KNOWING HOW TO DO IT…

The Old Rusty Nail

AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

Russell Burton, an Old Person

I just finished having installed new granite countertops in my kitchen.  In the process the plumbing had to be disconnected from the old countertops.  Of course this meant that when the next countertops were in place the plumbing had to be reconnected. 

Now this activity did not appear to be much of a challenge for me because I know a considerable amount about plumbing in fact I installed the existing plumbing.  Oh I forgot, I installed those fixtures about ten years ago when I was a young 72.

Well disconnecting the plumbing from the old countertops was not that difficult ten years ago.  You know getting down on my knees and then lying face up with my head under the sink. Now that has become much less easy at my age of 82.  Still throwing caution to the wind, I was able to disconnect the PVC plumbing from the garbage disposal and the other sink drain.  Of course the water lines which would be reused for the new faucets were disconnected to find one leaked so that had to be replaced.

 So, off to the Home Depot to get a new cut off valve where I was told you might need a new compression attachment which meant cutting off the old one from the copper tubing.  Nothing ain’t easy but the new valve did not leak and without all of that major surgery I had what was to become the easiest part of this job.

The countertop guys arrived asking if the stuff was disconnected.  A resounding ‘YES’ put smiles on their faces for I guess sometimes they have to wait while the work is done.  And, like all capitalists say ‘time is money’.  And, these guys work for a no none sense entrepreneur which of course is a small business capitalist who does and must watch every penny. I know for I was one once.

It wasn’t long and they had ripped out the old countertops laying bare the collapsed plumbing.  I had to add a couple of wooden support wall boards for the new tops but that was not difficult because I didn’t have to get back down on my hands and knees.

The next day the owner arrived to measure for the new countertop template. Of course this activity is a very important step in the process of building a countertop out of

3 inch - thick granite which is going to fit.  Especially critical is the opening for the double stainless steel sink.

I had elected to use my old sink as a new one would cost me $200.  Now that does not sound like much when the new tops cost about $4000 but you know every penny or rather every two-hundred dollars count.  I should not have been surprised when he said these old sinks will not work.

I frowned when I asked “Why not?”  Well he explained that the granite will be much thicker than the old countertop. So instead of the sink lip sitting on top of the counter top it would have to be placed and attached under the top.  And my old sink was not designed for that kind of installation. After a one-sided discussion it was agreed that I will buy a new sink – one of course which can be attached under the granite. 

So, there goes my $200 down the drain ‘no pun intended’.  After he left I had to go ‘online’ to their specified supplier to pick out the sink I wanted.  This e-stuff always worries me for many times I fail but this time it did work and I picked out the double sink which I wanted.  Well, I didn’t really want it but I had to have it. The new sink like the old is a deep one with a larger sink on the left.  Not much different than my old one which I liked so I was pleased at my selection.

In four days as promised the owner and his crew of two husky men arrived unannounced at 8:30 in the morning with the new granite countertop and sink.  They liked my support wood work which made me proud.  So, they began with the owner measuring, etc. to be sure it would fit.  I asked for the sinks to be taken out of the truck so that I could install the drains before they were put in place.  

Now this idea allowed me to simply attach the plumbing to the new drains without having to do so standing on my head under the sink.  A very clever ploy, I must admit. After about an hour he, the owner said goodbye that the tops fit perfectly and his crew would finish the job.

Early afternoon they left with some instructions on what I had to do like put in place a couple of screws to the dishwasher and of course seal the granite with some liquid I could get at Home Depot.  So, down to my Home Depot I drove and bought a small can of the stuff for $22! 

After carefully applying the liquid as noted on the label, I proceeded to work the plumbing.  I was confident that I could get this done in an hour or so, but I first had to wait while the glue which held the sink in place had dried.  So as instructed after twenty-four hours, the next afternoon I began to replace the plumbing.

First was the garbage disposal which is a large one and very heavy and cumbersome.  Cumbersome because this all takes place on my back looking upward trying to juggle the heavy thing in place so the metal ring can be slid into the sink drain. I had a friend over to help with this installation for it is a two person job.  The idea of course is that I lift and the other person slips the ring into place.

Well this was much easier said than done for it is a very heavy and large garbage disposal. In fact, it was so heavy that lying on my back I could not lift it into place.  I was able to get it on top of a plastic cake cover so that it was within one inch of the drain.  We pried it up the rest of the way with wooden stakes.  But, it had to fit just right or the circular metal lever would not do its job.  With the wooden stakes it was levered into place and it fit!  The circular lever was pushed into place and the garbage disposal was attached to the sink!

Like my Christian helper screamed, “Halleluiah, it’s a miracle”.  I will argue that it was not a miracle but hard work with some luck.  I guess some people will argue that it was not luck but God’s will.  Whatever…

After some consternation the facets were in place and fastened to the counter top.  I was tired and my friend had to get home to care for her dog.  Still I was pleased with our progress and looking forward to an hour of work the next day connecting the PVC pipe to the tub drains.  What could go wrong?  I had detached them in a few minutes so reattaching them would not take that much longer.  Right?  No, Wrong!

Of course it would take longer because I had new sinks with drains located differently to each other.  Simply the PVC pipes and P-trap would not fit the new drain locations.  I knew I could make it fit but it would take a great deal of time and several trips to my Home Depot.  Now I understand why professional plumbers come to the job with a big truck full of plumbing fixtures, PVC pipe, and lots of tools. 

By six thirty that evening I had finally bought and cut the needed plumbing supplies so I was able to attach it all to the two drains.  It fit and didn’t leak nor did the water lines to the faucets leak. Very tired and frustrated I had a drink, light dinner and went to bed more tired than I had been in a long time.

The next morning with my aching body all I had to do to complete the job was to put liquid soap into the container I had fitted to the counter top.  But, the pump did not work!  I tried everything but still I could not get soap to come out of the small tube sticking out of the metal pump head.  Very frustrated, I phoned the faucet company for help.  The answer was “Oh they don’t work sometimes, so we will send you a new better one and without charge.”  Wow how lucky can I be.

My point of course is these kinds of home jobs always take more time and effort than planned.  But, with age my frustrations grow much more rapidly and so do the aches and pains.  I can not count the numbers of times I got up and down with great caution holding on to the edge of the counter top to help me stand. 

Yes, I knew how to do it but the time is coming when that will not be enough.  I will not be physically able to do it anymore.  Simply, I will need to hire someone to do something which I know how to do.  That time will be very difficult for me to accept.  But, I know that day is coming.

4/14

BIOLOGICAL VS CHRONOLOGICAL AGE

The old rusty Nail

AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

Russell Burton, an Old Person

I ran across a news article the other day noting that biological age may have something to do with a longer-life span.  Many articles ago in this blog I wrote about the importance of biological age as a better measure of age than simply ‘years of age’.  Certainly, we see people of the same age who look much older or younger than their real age and I suspect that their looks are a good indicator of their biological age. Interestingly, we always compliment a person on how young they look, never how much older a person looks than their chronological age. I guess this is an intuitive sign that aging is not a good thing.

In this regard, age is welcomed at a young age but not so when we get older. In my late teens I would use a fake ID which showed me to be older to get into a bar to buy a drink or a pack of cigarettes. Now, when someone tells me that I do not look like I am 83 well 83 and a half, I smile for I take it is as a complement.  And, I let them know that I not just 83 but I am getting closer to 84!

When I was a young boy I was always pleased to be considered older than my chronological age older because I was small for my age until I was 15 years old and I wanted to be a young man. Like now, I was not just 6, I was 6 and a half. You know more like a man.

Now, this news article mentions ‘looks’ as a criterion of biological aging but then sites a couple of university studies one which seriously measured this type of aging using several physiologic, physical and anatomic parameters plus cognition.  One-thousand subjects were involved in one of these studies with surprising results. When the group reached 38 years of age their biological ages ranged from 30 to nearly 60 years.  What is meant by ‘nearly 60’ was not explained.

Of particular interest to me were those physical activities which I have not found to be somewhat challenging in my 80s were showing up already in some of those subjects who were only 38 years of age! These were called ‘basic tasks’ such as climbing stairs and carrying groceries. I would assume that their balance had also deteriorated some which I find at times difficult for me to handle.

Now the study found that cognition was negatively affected in those people who had aged more rapidly which was assumed to be a normal result of aging.  I certainly disagree with that assumption as I have noted in previous blogs. Of course, I agree with some of their other findings for I am experiencing them in my aging process but not any loss of cognition.  In regard to physical aging, I recently read of a woman who is 90 having just completed a marathon race. I suppose she thinks that physical problems are not a natural aging process. Of course, she will eventually have these physical problems but at a much older age.

This article concludes by suggesting that previous studies on aging had used older people beginning with the age of 50 whereas this aging process begins at a much younger age.  I agree with that assumption but then it was suggested that by determining a faster aging process in younger people that would allow for ‘…prevention of age-related diseases, opening a new door for anti aging therapies’.  Unfortunately, no anti aging therapies were identified. Of course, this aspect had to be considered for the writers to show somehow that their findings could affect life span.

The conclusion also suggested that by determining the biological age of an individual their level of health would be measured with a single number. This number might be used to assess the health of a community.  I don’t believe that this idea will catch on.  You know having a 38 year old woman accept her age as 60. 

Certainly applying anti aging therapies at a younger age would make them more effective but what exactly are these therapies?  I would guess that one of them includes ‘working out’ at a gym.  I do that which I have written about previously and I think it has helped me physically and my muscle mass has remained pretty much intact. My chest muscles, you know my ‘pecks’ are still visible.

Besides lifting weights I do my stretching exercise which I find helpful in putting on my socks and shoes. Twice a week at the gym, I get on the stationary bike and pedal for 30 minutes as my aerobic exercise.  It lets me know that I have just pedaled over 5 miles which of course is a lie for I have not moved one inch.

As I mentioned balance is a problem which I find at times troubling and it seems to be progressing more rapidly than I expected.  I understand that this malady is because the sensory aspects of the soles of my feet are wearing out. I do agree with that take on it for I find wearing thin sole shoes helps me with balance.  And, walking on a hard surface allows me more freedom of balance than walking on a thick carpet.

Now, I do have more difficulty going on walks than I did a few years ago and with some pain especially in my hip area.  This pain is annoying but not debilitating.  Still, pain makes walking less fun so I do it less often and for shorter distances.  So, it is important to challenge these aging problems with more walking such as parking further away from the grocery store entrance. Of course, this is not natural for most everyone tries to park as close as possible. Even parking at the gym finds most cars as close as possible to the front door.  How strange…

I am now, for the summer of 2015 living in my condo on Lake Erie in Western New York where I attend the summer session of the Chautauqua program.  This activity requires considerable walking which is good for me. I suppose each day I go there I walk about 2 miles.  Now sometimes I catch a bus from the parking lot to the Grounds which shortens my walk by half.  I use to wave the bus driver off when he stopped to pick me up but sometimes if I am hurting I accept the ride. When I do this I remember my uncle who would visit me here a few years ago.  He is ten years older than I. After a few yearly visits he declined my invitation noting that he was holding me back in our walks from the parking lot. Of course, in reality the walk hurt him too much. I did not understand then but I do now.

The science I reported on was not as informative as I would have liked it to be for I wanted to learn more about this biological aspects of this aging process I am now experiencing.  You know, let me in on some secrets on how I can do it better. Regarding the faster biological aging process nothing was noted regarding aging habits which we all know affects aging such as smoking tobacco. It is well known that smoking causes a drying of the skin which results in more wrinkles especially on the face. And, exposure of skin to the sun can cause more wrinkling.

The study cited did not mentioned if it had controlled for these things nor did it get into sleep and work habits all of which I think would have some effect on aging.  And, what about nutrition although I think diet is over played in aging; you know paying more for ‘organic foods’.

As a scientist I would have thought this study would have controlled for some of these parameters. So, this study really raised more questions than answers. In that regard, I was disappointed in it but it did reinforce my thoughts on this subject for I am sure we all have been shocked how old someone appeared when we hadn’t seen that person for a few years.  And, how little some people have aged; you know, ‘You haven’t aged a day since I saw you last!’

On the other hand, we never say even though we think ‘Oh my god how old you look what happened? Have you been sick or something?” You know looking old suggests that being sick had something to do with it. Yep, people do not want to look older that they are except when they were young kids wanting to grow up to be more like dad and mom.

8/15