Getting old

[deltarho[1859]]

Actually, I think that I am getting old.

I went to my local pharmacy yesterday to get my prescription without which I would probably be pushing up daisies within the following week. I gave the lady my name, and she came back with my prepared prescription. Between us was a large sheet of perspex to stop us exchanging viral particles. I saw her lips move but I couldn't hear a word she said. I said: "I do apologize - can you shout up - I am a little deaf." Her lips then indicated that she was trying but it was to no avail. A gentleman sitting six feet behind me said: "She wants your address." I gave her my address, and we just smiled at each other; there was no point in pursuing a conversation. I may need to take up lip-reading.

I then walked out. I say walked but my left knee was letting me know in no uncertain terms that it would rather have not left home that morning. My right knee is OK but it is showing signs of getting a bit fed up with my left knee not pulling its weight. I got back to the car and put on my driving glasses. I didn't need them once but nowadays traffic without them is a blur. My left knee then told me that my next car will have to be an automatic.

I am going to take up Tai Chi with a view to decreasing my blood pressure to avoid my prescription being elevated and look forward to practising in my local park on a sunny afternoon. I am expecting a book from Amazon today. However, my local police are a funny lot and I can imagine being arrested for disturbing the peace. I will, of course, give them a hard time unless they can assure me that decaffeinated coffee is available to their prisoners.

I am going to leave my body to medical science but I can imagine a conversation like: "His brain is in good shape but as for the rest of him I think the furnace beckons, don't you?". His colleague may remark: "I am inclined to agree - let's have his brain out".

Oh, dear.

[jj2007]

Nice story, David ;-)

I can confirm that your brain is in good shape (and so can everybody else who follows your posts). What I find remarkable is that an awful lot of us programmers are beyond the 2^6 border. Is BASIC such an old dialect? Same for Masm coders btw - some are even beyond the 2^6+2^4 border. Mentally we are all in good shape, and the physical constraints are not so visible in a forum post. Take care of your body, we want to argue with you for many years to come ;-)

[David Watson]

I'm at the 2^6-2^4 border... does that make me a whippersnapper?

[jj2007]

I'm at the 2^6-2^4 border... does that make me a whippersnapper?

Kids, keep out of this discussion!

[fxm]

I am 69 years old and I do not feel at all old.
It is true that I am lucky to be in good health and good physical condition.
Next weekend, I'm going on vacation as usual in the mountains where I hike a little each afternoon, so that out of the total vacation I have covered more than 300 km on foot, and quite hard with elevation differences.
I hope it will last for many more years.

[deltarho[1859]]

and the physical constraints are not so visible in a forum post.

Not visible at all, I should say. When I was younger, I was regarded as a good-looking chap. Now my local funeral director has a member of staff on look out duty to see if I am in the area because I now have a tendency to frighten the horses.

I'm at the 2^6-2^4 border... does that make me a whippersnapper?

Yes. Mind you if you were a lady then you would be too old for me.

300 km on foot

When I was on holiday it was more like how many litres on a stool. Perhaps that it where I got it wrong. I am now teetotal and have been for the last three weeks. My nutritionist recommended carrot and beetroot juice. Unfortunately I took a great exception to that and am due in court next week.

Talking of good-looking chaps I have just finished 'The Picture of Dorian Gary' by Oscar Wilde which I first read fifty years ago. Needless to say I had forgotten most of it. At the end I felt a quip coming on and came up with: "It is imperative that we learn from the sins that we have committed but that is no excuse for not repeating any." Actually, I wouldn't chance it now - I wouldn't be able to run fast enough - not with my left knee.

[dodicat]

300 km on foot up and down mountains, I would not call holiday mode, more like Bear Grylls mode.
I walked 4.5 road miles yesterday evening with the dog, country roads, no cars, the occasional tractor.
We stopped half way, I sat on a stone and peeled off an orange and ate it.
A few years ago I would have lit a cigarette instead, but I had to quit smoking.
Apart from self inflicted asthma like symptoms I keep going at 71.
But I used to do a bit of walking in France myself.
We had a contract with lafarge cement works near Le Havre, instead of visiting ale houses I spent my spare time walking around the area.
I met a German couple near the little cave in the hillside between the cement works and Tancarville, they obviously thought I was a local, with my working gear on and those boots I kept specially for cement. They wanted directions to somewhere and apologised for not speaking very good French. I had to apologise for not speaking very good French or German, I am sure they thought I was some sort of cave dwelling Euro tramp, they didn't hang about for long.

[fxm]

300 km on foot up and down mountains, I would not call holiday mode

This quickly accumulates:
10 km per afternoon (approximately 3 hours of walking in uneven terrain) * 6 days a week (Sunday rest) * 6 weeks = 360 km.

I lived 4 years in Le Havre in the 70s!

[marcov]

Talking of good-looking chaps I have just finished 'The Picture of Dorian Gary' by Oscar Wilde which I first read fifty years ago. Needless to say I had forgotten most of it. At the end I felt a quip coming on and came up with: "It is imperative that we learn from the sins that we have committed but that is no excuse for not repeating any." Actually, I wouldn't chance it now - I wouldn't be able to run fast enough - not with my left knee.

Then you are deeper than I am. I mostly got "Don't stab pictures in the attic" as core motto.

[Lost Zergling]

I have to censor myself, but this thread is rather funny and some testimonies indirectly remind me of memories.
ps: @Dodicat: a bit uggly saying bad about a customer ;-) (ie: to have had free time)

[deltarho[1859]]

"Don't stab pictures in the attic"

That made me chuckle but I suspect many will not understand it. If it is any consolation I suspect that it made Oscar Wide chuckle as well.

[jj2007]

Translation, please!

[marcov]

Translation, please!

Allora sei più profondo di me. Per lo più ho ottenuto "Non pugnalare quadri in soffitta" come motto principale.

[jj2007]

Grazie, marcov ;-)

[marcov]

"Don't stab pictures in the attic"

That made me chuckle but I suspect many will not understand it. If it is any consolation I suspect that it made Oscar Wide chuckle as well.

Oscar Wilde could be quite funny it seems. His quotes are quite popular (like e.g. Churchill) in e.g. Unix fortunes(*) and FIDO taglines.

See e.g. https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes ... scar_Wilde

(*) fortune printed a random quote every time it was run, typically when you opened a new shell