I woke up this morning and, surprisingly, nothing hurt! So I knew…

      1                    I was still asleep and dreaming

2                   Those drugs I took REALLY kicked in

3                   I’d had a full and complete body transplant

4                   I was dead

The correct answer is, of course, (a) any of the above, or (b) some of the above, or (c) none of the above. You can’t lose on this quiz!

As Carol and I get older and older the number of body parts that hurt and the intensity of that hurt gradually increases. Bummer. But, at the same time, the things we can do and the places we can go don’t change. I have noticed, however, that I tend to swear at my body parts more often‑‑like when my arthritic fingers don’t hit the right keys on my computer. Sometimes this makes me laugh, so the swearing and laughing all equal out. 

We also keep getting slower and slower and slower at doing whatever we’re trying to do. But slow is still functioning. For example, when traveling we take three or four days to drive where it used to take two. When we cut fireplace wood or work in the garden, we consider three or four hours a good day’s work. And we spend more time in the hot tub with the jets going full blast and a glass of wine to maintain our hydration levels.

I don’t imagine our aches and pains are going to diminish in the near future (see first paragraph for alternatives). I also don’t imagine we’ll stop doing what we want to do until we fall over or our kids put us in the County Home for Senile and Useless Geezers (a distinct possibility). 

We are convinced that the more we do—in moderation—the better we feel both physically and emotionally.

axman

Life (ours) Doesn’t have to Slow Down Unless We want it to

…it’s (almost) always a choice

We’ve been here in the vast Arizona desert for more than three weeks now. That’s good. We’ve become tan, rested, and done an amazing amount of necessary work. We’ve been busy 12 hours a day (including some time to drink wine, of course) but it seems mostly like fun.

We have chosen to stay busy in our physically and mentally declining years (our kids and grandkids would probably say something even stronger about the decline part). There will probably come a time when we have no choice but to slow down but we’ll put that on the back burner as long as possible.

This week we had visitors in the desert – Tom (co-author) and his family were here five days so we could work on the new book – but mostly we hiked and jeeped all over the desert and a good time was had by all. His kids loved the desert and particularly bumping around the dirt roads and trails in jeeps. Jeeping through the desert in the dark (with the headlights on, of course) was the most exciting.

Oh yeah, Tom and I signed a publishing contract and now have to deliver a completed manuscript by July 1st. That seems like a long time from now, but… how hard could it be (he innocently asked)?

Carol has been doing bookkeeping and taxes for a friend and now is doing ours and those of a couple of the kids.

And I picked up a couple of grad students – non-traditional, at-a-distance learners. I work with them on courses and research – all by email and websites. It only takes a few hours a week and I enjoy it.

axman

Getting Away Yet Again

The benefits of variety in life – at least MY life

Being in the same place and doing the same thing (more or less) day after day and week after week is my idea of hell.

Maybe it’s just my bad Karma, a highly regrettable character flaw, or just plain old fashioned wander lust. But when I’m traveling or camping or just doing something new and different and at least a little challenging I feel better. Mentally and physically – my aches and pains diminish (a little anyway) and my attitude improves (a little anyway). Don’t ask my wife to verify this; she’ll say I’m a grouch all the time.

Now we’re in Arizona for a few weeks of fun, rest, and a little work. When it’s over the next little adventure will begin. …and then the next one and the next one and the next one...

I suppose life would be easier if I was content to stay home and bloom where I was planted – but I’m not all that ready to be planted yet!

axman

Cold, Colder, Coldest…

…and more Coldester (OK, so I just made that up – but it IS accurate)

Ever since we returned from Hawaii in early December I have been cold. There has been an unusual preponderance of cold, ice, snow, and torrential rain this winter. I have been working outside nearly every day to try to get our new garage finished. It has been 50 years since I worked outside in the cold on a daily basis – my night job pumping gas while I was in college.

Am I cold all the time because of advanced age, serious disease, senility, being cursed by Trolls, or some combination of some or all of the above? I wish I knew.

Whatever the cause, I just can’t seem to get warm – and another cold spell is on the way. There’s a lot yet to be done on the garage, including the digging, leveling, and pouring of a concrete floor. That should help keep me warm, hopefully.

But all is not lost. When it’s done (mostly) we’re heading to the Arizona desert for a month or so to warm up. The downside? It has been unusually cool in Arizona this winter, too. I have concluded, however, that a daily high of 60 in Arizona beats a high of 30 in Oregon – by my calculations that's twice as good as a matter of fact.

What are your experiences with the cold? Does age or cancer make a difference or am I just a wuss? Be gentle with me…

axman

On the Road Again…

There’s no place like home, but…

Whether it’s around the block or around the country, it’s good to be on the go. Really.

I have been in a seven-year prostate cancer holding pattern – a series of treatments, no cures, just doing what needs to be done to keep progression as slow as possible. That’s as good as it’s going to get far as I can tell. But I have also noticed that when I’m at home for any extended period of time – particularly in the wet Oregon winter (October until May) I tend to think more about my cancer and aches and pains.

So, we do a lot of running around (traveling makes us sound too sophisticated). We visit friends around town, spend time with kids and grandkids in other states, go to lots of historical spots, and do more than our share of camping and hiking in the summers. We even get out of the country once in a while. Our kids gave up any hope of an inheritance years ago.

When I’m doing things – especially new and interesting things, I feel better and go days at a time without ever thinking about my health problems – less time to dwell on self pity. It works for me.

axman

Excess Thinking May be Hazardous

…to Your Mental Health; so most of us should not be at risk

It’s good to be busy. That doesn’t necessarily mean accomplishing anything; just being on the move, reading, puttering; something other that just staring at the wall or ceiling or TV.


My wife and I are blessed with lots to do (she feels more blessed than I do, however). There’s always something to fix or change around the house, we go camping, traveling, visiting kids and grandkids, and jeeping - we feel pretty good most of the time. And we find that we don’t have time to worry too much – more than we’d like, but it’s manageable.

We’ve noticed that many, but not all, our geriatric contemporaries agree with us. When we suggest activities or invite to some of them to go someplace we often get answers like:

“Camping? Nah; too dirty and dusty and we'd probably get bitten or stung. You go and tell us about it later. I think we’ll just take it easy at home.”

“Travel outside the U.S? Nah, the plane might crash, we could get a disease, the food is probably tainted, and those foreign people over there talk funny! I think we’ll watch a special on the National Geographic channel instead.”

“Go out to Dinner? I think not. Why not just have a pizza delivered and not have to bother with dressing up and getting through all that traffic. Why leave the comfort of home if you don’t have to?”

Thinking about what to do (more likely what not do), how many aches and pains you have, the next horrible diagnosis, or the state of the economy might be useful, but if all you do is think and worry and procrastinate… that’s probably not so healthy.

axman