MAY 29, 2022
VOLUME ELEVEN
I’m sure that those you that follow my blog, (by the way I appreciate every one of you) have noticed my production of blogs has dwindled considerably in recent months. It’s not because I don’t have anything to say (that’s never been the case my entire life). I find the current state of world affairs very dismal and depressing, and I don’t want my blogs to be dismal and depressing. I’m not depressed, my life is good, I have a very good life, great wife and companion, and a super little terrier that adores both of us. Our kids, and all of their kids are doing well. The area where we live is very green and populated with every kind of tree imaginable, (except palm trees) Both of us are ex-Californians so that’s kind of a bummer, we miss ’em.
So, writing a blog with an uplifting message is getting increasingly difficult, but I’m going to give a try. I turned 81 years old this spring, and I can tell you that if your health is relatively good, and you have a sound mind (unlike our current president) it’s kind of cool being this old. You’re not nearly as pretty as you used to be, but strangely you don’t seem to care. People don’t ask you to help them move anymore, they don’t wanna be responsible for your hospital bills. Got rid of my pickup, nobody moves in a Cadillac. You get really good at saying, ” you know, I just don’t feel like doing that today”, and nobody ever questions you.
One of the parts I like best is that you can say stuff that would have gotten you in fight years ago, now people just roll their eyes, and write you off as a nutty old person. Now, if you think I don’t take advantage of that you haven’t figured me out very well. I once told a young woman at a Taco Bell with an overabundance of piercings, that she looked like she had been shot in the face with a nail gun. She was annoyed, I didn’t care. When I came back a couple of weeks later, she had them removed. I went into another fast-food joint, the guy behind the counter had very large white discs in this ear lobes. I stood back and looked at him and asked if they were turn signals. It’s really hard to mind my mouth at this age.
When I was younger, I must have gone on every diet ever concocted. I was very weight conscious. I guess in reality I was quite vain. I thought it was absolutely essential to keep my waist under 36″. I just knew if my waistline went over 36 life would end somehow. Well that happened years ago, and miraculously, I survived. My belly got bigger, and ass got skinnier, and my pants just would no longer stay up, so I gave up and bought some suspenders. I love those dang things. I was having to gird up my belt like a saddle cinch to keep my pants up, it was horrible. I threw my belt in the closet, and strapped on my big heavy duty Carthart suspenders. I’m not “Joe Cool” anymore, but my pants stay up, and that’s a good thing, nobody wants to see me naked. My idea of good grooming these days, is to keep my hair cut and, my beard trimmed so that I’m not mistaken of a homeless guy.
I think I’m a pretty good driver, no tickets for years. Last accident was almost thirty years ago. Up until maybe fifteen years ago, I drove pretty fast and aggressively. I’m much nicer behind the wheel now. Pretty sure the lower testosterone is playing a part in that, as well as being too old to fist fight. But driving less aggressively and slower is much more relaxing. Another side effect is that when we arrive at our destination, everyone is still talking to me. They aren’t pissed off, and hoarse from screaming. I commuted in southern California for 30 years, if you don’t drive like an asshole, you don’t survive. Ex-Californians really need to go through some sort of training to make them human again when they’re behind the wheel.
When I was a young man, I spent years in the building trades. If you’re not moving at warp speed, the foreman is barking at you to pick up the pace. That sort of set the pace for all of my activities. I thought everything had to be finished right now. I never put anything off ’til tomorrow even if it meant working late into night. That attitude was ditched a few years ago. If it doesn’t get done today, no problemo. Hell, I may put it off until next month or forget about it entirely. I now assess my tasks with a “critical” factor. If water isn’t leaking profusely, or we have a lack of electricity, or something looks like it’s in danger of collapsing, I will usually postpone the repair until the NASCAR race is over, or the weather changes. I’m not sure what our lawn would look like if we didn’t have a gardener, because I hate yardwork.
Well, that’s the best I could do all things considered. I’m totally sick of dwelling on the ineptitude of the idiots in government. Our society gets sicker by the hour, and I’m really trying hard not to become some sort of deranged psychopath trying to deal with it and end up on the six ‘o’clock news. So, for the time being, we’ll talk about fun stuff.
VERITAS VINCIT ~ LIVE FREE OR DIE
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