I am not old and decrepit yet but i can see it from here, almost.
My two besties i have known over 20 years here in the bay area. AS mentioned before one is in good mental shape and but now has only one leg due diabetes,which can be like leprosy in that you can start losing limbs. UGH. . And he was pretty sedentery to begin with and now with only one leg is even more adverse to leaving the house. I mean young people can find ways to over come but its not the same spark available when one is old i guess.
the other i hear from mutual friends is going to be stuck in a mexican jail for months until he can get a hearing. He is accused of setting his room on fire. One he rented from a mexican family just months prior. I think its more of an accident because he has lost most of his marbles but thats for the judge to decide. If he is found guilty he may have be there for the rest of his days. He is late 70s so who knows how long he will live. But because he has always been super active his docs said he could live to be a hundred. Thats the good news but the bad news is if that is spent locked up.
His former bestie who also lives in mexico text me recently and he was not as kind, as he feels the bridge of friendship has been burned. He said "well he always wanted to learn spanish and now he is in a Spanish Immersion Course. Well that it is ! Also I wonder if his family (who he has pretty much been on edge with too ) maybe feels “well this is one way to get him in a retirement home for cheap”. Thing is the poor dude was swimming daily and biking daily and now couped up in a room with i am sure less than country club conditions. Makes me think of Papillon?
You make a wrong turn in life and there you are…in a place you didnt want to be in. This same ex bud said he hopes “J” is so fcuked up (he pretty much is) mentally that he thinks this is all part of the great adventure he is in" Well lets hope so. Perception is a form of reality.
I should pop by and see if the one legged friend could use a beer and some company.
Sad subject. One hopes to live a long fulfilling life and not just a long life that is spent in misery of course.
It really is good to be young or at least young enough to move, make mistakes, and bounce back. I didn’t have many real friendships during my earlier years in Taiwan either. Honestly, I spent most of my time just dating around and never really settled until I got into a serious relationship.
Now? I go out more, exercise regularly (had to because I got soft fast thanks to my wife’s amazing cooking), and I’m finally back in shape. Being on the “wrong side of 20” still beats the alternative and I’m grateful for the energy, even if it doesn’t always feel like as much as I had before.
Your post’s a heavy reminder that things can shift quickly. It’s easy to forget how fragile it all is until you see those close to you fall into situations they never imagined. Makes me want to make the most of this stage while I still can.
In my mid 20s I thought that, age and miserable life was sooner than expected so I had to “seize the day” and I was doing 13-14 hours intense exercise a week whilst working 10 hours a day every day.
Not recommended, it fucks you in the arse after a couple of years
It why I go diving. No weight on the body and limbs when you are diving.
The best thing is diving with apex predators such as Tiger Sharks and great white sharks and Oceani White tips. It’s too late to be afraid when you are only 3 feet away from a 1m wide open jaw with lovely teeth showing a nice smile.
So far my marinades for attracting myself to the sharks have failed. I need a new flavour design. Since we are born we are all trying to avoid the coming death sentence.
yes its a sayin and its pretty true. Old Bull likes to eat Young Grass. I am an old bull myself (and full of bs at times ) a while back , young gf (way younger than me even then) was so innocent she didnt catch my joke. She went to Oxford and got an MBA and i told her i went to Bullford and got my BS degree. Flew over her a mile high. She was wondering where Bullford was…I mean…surely there is a Bullford? Possibly next to Oxford?
Brother and his wife did the shark thingy in Mexico years back, a coupla days out and back. And he made his marriage proposal in the shark cage with em great honkies watching. Its a way to do it ! His first marriage he rented a helicopter and while flying over the GG bridge made his proposal. Both times successful…the proposal.
Such a romantic ! Me, the first time i was pestered and pestered, finally caved in. Mistake added to mistake that was. Second time , sequestered into it over an idea on chat, went and met the candidate and fell for it …still paying for it, still a recovery in progress…
Some people put major effort into it …the proposal.
Made his proposal in a shark cage while dangling key to handcuffs…first time over GG bridge while wearing one parachute and dangling other chute out plane door… successful both times.
) a while back , young gf (way younger than me even then) was so innocent she didnt catch my joke. She went to Oxford and got an MBA and i told her i went to Bullford and got my BS degree. Flew over her a mile high. She was wondering where Bullford was…I mean…surely there is a Bullford? Possibly next to Oxford?