The good things about being old

The good things about being old

I have heard many people say that the new 30 is over 60 and I’m beginning to wonder if those people saying that are all over sixty.

There is new data every day about the aging population in the news and as we, more correctly, as I, get older I seem to pay more attention to the news about aging and us who are beyond sixty. Sixty was an old person who was respected because of their age and gave cause for young people to be polite around and listen closely when they spoke. Mainly polite because as a young

person you didn’t know what to say to a person so old that they knew everything and always gave advice or told you what you could or could

Alexander Imich lived to 111 not do and in short terms what you better do.

As I have aged and gotten to join that old folk group, I find myself described as one of those people who did what I thought was because of age and somewhat ancient to young people. Viewed by the young one’s as alone most of the time, sitting and thinking a lot, wanting someone to talk to often and complaining about relatives not coming around as often as they used to, and most obvious always giving advice.

My grand’s will say, “you are old grandfather” and my response is always “yes and don’t you forget because you have to respect old folks cause they know everything.”

Well most of us old fork know very little when I give it much thought, we may have known a bit but some of us have forgotten much of what we knew and are constantly trying to remember something that used to come to us as quick as the young one seem to be to us now in our oldness.                

Yes, we grow old with all the advantages and disadvantages and obstacles placed before us along with the love and care, the dislikes and likes, the  envy and

goodwill or just ignoring just because we seem to be of another time,    Richard Overton 107 yrs old

speak a different language or as they say just don’t understand what's going on now.

Well, when I was your age, or my parents would never, well, you know that good old time when we were young and there were the drive-in or the meet market on the corner or Joe’s ice cream place or not so many folks on the internet, you get the meaning in that another time seem to always be best during those times when we were a certain age.

Boy I remember that time, you know when, remember that girl that lived on, or that guy down the street with the red car. We all have that disease and yet we, as we age seem to want to tell everyone how great it is in retirement after 25 years of working at such plant or place.

Well as an old person let me set the record straight. You are old, if you are reading this, I know that because young folk don’t read old folk’s ramblings about age and if you are not old you are reading this because you want to tell an old person something they don’t know, you hope.

The real record to be straightened is we all are old and if not now you should hope to get old, why, you ask, because you want to know what will happen. You want to be around when that other person get to a certain time in your life or when your children finish high school or college or when the grandkids come or when they start school or completes college or get a great job or get married or when cars fly.

You want to be here when the next president is a woman, another black, Japanese, Chinese or Mexican, when the rich is only 15 percent of population or when the congress and the president don’t act like fools.

So we ascribe to grow old and retire so we can draw a check and watch TV all day or walk in the park as long as we wish or go to the old folk place down the street or road and hang with the other old folk or in rare cases work to help other folk volunteering with the AARP where many other old folk are talking about other old folk.   

So, if you haven’t gotten to feeling old reading this yet consider this, us old folk now make up the fastest growing population and are projected to be twenty percent of the population by 2020. No wonder there are over 27 million old folks with AARP cards.

We are getting the attention of advertisers faster than you can find a non-old ad on TV and even new car sales are beginning to target us old folks. Just the other day I got a hand full of snail mail offering everything from enhancement pills to a new ford. I even got a call from some agency wanting to buy my house and offering me a deal saying I could still live in it until I die, I guess they had not checked to see that I may live to beyond one hundred.  

So is all the hype great too, well I guess, it’s great to be old if as they say, when you are 60 it’s like 30.  I don’t know but there are a few times while at the grocer trying to read the label some pretty young thing, about 40, I guess that would mean 20 today, offer to help and smiles willingly wanting to know more about me than I wanted to diverge. Well I did inform her I was retired with my wife to her slight disappoint that did not cause the smile to go away.

There are some other things that go along with aging like many of your friends will no longer be around, more funerals to attend, you won’t be able to turn flips like you used to, there may be more doctor visits and a few pains will let you know time isn’t what it used to be and you’ll get the call every so often that you are to keep the grand’s or could you lend a few dollars that never return.

Being retired has many advantages that you young folk won’t learn about until you retire, and I’m not speaking of the new young things at the grocer either.

First and most important to many is you get to sleep late or all day if you like (That gets tired and shorten your life) not having to do the 8 to 5. You can take your time at the grocer or the pharmacy and coffee never taste so good at the local coffee shop. You get to hang out on Wednesday or whatever day you choose with that retirement group down at the local Hardee’s or Bojangles. You get to join a local nonprofit and offer your opinion or expertise. You don’t have that mortgage payment, may be. You don’t spend much and food taste better at home, you don’t cook in a hurry any more. You get to do a vegetable garden, grow grapes or chickens. Travel now is on your schedule and you can stay away as long as you like and you may even stop by and visit that old girl or boy friend to see how they made out. You may even spend more time helping Reverend out at church. You really get to find out who that lady is you been living with all these years and folk call her your wife, husband to you ladies.

So with you being in the fastest growing, the most wealthy and the most educated population ain’t it good to know you have lived longer than most others even if your days left is just possible shorter.

That is why you know now you can pretty much have your way, why not, you are old. Consider this:

Here are three sites worth checking:

http://publichealthonline.gwu.edu/cost-of-aging/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=blog

Must read: http://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/p25-1140.pdf

Click here and move slider to 1:45 http://www.wral.com/news/video/14357849/

I’M NOT LOST I’M EXPLORING

I’M NOT LOST I’M EXPLORING

Having always been curious, wanting to know how things work, where everything was and how it is that things exist I’ve always had a desire to work as a “finder” that is until I found that all things are now “on line” and not too difficult to fine. There is http://lifehacker.com/329033/how-to-track-down-anyone-online and all kinds of finders out there now and you can’t find a place to be alone anymore.

So you think you are anonymous, think again.

You are everywhere unless you are a hermit. Your name is on the web, in stores if you shop, in all public records available to anyone, with the services departments in your city, at the hospital or doctor's office, in every government office that has anything to do with disbursements, security or taxes, at every entertainment facility you attended and with the DOT as well as the IRS and in all your friends computer, cell phone and all the phone networks through the country. So where are you? Are you here: http://www.name-list.net/facebook/surname/Barner or here? http://radaris.com/p/George/Barner/ or here?  http://www.spokeo.com/George-Barner, don’t even think of hiding, I can find you.

Today almost any ten year old can locate anything or anyone on the web and you don’t have to be on the web to be found either.

So as I say to all, I’m available, just a click or call away and I have nothing to hide either,,, but, don’t come looking without an invitation. I guard my little acre for that tiny piece of privacy where I can be somewhat alone and listen to music or watch a movie while also watching the door, electronically.  

Year I’m a tech nut too with all the gadgets, bell and whistles too. Oh yes I’m ex-military too as you know so I like my stuff to myself but call and I’ll invite you and share my bread with you, providing you are nice.

Why all this nonsense you ask? Well I thought I’d simple give you a little insight as to what the real world is now and it isn’t my parents worlds and most likely it will not be my grandchildren’s world either. They are always making changes to the one I know. Building gadgets that come to them when they call, no matter where it may be, creating something called a self-driven car; imagine that, a car that drives itself. 

And an electronic fly that can fly around the world and attack an enemy, any enemy too, and picture takers that follow you everywhere you go and send a disabling thing in the air to apprehend you if required.

Yes, kids of tomorrow may even be traveling at supersonic speeds in the stratosphere from continent city to city and thinking nothing of it while enjoying movies streamed to something that look like a pair eyeglasses or talk to back home family members as if they were standing next to them thanks to their approved holographic phone and video system.

So yes, things are changing and just maybe as the earth become inhabitable they may even get to travel to some distant place in the stars and make a new home somewhere else to destroy. Imagine, we have come full circle and still going, somewhere. Yet, we have no privacy and we are not alone and can be found anywhere we go.  Life is changing. GB 1-21-15

What do you think?