 references to come to a conclusion that I am comfortable living with and when the time comes providing me with an intelligent platform on which to die.

So, death I do not fear but losing my balance and falling is a fear.  I have written about falling before but not about the fear that is always in the back of my mind.  I think that is healthy thinking for it no doubt prevents some falls that I would have taken without thinking about them. Still, I must remind myself not to dwell on falling and not being able to get up.

Quality of life thoughts are now common place in my mind.  Certainly some decisions take quality of life into account.  Recently, I had surgery on a major artery in my leg because I was limited in my walking distance.  Of course there was risk of dying during that four-hour surgery for someone in their 80s, but because of quality of life issues not having the surgery was no option.

I think about my health so I have been going regularly to physicians, especially those trained on understanding the diseases of old age.  When I was younger, I did not get regular medical checkups.  I guess I was too busy and really medical thoughts never really entered my mind.  One caveat here is that when I was in my sixties I did begin to have my prostate checked on a regular basis.  And, in fact I entered in a prostate cancer research study.  My concerns about prostate cancer were well founded for my father had it and it had spread before it was diagnosed.

I think, hope and try to savor good times more than I use to because I know I have fewer good times ahead of me.

 I still worry about things but not as much as I use too.  My concerns are about the health of my family particularly my son and wife.  In that regard worry is positive as it drives me to help them as much as I can.  And, I am helping them and very pleased that I am in a financial position to do so.

Fun thoughts, you bet I have them and in some regards those thoughts are a different kind of fun than I have ever experienced.  Details here are personal and not important here, but it is a fun that allows me to look toward the future with a smile.

I continue to love my chums.  Of course each one I love in a different way. Some more intense than others and one in particular that I will not dwell on.  And, my love involves sex much less than it use to.  I suppose in a way that too is relaxing and to some degree rewarding in itself.  You know knowing love in a much broader sense.

Oh my, when I started this article I thought I could capture my thoughts on being old with some clarity, but I fear that I have rambled and not done a good job.  In a way it is like gabbing at a cloud for somehow I just can’t do it well.

So, I have rambled but shouldn’t an old person have that prerogative? At least I have let my readers know that old people feel and think differently and that is my intent.

Well, with that philosophical note I close another article on being old.  I would be pleased if any of my readers wanted to share their thoughts and feelings on being old burton.russell@att.net

ADULT LEARNING IN RETIREMENT

ADULT LEARNING IN RETIREMENT

(And, some other stuff)

The old rusty Nail

AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

Russell Burton, an Old Person

This is the first year that I have taken courses in an educational environment to ‘formally’ learn since I retired some 11 years ago.  My chum who presently lives in Florida has been telling me about these types of classes for several years.  She took them at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Palm Beach. They did sound interesting but I just never got around to looking into them here where I live in San Antonio, Texas.

Interestingly, one good friend who lives here has been taking to me about them for years I just never thought my two friends were talking about similar activities.

Well, so much for the history of my lack of understanding some of the basics of growing old, for I find that these classes are taught throughout the country.  And, they do not cost very much to take.  For instances I can take in a semester as many classes as I wish for only $75 plus $15 for refreshments.

I want to emphasize here that I do keep my brain active by writing, reading, doing my daily Sudoku, etc.  In addition, I travel to up state New York every year and attend the 9-week ‘learning program’ at Chautauqua, New York.  Of course, all of this mental activity is easy for me because I do enjoy exercising my old brain. 

Now, the classes in Florida are taught by academicians whereas here in San Antonio most of the classes are taught by volunteers.  And, in Florida many hundreds may take a single course whereas here there are 15 or so sitting in on most classes.  Of course, professional teachers provide a better product, I am sure, but our volunteer teachers usually do a pretty good job. 

My learning that nonprofessionals can do a good job teaching should not really be remarkable. I think each of us knows a particular subject in enough depth to prepare a few lectures that would be a joy to attend and provide some educational opportunity to those who do not know the subject very well. 

This year I took two fun classes, one on Opera and the other on Operetta. Each lasted only half of the semester but they were both quite enjoyable as we watched DVDs of various performances.  The Opera instructor was very good for he was well versed on the subject stopping the performance (being shown on DVD) at key points to explain nuances which extended my knowledge of that opera.  Certainly, learning more about a new subject enhances its enjoyment and for me I am still at the beginning stage of enjoying it.

My interest in opera began a couple of years ago when my Chum Karnie who I met in Chautauqua introduced me to one of her most favorite subjects.  And, I have found opera to be most enjoyable.  Interestingly, I have been disinterest in opera all of my life even though I have listened to classical music all day for many years on my local radio station. Of course many classical music pieces have come from operas, so in a sense I have been enjoying some aspect of opera for quite a long time.  I guess, I just hadn’t thought much about this relationship.

Now, I do enjoy opera and I am so pleased that Karnie introduced me to this wonderful musical art form.  If you don’t already know, the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts in High Definition on a big screen in many movie theaters throughout the world providing several live performances each year to those of us unable to attend the Met in person.  

These productions are fantastic and in many ways surpass seeing the performance in person at the Met.  And, the cost of $22 is trivial compared to the Met where a first tier (balcony) seat is priced slightly higher than $250.  Of course experiencing the Met in person is priceless so I encourage all of you old people to attend it at least once in your life time.

To better understand what this learning experience has met to me, this Spring I attended Carmen in New York at the Met.  It was a fabulous adventure, for me once in a life time affair and of course it only happened because I was introduced to opera by Karnie and my Adult Learning in Retirement (ALIR) classes. Simply, we are never too old to learn something new.

It has been shown conclusively that older people must continue to exercise their brains if they wish to remain mentally sharp and who doesn’t want to fight off dementia.  I first hand observed my father slowly slipping into a mild to moderate form of dementia. I am sure that he suffered from this mental incapacitation because he just never used his brain later in his life.  He was a very smart man and worked all of his life at jobs that were way below his mental capabilities.  Perhaps that was why he hated his job even though he was very good at it.  

So, he retired from the federal government as soon as he could at age 55 and went to work selling cars and working in a liquor store.  Both of those jobs he loved and they required some mental activity.  But in his 70s when he ‘retired’ from both of those jobs he was not interested in any form of mental activity such as reading or writing.  By the time he reached 80 his short-term memory was obviously in decline.  He died too soon at 87 in a rest home because he was also physically incapacitated because of muscle weakness from old age that was particularly debilitating because he had an artificial leg.

Obviously, I learned a lot from my father’s decline in old age.  Clearly, it is important to use your brain everyday whether it is reading, writing, even doing crosswords or Sudoku but just keep that old mind busy.  And too, I can not stress enough the necessity of maintaining physical strength.  When I visited my father and later my mother in a rest home by far the majority of those living there were there because of physical disabilities most of which could have been prevented if they had just worked out a couple of days a week doing some simple forms of physical activity.  

I do simple weight lifting, some aerobic, stretching, and balance exercises at a gym twice a week.  In addition, I walk outside through a local park for about an hour three times each week.  And, you can’t say you don’t have time. You know, you retired so you could do the things you always wanted to do and you do want to stay physically busy!  Remember all the fun you had doing PE in high school?

I think often of my father and at times his mental and physical decline. I do not want that to happen to me.  Thanks Dad…

Simply, your mind and your body need to be exercised.  You know: USE IT OR LOSE IT!!!!

So, find an ALIR in your town and get some more learning.  It’s never too late to learn more about any subject.  Oh I forgot, there is some wonderful socializing when you attend those classes.  We have refreshments every day which include coffee and some baked goods where people congregate and talk about the good old days.

And get to work doing some physical activities on a regular schedule.

Oh, I almost forgot get interested in opera, it is loads of fun.

My goodness, how I have digressed from the fun of learning in retirement for us old people to love of opera, and finally some thought about old age disabilities.  I guess somehow they are connected.

Until next time this is the Ole Rusty Nail signing off another article that I hope you find interesting.  As always it was fun writing it. Remember my email is burton.russell@att.net I love to hear from my readers.

Predicting Death With Actuary Tables

The old rusty Nail

A JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

 

Predicting Death with Actuary Tables

Russell Burton

 

Insurance companies and the IRS use actuary tables to predict life expectancy for people of all ages.  I would think that these would be more properly names as death expectancy tables because they predict at what age you are supposed to die.  Now, let’s be clear they predict the age at which you are supposed to die not the year you are going to die.

These predictions of life expectancy or death expectancy by mathematicians have never been explained adequately, so I will try to clear up any confusion on this subject.  First my argument against the name commonly used for these tables is based on two factors: (1) clearly, one expects to live to the ages that they predict and (2) the age predicted in when they want you to die. I say, they want you to die because without some success using these tables they would be useless and these predictors of death would have to go into some honest work.

But these bean counters are clever for they never stand by their predictions about when you are going to die or like they indicate how long you are going to live.  Why - because they keep changing that date every day that you grow older.  Now, I have done it, using the word ‘grow’ with older.  Although it is used frequently in the context that one is getting older, it seems to me getting older is much different that growing older. 

Now, that we have settled that argument actuary tables do change there predictions of ones death as you get older.  For instance, at age 70 one is expected to die at age 87.  But, at age 80 one is expected to die at the age of 90.  But, of course its not that simple because they change depending on whether a person is living with someone or if that person lives alone.  Certainly sex and race has its effects so their reliability is suspect in many ways.  By the time you get all of these factors straightened your life expectancy has changed for you have gotten older.

Of course these tables are calculated using real death-date numbers, but these change as medical and other social factors improve with time.  For instance, when I was born in 1932 life expectancy was about 68, now when a person is born it is nearly 80 for men and 83 for women. Well, it means that half yes half of my 1932 birth-date members have died before they reach their promised life expectancy date or predicted age of death at about 80. But, how wrong can these tables be for half of my birth-date chums are still alive so these prediction dates are wrong by definition by 50%.

Now that I am 80, these tables now read that I will live to be 90.  My uncle just turned 90 and he is expected to live another 5 years or so.  They keep moving the goal posts further and further out!

As I reflect on my future of living I suddenly realize that it took eighty years to get here and now I have only about 7 years left.  Somehow I feel shortchanged regarding my years of life left.  But with my aches and pains that I now have I don’t think I can handle another 80 years.

The Old Brain

The old rusty Nail

A JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

THE OLD BRAIN

Russell Burton; an Old Person

I came across a couple of articles on the aging brain; one with bad news and the other with good news.  I should have known that the one with bad news was not going to be jolly when I read the title, ‘BRUTAL TRUTHS; About the Aging Brain’ in the October 2012 Discover magazine. Then shown in gory detail were six ‘scans of a mind in decline’.

Well having an inquiring mind even at age 80 I decided to read the bad new; and it was bad news!  We don’t stand a chance as four major quality of life issues will go down the toilet: (1) Senses – yes all of them but smell is the most affected, (2) Short-term memory – well we know that, (3) Knowledge – my god learning peaks in our teens, and finally (4) Intelligence – especially the ability to reason.  Then in his conclusion he gave me the double whammy with the supposed fact that at age 85 half of us will have Alzheimer’s disease. And, if we live to the ripe of age of 110, we all will have it. His final sentence says it like it is?  ‘These are the brutal truths we must face…’

To begin with I doubt that his age 110 comes from real data.  He’s just extending his equation model beyond the real data – you know extrapolation and that can be dangerous. 

As a side note, I wish someone with a simpler name than Alzheimer could have discovered the tangled cells and amyloidal deposits in the brain.  You know like Bill’s or Bob’s disease.  I suppose even a young person could struggle with the spelling of Alzheimer, much less a poor old man like me with a shrunken brain.

Obviously, the author Robert Epstein is a fairly young man for an old brain, according to him, couldn’t understand much less write about these brutal truths if he were old. You know I shouldn’t read these kinds of articles for instantly I believe that I am losing my mind.  Before I read this thing, I thought my mind was pretty good.  I still can do a difficult Sudoku and writing these columns show that I must have some brain left and it is still functioning somewhat. And, last year I published a 80,000 word mystery novel named Mary.  Incidentally, you can buy that novel written by an 80 year old on your Kindle for $5.99.

Of course Epstein notes that our old brain has gotten smaller (we all know that) but he describes its relative size with little empathy saying that we have a brain the size of a 2-year old! And, our output of dopamine, causes brain signals to function, at 80 is about 40% gone! Amazing, that I am doing so well if nearly half of my brain function has been lost to posterity.  But, he says it like he thinks it is and holds back nothing, ‘… it’s remarkable that old people can do so well’.  Hey, we are remarkable people and many of us are doing well without much brain left; with no thanks to Epstein.

I would think that he might have some respect for old people just in case an old person like me might read it.  Oh, I guess he believes that even if an old person did read it he or she wouldn’t understand or certainly not remember it.

Suddenly, a small article nestled in the brutal truth column, jumped up at me with the title ‘How Some Brains stay Razor Sharp’.  Well, there is some ray of hope for the author notes that 25% of old people that ‘function perfectly normally’ had Alzheimer’s disease at autopsy.  Still, the conclusion is not all that hopeful, ‘Through some combination of luck, good genes, and a healthy lifestyle, it is possible, it seems, for a fortunate few to stay razor sharp well into old age’.  The author could have left out such phrases as ‘it is possible, it seems’ and ‘fortunate few’ just in case an old person read it. The article also noted that a high-level of education was helpful in warding off forms of dementia that for some reason was not included in the conclusion.

I do have some experience with old-age dementia as my father in his early 80s developed some mental challenges.  He was a very smart man but mentally very lazy.  When he retired from government service at age 55 he didn’t use his brain ever again.  But, you know his long-term memory was still great.  He was fabulous at spelling.  I could never stump him.  Even late in life with some dementia I asked him to spell a word and immediately he gave me the correct answer.  Once I asked him to repeat it but he couldn’t for it was now in his short-term memory where it got lost.

Aha, then in the July/August 2012 Smithsonian magazine comes the good news, ‘Wise Up’ with the subtitle ‘Forget about senior moments.  The good news is that researcher’s are discovering some surprising advantages of growing old’. Hey, we are better at ‘cognitive taxing jobs’ and ‘managing emotions’.  We are happier with less anger and stress than when we were young. Old people noted that they wished that they had learned how to enjoy life sooner and the last five to ten years of their lives were the happiest.

The article concluded, ‘We have a seriously negative stereotype of the 70s and beyond’. ‘And, that stereotype is typically incorrect’.  Well, the 70s to which he alluded to is not an old age.

A quote from Abraham Lincoln appropriately starts this article, ‘I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday’.

Well, there we have it old people.  Either we are close to being mentally disabled or life doesn’t get any better. I think both authors fell in love with their data just a little too much and in opposite directions. And, both authors are certainly not old. If they were old I bet they would have slanted their articles a bit differently.

I for one am finding that quality of life in the 70s was better than in the 80s and I have just begun old age.  And, my mind is not as sharp as it was but it still works as one author put it ‘functions perfectly normally’ – whatever that means.

So, we do the best we can with what we’ve got.  I still believe that good physical and mental exercises help us navigate the mental pitfalls of being old.

You know, I’m still finding it difficult to function well mentally after reading the bad news article.  Oh, I will be okay in the morning, although I will still remember it and get a little scared.  But, how can this be the case, at my age I’m not supposed to be able to remember it! I guess the take-away message is we are really happy people we just can’t remember it.

Words To Live By

The old rusty Nail

AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

A Perspective on Old Age from an Old Person

WORDS TO LIVE BY

Russell Burton

‘If you can do it doesn’t mean you should do it’.  I just learned this advice the hard way as my body continues to remind me of that every minute of today. My deck was in need of new flooring as many of the older boards had rotted.  So, a couple of days ago I removed the old decking to find that the foundation boards also needed some help.

I had not felt as good then for a long time when I began this project.  In fact, I just keep going lifting heavy boards and setting them in place with screws using my electric drill.  Ah yes, instead of nails these days structures of this type are screwed into place.  I am not objecting to this new system of attaching boards for it is easier and when it is time to replace them it is a great improvement over having to yank out 8 and 10 p nails.

And, I kept going and going, like the little battery bunny. In fact, I worked hard for about six hours.  Of course, I worked much too long for an 80 year old man who hadn’t work like this for several years.

Well, that night my hands swelled and with my arthritis in my fingers, I was not able to close my hands.  But, in the morning my hands had improved considerably with some but modest swelling.

Not to be deterred I thought I might set the remaining screws on some of the decking that I had put in place the day before.  Well after about ten minutes of sever pain in my back bending over I decided that that was ridiculous.  So, I rested the remaining part of the day and drove to vote.  I felt no pain as I pressed the voting computer.  Of course, I needed some help explaining to me how to vote using this computer like machine. And, I rested with little pain for the remainder of the day.

But, the next day upon getting out of bed I found my right leg too painful to stand erect.  Clearly, my leg pain was coming from nerves leaving my lower back.  Now, I am no physician but the reason for lower back problem comes from what obviously the over work I did two days ago.

Now, I have had similar back pain and with about two to six weeks rest I am back to my normal self but just a bit older.  Of course, I’m hoping that I will return to ‘normal’ as I have in the past, but one thing old age tells me is that a person can’t always count of what has happened in the past.

The one thing I know for sure is that I’m not going to have any back surgery.  My neighbor has had three operations on his back and is permanently stooped over.  I saw him the other day using a long pare of forceps to pick up his newspaper lying on his driveway.

My back problems started many years ago with a sciatic nerve attack.  I was in bed for several days, but I finally did recover and returned to work pain free.  This back pain has returned on occasion but not frequently so I sometimes forget that I have a strained back and should take care of it. My first attack was before they used MRIs. They took an x-ray of my lower back and found no serious pathologies. 

This pain has returned since without any warning has left the same way.  My neurosurgeon has taken several MRIs during these episodes.  And, each time, with a smile, he told me that I needed a new lower back or as he called it a new lumbar spine.  He has never suggested back surgery as he has not been able to determine exactly what was causing my pain.  But, each time the pain disappears and I stay pain free for many months, sometimes years.

Regarding spine surgery, there are times when surgery is indicated and can be of great help.  I acquired drop foot several years ago after cutting fire wood for the winter.  I should have gone to a neurosurgeon right away for surgery can fix this problem.  But, the longer you wait the poorer the results are from surgery.  I waited so long that the surgeon told me that surgery would not help me at all.

I do plan to take it easy until my back heals.  That means no walking nor working out at the gym.  I may continue with my aerobics at the gym, along with my stretches and balancing exercise.  But, I think weight lifting is not a good choice right now.

Looking into the future, I hope that I remember this lesson that I have just experienced.  But, there is no guarantee for I have repeatedly experienced this same stupidity for many years.  I guess when an old person feels really good he/she believes that the clock has been reset but it really hasn’t.  My age is here to stay so I should remember that and appreciate everyday that I am relatively pain free. 

I write ‘relatively pain free’ for I am never totally pain free as aches and pains come with old age.  Still without this damn lower back pain, life is nearly perfect.

So, heed my warning you old people and remember life without pain is far better than life with pain.  That is it is better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick.

Well, I’m going to close this one down a bit early for my back is beginning to ache as I do nothing more strenuous than type (work process?) on my computer. 

An update on my back and leg, I can report that today, that would be the next day, my pain is nearly gone and I can walk upright.  I still did not walk today but I am relieved that I am so much better.  I am sitting with a pillow supporting my lower back.  This support seems to relieve the pain especially when I get up.  Sitting has never been my friend considering my back pain even when I am ‘healthy’.

But, I have learned that it is stupid to overwork my fragile body, especially my lower back.  There is no doubt that regardless of how I feel mentally and ready to go at it, I had better go at it one bit at a time, like a computer does it but with lots of rest between each bit.

Being incapacitated really does put fear into a person.  It makes you imagine what it must be like to be permanently incapacitated.  I do feel for those people for their lives are so difficult physically and that must play havoc with their mental outlook on life.  Certainly being physically unfit for but a day was grueling enough.

So, I reminisce realizing how lucky I have been over my life.  Yes, I have made mistakes but on the whole, I am living a good life.  I almost typed ‘I have lived a good life’.  Hey, I’m still at it and hope to continue for several more years.

So, it’s the old rusty nail closing another article and this time with good advice to all of us old people.  Remember, ‘Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should do it’. 

 

Immoratility Within a Decade

The old rusty Nail

AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

IMMORTALITY WITHIN A DECADE    

Russell Burton, an Old Person

I bet the title got your attention.  It surely got mine when I read it on the cover of the 2012 October Discover magazine. Wow, at my age immortality is a concept worth considering. Well, I quickly went right to it on page 60 to read ‘Recipe for Immortality’ by George Church and Ed Regis.  Checking Church’s credentials I read that he is professor of genetics at the Harvard Medical Center and Ed Regis is a science writer.

 

I should have known that if we are looking for immortality within a decade we had better be looking at something clinically adaptable not ideas from the budding science of genes and DNA.  Well was I wrong for they proposed taking DNA from insects, primitive animals and cells that live-long lives or some even blessed with immortality and somehow get them into human cells.  So, on paper you clone an immortal human. Wow, I clearly see all of this possibly happening within the next 500 years - certainly not within a decade.  You noticed I wrote possibly not probably.

 

But the article did get me thinking about immortality.  Never dying is an interesting concept.  Now, I guess that religious people believe that they will not die but will reside forever in a place called Heaven.  So, for them immortality is no big deal, although I have a feeling that they just might take a chance on living forever over going to Heaven.  Sometimes I think religious people are not really sure about going to Heaven.  I believe that because after a catastrophe that kills many people the religious survivors thank God for saving them.  If Heaven is waiting for them why not get out of here as soon as possible.

 

Living forever at first blush does sound great for crossing that finish line of life for me means, well the end.  Oh yes, my relatives and friends will keep me in their thoughts – for awhile. So in a sense I will live on, at least their remembrance of me what ever that might be.  Since my relationship with each person is different, I suppose I would ‘live on’ as many different people.  But, of course this is not immortality for a couple of generations pass and you are forgotten.  I remember my grandparents but certainly my children can not remember them because they never met them.

 

Certain celebrities seem to live on forever as do some politicians.  For instance, George Washington will not soon be forgotten as long as the United States exists.  But, of course even our country will not endure forever.  Other countries will emerge become great and pass us by, leaving us in the dust of history. Then George will become a less known leader of a less known country.

 

Getting back to living forever is a concept that is hard to grasp, still an interesting one. Of course the birth rate for people would have to be reduced drastically to something like zero. No more babies or young people growing up.  Just adults, not growing old, just facing each day at a time knowing that there will always be a tomorrow.

 

Now knowing that my tomorrows are limited does cause me to do some things that I want to do before I die. And, the older you get the fewer tomorrows you have. If you live forever, then I suppose you would put off doing lots of things because what’s the hurry for I will be around tomorrow and the next day and the next day.

 

Always being around tomorrow makes for some interesting thoughts.  Obviously no one would age.  That is a person looks the same forever.  Life imprisonment would be a very long time, for sure.  Getting married ‘until death do you part’ means a very long marriage.  Would it be possible to live with someone for many centuries?  Good question.  You see all of these immortal biological entities from which we are going to get DNA are very primitive animals without any social structure.

 

Of course immortality means working for a very long time.  Retirement now, which I am enjoying, makes sense because I am not expected to live for very long.  That is a minimal burden to society.  And, I am a burden because I am producing very little that could be considered something of value.  Yep, working forever does not sound all that much fun unless you had a job that you really enjoyed.  I had such a job.  I could not wait to get to work each morning, still after a couple hundred years of the same thing, it might get tiring just a little bit.  Did I hear the word ‘boring’?

 

I wonder if a professional football player could continue in that game forever.  You know the crowds cheering him on and reading his stats each day in the Sports Section of the local newspaper.  One thing for sure he would certainly be traded a lot of times and play for all of the football teams.  “Here I am playing for the Dallas Cowboys again.  I remember playing with the Cowboys a couple of hundred years ago.”

 

Even our conversation would be different.  You know the line, “Hey Bill you look just as young as you did the last time I saw you two hundred years ago”.  Of course everybody would look the same because we wouldn’t age.  How boring can that be?

 

I suppose some people would die because of serious accidents, so a few babies could be born to keep the population constant.  But how would society decide who would have the opportunity to have a baby and raise it to maturity?  That child would be terribly lonely for there would be so few in the world.  I suppose once this child reached maturity it would stop aging and remain looking like someone in their twenties forever.  I assume after this youngster gets over acne.

 

I suppose when this immortality thing gets started, only the very rich people will be able to get it.  Now that is not fair.  And, being fair is an important part of our DNA.  So, there would immediately be considerable conflict among those who are mortal and those who are immortal.  Certainly being biologically immortal does not shield a person from death by murder.

 

Suicides would increase I am quite sure.  Certainly being immortal does not prevent unhappiness nor depression.

 

Finally would the FDA approve such a concept and how would they decide which criteria to use for its approval?  Certainly, this agency would have to look at more than its safety because of all of the far-reaching effects that immortality would cause.   

 

This word ‘forever’ is beginning to bug me. Immortality on this Earth will not work for lots of reasons.  So, let’s hope that the authors of that article are wrong and immortality never occurs - not in a decade not ever. 

I Remember When

The old rusty Nail

AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

 

I REMEMBER WHEN

Russell Burton, an Old Person

One of the many fun things about being old is our remembrances.  Of course, it’s more fun when you can tell them to someone who will listen, especially young people.  They always appear to be amazed about living back in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s.  Of particular interest to them it seems is the advances in technologies that occurred over those three decades.  So, let’s remember those days and with a smile on our faces.  In many ways it feels like a long time ago, which it was, but then maybe not that long ago for I can still feel the amazements – even the touch and smell of those days.

I remember my folks bought a new 1938 Chevrolet demonstrator for about $600. Back then a car dealer had one car that he used to drive people around to show how it rode and drove. He would roll back the mileage indicator and sell if for a discount. It still had a hole in the grill so that a crank could be used to start the motor in case the battery went dead.  A new feature that was there to show potential buyers, remember it was a demonstrator, was a little light that was screwed onto the bottom of the dash that indicated when the headlights were bright or dim.  Of course the following year, this indicator was incorporated into the speedometer. The headlight dimmer switch was on the floor board.

Also, that was the last year that the gearshift was located on the floor.  In 1939 it was moved onto the steering wheel shaft.  Of course, today it is back on the floor.  Another great feature was a push-button radio.  I believe that it got about 15 mpg gas mileage.  Gas then was about 5 cents a gallon. 

I worked at a gas station for a couple of years after high school was out.  On every car that came into the station, I pumped gas, cleaned the windshield, checked the tire pressure and the motor oil level, and collected the money for the gas and oil if needed. No credit cards then or self-service gas pumps. I was paid about 50 cents an hour wages.

Clothes were washed using a modern electric washer that was a tank of soapy water and an agitator.  When the clothes were washed the tank was drained and filled with clear water.  Water was then rung out of the clothes with two rubber rollers and then the wet clothes were hung up to dry on a clothes line.

Of course, in the 30s and 40s there was no TV.  Our entertainment consisted of playing the game of Monopoly, listening to the radio, and reading books.  The radio used vacuum tubes that burned out frequently not transistors. Of course people had hobbies that entertained them.  I was a stamp collector then, spending hours upon hours finding from which country each of my stamps had originated. Playing the piano was common.  My mother played one that we owned for many years. We listened to music played from a 78 rpm black recording disk using technologies invented by Thomas Edison.  Then came the 45s, followed by the wire, and finally the tape player.  Of course now, it’s all digital down-loaded onto an IPod.

I saw my first TV in 1950 in a store window at night walking down a small town street.  The picture was a bit fuzzy in black and white of course with a kind of round picture tube. It was an amazing experience.  Of course, those amazing experiences with advances in technologies are gone forever.  Now, new technologies arrive in stores daily.

Back then, many homes still had outdoor toilets.  So, a common Halloween stunt was to tip them over.  A house was called ‘modern’ if it had indoor toilets.  I remember visiting my grandparent’s farm in Nebraska and using their outdoor toilet.  They never did get an indoor toilet.

Recalling my summer visits to visit my grandparents, my grandfather worked about 250 acres using farm equipment pulled by two work horses.  Chicken eggs were gathered each day.  Milk from their cows was churned by hand into butter using the cream that had been separated with a hand operated separator from the milk.  The skimmed milk was fed to the pigs. Each Sunday we had roasted chicken from one of their unlucky chickens that had been killed by cutting off its head with an ax and dunked into boiling water to loosen the feathers.  Then feathers were pulled off the bird.  It was certainly fresh meat.

Of course in 1941 came World War II that dominated the news for many years.  Gas, car tires, butter, sugar, and meat were rationed.  We had a C gas book of stamps so we could only buy 5 gal of gas each week.  And, we lived in the country! Instead of butter we used oleo margarine that was called simply ‘Oleo’.  It came white with a small sack of yellow coloring that we rubbed into the white stuff to make it yellow and look like butter.  I understood that the dairy industry required that oleo be sold white so as not to compete fairly with butter that was hard to get anyway.

My father ran a German Prisoner of War camp in Arbuckle California, during the end of the war.  There are lots of stories to tell about those times.  I bet very few people in Arbuckle even knew that a POW camp was just outside their town.  After, the war it was turned into a Mexican National Work Camp.  In those days, Mexican men were allowed to come to the US to work the crops during the summer going home to Mexico in the winter with some much needed money for their families living in Mexico. The camp buildings were torn down many years ago.

In 1950 I entered college at the University of California at Davis.  At that time it was primarily an agricultural college but with a new Veterinary Medical School that I wanted to get into.  There was no tuition fee.  The only cost each semester was $35 to cover medical needs plus $6 for a football ticket for all of the fall games.  I did get into Veterinary Medical School in 1952 with an all men class.  Now days, most Veterinary Classes are dominated by women. Back then, about 1600 students attended Davis.  Now I believe about 35,000 attend that university.

I belonged to a fraternity house.  We didn’t have a TV because we feared that it would interfere with class studies.  So, I walked over to the Alumni Hall each Sunday evening to watch Jackie Gleason’s and Sid Cesar and Imogene Coca’s comedy shows. What entertainment that was, particularly when TV to me was so new.

I worked as a hasher in the fraternity house.  I washed and dried dishes, set the table, and served the food for 35 guys three times each day.  For that work, I was given my Board of $60 each month.  They still charged me $15 for my room that I shared with another guy.  To this day, I wash my own dishes by hand.

My other job that I had and needed the money to get through school was working for the U.S. Forest Service as a Back Country Guard putting out forest fires.  I rode a horse and had two mules to pack and carry in my food over a trail that took 6 hours to get to my cabin for the summer. I was allowed to return to town once during the summer. I mention this because it was not unlike my grandparents lived but even more primitive for I did not have electricity or water plumbed into the house.  Remember farmers got electricity in the 1930a because of Roosevelt’s Rural Electrification Program.  I used an outdoor toilet, showered once a week with water running from a large bucket raised up by a rope under a tree limb.  Coleman gas lanterns were used for light at night, carried in water from a nearby Spring and I cooked with a wood fueled stove.  No refrigeration, so fresh food was only available when I first moved back there each year.  My entertainment was a battery operated radio.  The battery cost $10 and didn’t last very long, so the radio was used very sparingly for then $10 was lots of money. You know, I remember those days fondly for those were experiences that were challenging but rewarding in many ways. 

Well, I have reminisced enough for this issue of The Old Rusty Nail.  We must remember that we are special because we can only have these memories if we lived them. That is the only way to get them. You can’t go out and buy them no matter how much money you have. I wonder about the memories of today’s young people when they get old.  Will they enjoy looking back at them like I and I suppose you do?

As always look for a new column for old people each month on this Blog.

Creativity is For Old People Too

The old rusty Nail

AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

CREATIVITY IS FOR OLD PEOPLE TOO

A Perspective on Old Age from an Old Person

RUSSELL BURTON

 

The dictionary defines creativity as ‘to cause to come into existence; make; originate; to bring about, give rise to; cause’. But, creativity is much more than defined in a dictionary it’s what it does that is just as important.  Of course, what it does is exercise the brain and the older a person gets the more the brain needs to exercise. Exercise is necessary to keep our body muscles healthy and exercising the brain is even more important.  You know the old cliché ‘Use It or Lose It’.

Retiring form your life’s work is rewarding as it allows time for people to do what they wish to do within financial and legal limits.  But all of this leisure time can be dangerous, not having the demands of work prodding you all day. I say dangerous because if the brain gets turned off dementia is waiting and eager to keep it turned off. And, our mind is our most important physiologic function.

A good example regarding the death of a lazy brain was my father into his retirement from the federal government.  He was a very smart man but mentally very lazy.  His brain only worked at his job.  He retired when he was only 55 years of age having some 38 years service on the job.  Yes, when he began working for the government a person could start employment at 17 years of age.  His job always required considerable mental tasking that mostly he hated.  So, as soon as he could he retired. 

Upon retirement he had two jobs.  One was retail in a liquor store and the other was selling used cars.  He loved both jobs and it kept his mind busy.  But, when he left those jobs to go fishing, dementia raised its ugly head and he entered a home for assisted living where he died.

This family history has always bothered me because my mind is the most important part of my life. My life’s work was research working for the US Air Force as a scientist, retiring as Chief Scientist of two Air Force Laboratories.  Of course, this line of work requires lots of mental exercise conducting original research on human subjects some of which were fighter pilots.  The work was rewarding and I would have continued working for several more years but circumstances prevented that from happening.  So, I retired when I was 68 years of age.

Cognizant of my family history, I concentrate each day on exercising my brain.  Well, so far it seems to be working for I am 80 years old and I do brain stuff each and everyday. I am using myself as an example not to be bragging but because I know me pretty well.  My mental exercise each day consists of doing a Sudoku, reading mostly nonfiction books, and writing.  I love to write.  Upon retirement, I got into creativity of painting, mostly water-based medium. 

But, my interests turned to writing as I started to write a novel at age 70 and I published it this year on Amazon.  If you own a Kindle, I-pad, etc. you can download it for $5.99.  The title of the book is Mary.  When I sell one thousand of my books I will have broken about even expensive wise.

Scientists in particular are the most vocal about how the ‘best work’ gets done when one is young – you know in their twenties and early thirties. And, in support of that ‘wisdom’ is the fact that Nobel Prizes are given to scientist of those ages.  Well two things I have to write about that are:  Lately, some recipients are older and only younger scientists are allowed time to pursue their thoughts.  The latter is especially true in institutions of higher learning for the longer they are employed there the more responsibilities they must assume.

I was fortunate in that most of my entire employed life as a scientist I was allowed, in fact encouraged to conduct only research.  And, my work in the field of applied physiology got even better as I became more experienced and increased my knowledge base.

So, I think the critical ingredient in creativity is being allowed the time to try.  And, of course in retirement, time to try is readily available. Not only is the time to try waiting for us to use it, but it must be good therapy for an aging mind.

My latest pursuit in creativity of course is writing this blog that I enjoy very much.  In fact, I try to write something everyday.  Of course I am blessed with the desire to write, in fact I am almost driven to sit down and bang away on my desk top computer.

After writing my novel, I began to write an essay that turned into 65,000 words on my understanding about ‘faith in God’.  The more I wrote on this subject the more I found that I had more to write as information on the subject jumped out at me almost on a daily basis.  Anyone interested in the draft (has not been edited) is welcome to it via email.  Just send me your email address and I will send it to you.  Once again my email address is burton.russell@att.net.

I am reading the book Mortality by Christopher Hitchens which he wrote as he was dying of esophageal cancer.  He was an atheist who wrote several books on the subject.  I mention it here because he too loved to write.  He was a regular contributor to Vanity Fair and considered as one of the world’s top intellect. As with me, writing put him into another world that I am sure gave him some relief from the nasty subject of death.

Of course as I read his book, I was constantly forced to recognize my luck in growing old.  He was in his early 60s when he died.  And as he noted, he was much too young to leave the party.

Yes, creativity comes in other forms than writing. I mentioned painting that I indulged in for several years.  I still belong to a painting group (coop of local artists) where I volunteer once a month to work in our gallery.  I am amazed at the wide variety of art that we sell and all of it requires creativity.  So, I suggest if you do not know of anything you can do creative, then by all means visit an art gallery that exhibits a vast array of art. 

My intent here is to let us old people know that it is never too late to learn and it is never too late to become creative.  I have no doubt that creativity is food for our brain.  And, our brain like all of our organs needs nourishment.

Once again, it’s time to sign off another article for the ‘Ole Rusty Nail’.  Remember I want to hear from my readers on your thoughts and perhaps ideas on subjects that I might write on.  Also, if any of you write and publish your work here please feel free to contribute.

       

 

 

       

 

Presidents' Day

The old rusty Nail

AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

 

PRESIDENTS’ DAY

Russell Burton, An Old Person

Here it is February the month we celebrate our two most important presidents.  Yes, George Washington, the father of our country, and Abraham Lincoln who saved the union are no doubt the American Presidents who should be celebrated above all others.  Of course, many of our presidents are note worthy and probably deserve to have a day of leave named after them but there can only be a limited number of days off each year as federal holidays.  What that number is no one knows for it is not clear how one would make that decision.

Certainly that was the argument made by President Ronald Reagan who decided, after much pushing by civil rights groups, to recognize Martin Luther King with a federal holiday.  Presidents’ Days were originally George Washington’s birth day February 22 and 12 February was Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.   I remember those dates well for I was a federal employee and had two days off in one month which was a big deal.  Now we still have the same number of federal holidays but somehow making one of those days come earlier does not seem right.  I think I feel that way because MLK Day is too close to the holidays we have in December. You know, you just back to work and into the swing of things and suddenly another day off.

There is no doubt that MLK should be recognized as an important figure in American history for he was able to move forward the African American agenda that had become stalled.  Many successful African Americans stand on the shoulders of MLK including our president Barack Obama.  I just finished reading a book on his assassination, ‘Hellhound on His Trail’ by Hampton Sides.  Even though the main focus is the killing of MLK, it provides some insight into the latter stages of his movement when he was taking a back seat to younger Black activist. I highly recommend this book.

I guess an argument can be made that another African American activist leader should be remembered other than MLK.  Malcolm X in a sense began this movement and he too was assassinated.  But he was not as well liked for he took a more aggressive militant approach than did MLK who stressed passive resistance.  When you scare people like Malcolm X did, white people will not name a holiday after you.

Passive resistance proved to be a very powerful weapon in moving forward one’s agenda as shown by the success of Mahatma Gandhi who was able to liberate India from England.  His approached of passive aggression included fasting for long periods that worked, for the English were terrified that he would die during one of them for they lasted for weeks.  Certainly, his death would have started massive riots that would have caused the loss of thousands of lives.  MLK did not do much fasting for I think he liked to eat too much.

American Blacks had a very difficult struggle when they first began to live in America as slaves.  I am reading a fascinating book on that subject, ‘The Chronological History of the American Negro’ by Peter Bergman published in 1969.  Interesting, that I would be reading a book today published in 1969 that was in my house all of those years.  Well, I noticed it on my book shelf the other day when I was looking for something to read.  Now, it was there because I bought it when it was first published as a member of ‘The Book of the Month Club’ and never read it.  At the time, being a member of that club was a must for many people.  So, I was a member and I accumulated lots of books many of which I have not read to this day.

But this book does get your attention even though there is not much plot as it is simply dates beginning when the first Black Man came to the New World as a crewman on Columbus’s first trip. African American slavery in the New World began in 1510 under the orders of Ferdinand of Spain. The chronology of Black Slavery in America explores the horrible cruelty of it all.  For instance an owner could whip a Black Slave to death and when on purpose to kill him was fined all of 25 pounds.  I suppose in those days an English Pound was worth about $5 which was a hefty chunk of money but it is hard to imagine killing someone with a whip.  If a slave was whipped to death but not intentionally then the fine was only 15 pounds.  So, I suppose most slaves’ deaths from whippings were accidental.

Speaking of cruelty of Black American slaves I recently saw the movie ‘Djuango Unchained’.  Fascinating movie depicting Black slavery that is at times hard to watch for it was a vicious practice.  Certainly this movie is not the wonderful treatment of Blacks as shown in ‘Gone with the Wind”. A criticism of Djuango Unchained was that the n-word was used many (89) times.  I agree that it is an unpleasant word but how could you have a movie about those times and not use it?

Back to Presidents’ Day, Washington and Lincoln came along when our country needed great men. It is frequently written that without the stature of George Washington our constitution would not have been adopted by all of the colonies.  And, Lincoln struggled mightily to hold the union together for his political opponents of which there were several wanted the South to form its own nation. He also abolished slavery in America which too was not easy but a necessity as shown in the recent movie ‘Lincoln” one that I recommend. Certainly, our country was fortunate to have these two towering men step forward when someone of their stature was needed.

George Washington was a slave holder during his entire life as was Jefferson.  Supposedly, both men were opposed to the concept of slavery yet they supported it by owning slaves.  Interesting…

I guess the other greatest presidents we have had are on Mt. Rushmore.  And, that would be Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt.  Certainly, Franklin Roosevelt should be there for he too kept our country a democracy.  Then, the entire world was in a great financial depression and the too most powerful nations chose to take different paths to survive.  Germany chose a dictator and we chose an elected president.  Certainly Hitler got Germany out of their depression much more quickly than did Roosevelt. But of course with the unbridled power of their leader Germany lost her way.

Thomas Jefferson is celebrated as a great president because he wrote our ‘Declaration of Independence’ and he argued successfully that religion must be kept out of our government.  Both of these achievements appear on his grave stone.  Teddy Roosevelt is noted for Trust Busting and the establishment of our National Park system both of which are important feats.

Mt. Rushmore was quite an achievement and I watched it happening.  My father’s boss had a cabin near the base of it that we visited on several occasions. It was in the 1930s and I remember seeing the gondolas with men inside chiseling away at their granite faces.  I still have colored slides of them somewhere.

Well, I have written enough on these subjects.  Mixing Presidents’ Day with MLK Day and slavery could be considered a reach. But for several reasons, some of which I have just written they are indeed related as I think they should be.

So long for now.   

 

 

 

       

 

Caution Please When Grouping Old People

The old rusty Nail

AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

Caution Please When Grouping Old People

Russell R. Burton; an Old Person

 

Placing people with similar characteristics in a group is common, in fact so common that it is probably in our DNA.  Forming groups can be accomplished by the people in the group or by other people wanting to group people for some reason that has some purpose. Now, sometimes there are good reasons for doing this and sometimes there are bad ones.

Grouping people is particular useful for political reasons.  It’s useful because it is very effective in getting a common message usually they are very expensive by the way, to a group of people who tend to vote as a bloc.  An example of such a group would be Black people.  Interestingly, this is a huge number of people which includes male and female, educated and less educated, old and young, rich and poor, etc.

This group for political reasons tends to vote in a similar manner for probably two reasons.  The first is the color of their skin and the second they tend to be socially liberal.  Now I want to be clear that like members of all groups there are many exceptions.  Certainly there are very conservative Black people and some are white in skin color.

Of course grouping people can be very dangerous, especially for those being grouped.  Clearly Black people were first grouped in order to suppress them in the American society.  The lesson here is clear people who are being grouped had better look out for why they are being grouped.

For some reason, a name applied to any group can change.  For instance, Blacks were once called Negros, then Colored, then Black, then African-American, and now back to Blacks. I guess these name changes are because the members didn’t like the previous name.  So, I guess members do have some control over their destiny.  

Now, I use Black people only as an example.  Certainly there are many groups of people formed for many reasons.  Religions come to mind such as Christians who are further grouped into Catholics and Protestants with many subgroups within each of these particular groups, especially regarding Protestants.

But, the nature of this religious group is quite different from Black people because these members joined voluntarily.  This also means that they can leave when they want although the concept of going to Hell might deter some. 

Now, this voluntary thing is not true for Jews.  For some reason, once a Jew always a Jew and in fact a Jew is born a Jew. Of course, this means that it is difficult to become a Jew if you are not born one.  Quite different is the Christian religion for their members are out beating the bushes for recruits.

Of course, a common grouping is called a club and these are strictly voluntary.  People join these things for many reasons one is prestige that goes along with the desire to join but must be invited to do so.  Wealthy people like to form clubs and be asked to join them. Just being wealthy puts you into an exclusive club.  I don’t know of any benefits but just belonging to an exclusive club is fun.

A group sometimes increases the power of each individual in that group so people may want to join for selfish reasons.  Another reason to join a group is for entertainment that requires several people, such as a tour group.

People forming groups like I noted before is a natural thing to do and is probably in our DNA.  For example, when we were barely surviving as a species, we formed groups (tribes?) for two simple reasons, to improve our ability to get food and for protection.  So, we have a deep desire to join clubs.

Of course in modern societies this grouping thing has become common and at times I think has gotten out of hand.  That is sometimes a person has no control over his/her destiny even if there are benefits in doing so.  This situation is especially true if a person is automatically included without any form of consent.  I began this essay using Black people as an example of being part of a group without the consent of the membership.

Another group that has recently formed includes only OLD PEOPLE.  In a way, it is an exclusive club because the only way you can join is to get old and there is some luck to that for half of our birth mates die before they can join. But unlike most clubs you automatically become a member when you reach some arbitrary age.  And, this arbitrary age thing is scary because people age differently!  Not only that, they think of themselves differently.  That is each person in this bloc of Old People is an individual.

Yes, here we have the dichotomy of grouping that can not be solved for the group benefits frequently trump the individual benefits. So, individuals had better be aware of this problem.  I speak of course the perils of becoming an involuntary member of Old People. I was not asked to join, suddenly I am a member.  Well, thank you.  I didn’t give a certificate, take a test, belong to any religious group nor did anyone welcome me.  But, here I am a member of this exclusive club and it bothers me.  I know it gives me some awesome power that I didn’t have before, but I do not have much control over all of this power, good and bad and of course the latter scares me. 

Of course, the first causality is commercial airlines pilots for they must retire from flying at the age of sixty.  Yes, sixty!  My god, if I had a girlfriend that young I would feel like I was robbing the cradle.

But the point here is once you are part of these damn involuntary groups you lose some of your freedoms.  In the state of Texas, when you become 80 which seems to be the start of old age, you no longer can renew your driver’s license on the web.  You have to appear in person I guess to be examined by someone to see if you are fit to drive.  I assume other states have similar laws and perhaps ones that are even more intrusive.

I just renewed my Texas driver’s license when I reached my 80^th birthday.  I didn’t know what to expect except that it would take several hours of waiting.  When they finally called my number, I approached the young lady with some caution as she frowned but she was very nice.    I passed the eye examine even with my glasses off.  So, I got my photograph on my license without wearing glasses.  Of course, I have lost some of my visual acuity and that bothers me, but still not having to wear my glasses when I drive is some accomplishment, I’m so proud I guess.  Still, I wear my glasses when I drive. I want to be able to read the signs.

The other day Chris Mathews on his MSNBC Hard Ball suggested that people who are 85 years of age should not be allowed to drive an automobile!  This really bothers me because Chris, I use his first name because I think I know him because I frequently watch his show appears to be a nice guy and I thought we were friends.  And, we have the same liberal social political views.  Now if some Fox guy said this, I wouldn’t be concerned for this is a form of prejudice and conservatives dislike anyone who is different than they are.  You know, Gays, Blacks, poor people, Women’s Rights, and the list goes on.

Oh my, did I just do what I shouldn’t do.  You see how easy it is to lump people into an all inclusive stereotype.  For instance, my best friend was politically very conservative but was adamant in support of Women’s Rights, especially regarding abortion.

Well, my point here is that I am very concerned, no frightened, that some of my rights will be taken away from me because I have reached some arbitrary age that defines me as an old person and THAT IS NOT RIGHT!

AND, I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!

Well maybe some of it.  Especially the good stuff like when becoming an Old Person I got an extra deduction on my income tax just because of that arbitrary age of 65. Oh well, I guess you have to take the good with the bad.  Let’s hope there is always more good than bad.