There is a Lisa Birnbach who had the audacity to write a book titled “1,003 Great Things About Getting Older.” I have to admit I haven”t read the book, but I just don”t know how anyone could come up with five good things about getting older, much less more than a 1,000. “Getting” Old Ain”t for Wimps,” now, there is an appropriate book for those of us in the higher 50s and beyond. And, late actress Bette Davis was on target when she said, “Old age is no place for sissies.”
I guess I”m just not my usual optimistic self. I turned 57 in January and all of a sudden I seem to be falling apart. Around the time of my birthday I hurt my arm playing racquetball. I had to stop playing for a week or two. Then, I developed a bad cough that I couldn”t seem to shake. That kept me from running for a couple of weeks. After a round of anti-biotics the cough disappeared for a few days, only to make somewhat of a lingering comeback. When the cough first went away I was able to start running again, but I guess I went back at it too aggressively. I pulled a muscle in my left leg and couldn”t run for another week.
Next, while playing racquetball, again, my arm really snapped. After a couple of days it was all black and blue. The doctor said I ruptured my bicep tendon and he would have to operate. I now have a zig-zag scar in the bend of my right arm and I can”t play any sports, golf included, for at least a couple of months. At the moment, I”m not supposed to lift anything more than a pencil with my right arm. I would be OK with that, but I had a vacation planned that had some really nice adventure activities involved. I”ll only get to sit and watch the rest of the family participate.
One of my favorite CDs to listen to right now is Snow Patrol. They have a song with lyrics that include the statement, “I”m not afraid of anything – even time.” Easy for them to say, the song writer is probably in his 20s. I like the sentiment, but, sometimes I believe the thing we should fear the most is time.
My generation, the baby boomers, for whatever reason decided to wage a war against growing old. For the most part, I”d say we”ve done a pretty good job of it, albeit I sometimes think more of the fighting should be done with hard work, in the form of exercise, instead of visits to the plastic surgeon. Eventually, we are all going to lose the battle. But, hey, there is nothing wrong with not going down without a fight.
I”ve told my wife I want to be a participant in the 100-yard dash for 100-year-olds. Man, I”m just seven years past the halfway point and I”m already struggling. I have to agree with Dave Letterman. During the week before the recent change to Daylight Savings Time, he made a joke about not caring too much about losing that hour. He said, “The sooner we get this year over with the better.” His joke was economy related. My reason is for the hope of getting all these ailments behind me.
The thing that is scaring me is that, with my age, maybe this just how it”s going to be.
Gary Dickson is the editor and publisher of the Record-Bee. He can be reached at gdickson@record-bee.com or 263-5636 ext. 24.
