Nobody warned me of how dumb one gets with aging.

HooRU

I pine for my days when I was the star lab rat.

real_aurgathor

HooRU I pine for my days when I was the star lab rat.

“pine” ?!? 😟

egeezer

HooRU
Perhaps, but it’s amazing to their kids how their parents get smarter between the time the kids are 14 and when they are 24.

takeahike

HooRU

I would say that I’ve gotten a lot more knowledgeable with age. I was always smart but when I was young I was far more ignorant, knowing only what I had learned in school and from my parents. When I graduated from high school I could barely write an English sentence but with my own efforts and going on to college and law school I changed all that. I have tried to and have learned a lot in my old age about things that matter to me, everything from science and evolution to politics, history and literature.

“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” – Benjamin Franklin

What Did You Learn in School Today? • Tom Paxton

What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?

I learned that Washington never told a lie
I learned that soldiers seldom die
I learned that everybody’s free
And that’s what the teacher said to me
And that’s what I learned in school today
That’s what I learned in school

What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?

I learned the policemen are my friends
I learned that justice never ends
I learned that murderers die for their crimes
Even if we make a mistake sometimes
And that’s what I learned in school today
That’s what I learned in school

What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?

I learned that war is not so bad
I learned about the great ones we have had
We fought in Germany and in France
And some day I might get my chance
And that’s what I learned in school today
That’s what I learned in school

What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine?

I learned our government must be strong
It’s always right and never wrong
Our leaders are the finest men
And we elect them again and again
And that’s what I learned in school today
That’s what I learned in school

urbanriot

HooRU

Nobody warned me of how dumb one gets with aging.

I’ve compensated for a loss in mental alacrity with an increase in wisdom, knowledge, and experience.

While I do miss how well I fired on all cylinders when I was a wee lad, and I miss my physical prowess, I’m not terribly upset about how my mind and body has changed. I regularly exercise, lift weights, and swim every second day, and while I acknowledge things aren’t the same as they were, I still feel great for my age.

I feel like a lot of people age before their time because they stop putting forth the effort in challenging their mind and body.

telcodad

real_aurgathor HooRU I pine for my days when I was the star lab rat.

“pine” ?!? 😟

Yes as in “It’s pining for the fjords.” Check this at at 1:56 mark: 🙂

Monty Python - Dead Parrot Sketch

px_eliezer_

real_aurgathor “pine” ?!?

pine for [phrasal verb]
pine for (someone or something)
: to feel very sad because you want (something) or because you are not with (someone)
She was pining for the old days.
He’s pining for his college sweetheart.
At this time of year, most people are pining for [=longing for] the return of spring.

https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/pine

Donoreo

Are you not married? Ask your wife, you were dumb when young too 🙂

Somewhat-Reticent

It’s not just aging - anything leading to lower blood oxygenation sufficeth.
If your heart-and-lungs won’t circulate enough, pump your legs. Move.

DrStrange

Better to pine than to rue the day. 🙂

Bombtrad

takeahike I would say that I’ve gotten a lot more knowledgeable with age.

I would bloody well hope so!! I’m 83 a few days ago, and one thing I have learned across a VERY wide range of jobs, States, and 2 wives is:

There is always something you come up against that you never met before, no matter how old you are and what your life experiences..

So, as you stand, at the end of your life, at those stairs , see the golden light and hear the heavenly harps, look back over your shoulder at the long corridor of life you have travelled. How many doors down YOUR corridor were never opened.

Every door that I passed, I kicked down, just to see what was inside. Some good, some so-so, and come disasters, but life was never boring.

It has been an interesting ride through life.

egeezer

Bombtrad ! I’m 83 a few days ago,

Wow, there is somebody older than me in this forum. 😄

Sparkchaser

Bombtrad I’m 83 a few days ago

Wow, someone older than me. I was 80 March 7th.

Bombtrad

egeezer Us old farts gotta stick together. Them younguns are getting too frisky. :

HooRU

Bombtrad We do have to stick together, all for one and one for all!

I’ve studied and learned so much but in my old age it’s buried so deep it takes a lot to jog it all to the surface.

I’ve held more than a dozen different types of jobs and done almost all of them well, or very well. I was at the head of my class in lab in college. I also was a star speaker and leader if you can believe it.

Now I’m just an aging bum who is trying to be humble and helpful.

takeahike

HooRU

Do you have any regrets? I do and have been thinking about some of that a lot lately, even though what I think about was mainly in my late teens and early 20s in the 1970s, I suppose when I was still trying to figure out what kind of person I wanted to be and mainly not taking advantage of opportunities I had with women. I’m still trying to get over some of it but I’m kind of coming to the conclusion that it was probably just a necessary period of maturity, and I did make up for lost time late in my late 20s and afterward. Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on myself, but as they say the hardest judge of oneself is oneself. One thing’s for sure, and that is you cannot change the past–I suppose that it really doesn’t matter where you’ve been as long as you know where you are headed.

One thing I don’t regret is in my career. I got the education I wanted, including college and law school, and passed the California Bar exam, all of which went very far in my development. I practiced law for a while but then started my own business (non-legal) that I had for 24 years and that in the end was a very good move.

So, any regrets anyone cares to post here?

“Then you shall judge yourself,” answered the king. "That is the most difficult thing of all. It is far more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then indeed you are very wise.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Bombtrad

takeahike So, any regrets anyone cares to post here?

Hmmm, interesting question. Regrets, I suppose so, I could have stayed with Federal Government positions and become a big wheel. I was doing well. I never did get the Degree in Applied Maths, with young kids and work pressures I took an Associate Diploma in Applied Math instead. <sigh>

I had well paying upper middle management positions in Federal Government. Twice I walked out cold. Sat at my desk at, let us say 2.30 pm, and asked myself “Why on earth am I doing this??” and twice over 30 years could not find a good answer, so at 2.35 pm walked out and never went back,First time after a 10 year break I did go back, second time, never went back.

Left our capital city, remarried, became town handyman and Mr Fixit, Town Councillor and Deputy Mayor, Firearms dealer and sporting goods shop owner President of the Town Show Society, Senior State Emergency Services Unit Controller. I had a great time immersing myself in smallish town affairs.. I ran my own life.

I found that I had a bad muscular condition in my right shoulder. I would go to meetings and when someone was sked if someone would like to could serve/stand as XXXX my bloody right arm would go up, and away I would go again.

So in the greater fabric of life, No real regrets, it’s too late to complain after it’s all over. Just enjoy the ride.

Rich221976

takeahike So, any regrets anyone cares to post here?

I have a few some I won’t post but I do wonder sometimes. I actually been thinking about it more since I turned 49 last month.

I have to wonder what my life would have been like not walking into the bank to deposit my tips in the morning to cover the bills. That would have changed a good amount for me.

However, at the same time, though, I would never have had the time off working like I did to finish my college degrees.

I wonder if that didn’t happen if I would have finished them. When I wasn’t able /allow to work, I went back to college full time to finish my degrees. I was able to finish the degrees by the time I started to go back to work.

I also wouldn’t have had to get back surgery right away when I did. (My back probably would have need one but later in life). The sugery was fine and reduced the pain for about 2 years until the screws started to break.

I wouldn’t have had to try and do the spinal stimulator trial that caused a spinal cord leak for about 3 weeks. That would have been a major plus.

I also wouldn’t have to be concerned with shortages with the opioids. (I am still waiting to get my ER’s since they been out of stock in Nov, been on a different medication temporary until I can get the one that works better).

My diabetes would have hit much later in life. I’d probably not be on so much different medications as well. Plus the diabetic neuropathy wouldn’t have hit me as hard as it has.

But then if none of this happened, then I wouldn’t have ended up with the job I have now with really good health insurance.

Would have lost my SO due to cancer if it wasn’t for my insurance from that job. Plus all of the travel and hotel reimbursement during treatment and the driving.

I could have been less hotheaded as well.

However, when you think of it every single event leads to another event that either wouldn’t have happened or you have to wonder what other thing would have been in it place that could have been worst.

Overall with a few things that I wish never happened. However, everything has made me the person that I am today so.

HooRU

VOH yes, I have regrets. Not fighting more effectively for proper pay. Not getting my Master’s, and not staying in the desert or the bay area.

GeekGirl1

I never got my Master’s and there were a few times in which I could have used it to get better employment. OTOH, my job experienced stuff you’d never encounter working elsewhere. A bumpy, but fun ride when I was working.

Sparkchaser

And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

(Borrowed from Frank S)

takeahike

Sparkchaser (Borrowed from Frank S)

Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention

I was just about to post that.

Sparkchaser

Rich221976 However, when you think of it every single event leads to another event that either wouldn’t have happened or you have to wonder what other thing would have been in it place that could have been worst.

I was just going to post similar sentiments. For me, my college acceptance came 2 mo after being drafted. I’m quite sure my life would have been totally different if I had not gone in the Army. As in a 99% chance of marrying a different person. After that, “who knows” if it would have been better or worse, just different.