Is it just me?

jnyork · Post by **jnyork** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:47 am

Just turned 74 and am fearful of become a curmudgeon.

It seems to me the older I get, the harder time I have with just simple repair tasks around the home or working on a vehicle or trying to build something, everything seems to be about 4 times as difficult as it ought to be and take 4 times as long as I anticipated. Anyone else have these problems or is it just the fate of geezers ?

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:54 am

Yep,
and I don't like it.

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:55 am

I'm 56 and I'm finding I'm slowing down and it takes longer to do things. I don't have the strength, flexibility, endurance I once did and I find it takes too much time to earn a living anymore, just to give it back to the government for them to misspend it. Seems my home is aging faster than I am and it takes more energy to keep it maintained. Simplify simplify simplify, that's my motto for the next several years as I prepare for my golden years. Your in my prayers.

earlmck · Post by **earlmck** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:57 am

"Four times as difficult as anticipated, takes four times as long" ... Isn't that one of Murphy's laws? Seems to have been a "law" for me all my adult life, especially if dealing with old plumbing or auto mechanicing.

mikld · Post by **mikld** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 11:29 am

Too late, you've already reached "curmudgeon" status. But as far as working on stuff and projects they take longer now just because the act is appreciated more now and as "senior citizens" there is no hurry (unless yer expectin' to meet St. Peter pretty soon

). A lot of times I'll use a hand saw rather than a power tool, or use regular, slow drying paint, of use a regular screw driver over one of my power units. I guess I just like using my hands and am in no hurry...

Booger Bill · Post by **Booger Bill** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 11:50 am

I am 73 and like that too. Only thing is it doesnt bother me much as I never was ambitious. I am lucky. I am married to a young squaw who does most things that do get done around here.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 12:02 pm

rjohns94 wrote:I'm 56 and I'm finding I'm slowing down and it takes longer to do things. I don't have the strength, flexibility, endurance I once did and I find it takes too much time to earn a living anymore, just to give it back to the government for them to misspend it. Seems my home is aging faster tahan I am and it takes more energy to keep it maintained. Simplify simplify simplify, that's my motto for the next several years as I prepare for my golden years. Your in my prayers.

Pretty much the same here...

Shasta · Post by **Shasta** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 12:37 pm

I'm only 63 now, but I can relate. Not only does it take me a lot longer to do what used to be simple tasks, I find that for some reason I'm constantly dropping tools, the mail, pencils, my ammo, and many other smaller items. I have turned into a fumble-fingers when trying to work with my hands.

SHASTA

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 1:23 pm

63 and starting to be a tad forgetful. .....That curmudgeon thing happened long, long ago....

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 1:28 pm

A tad??????????

hfcable · Post by **hfcable** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 2:18 pm

earlmck wrote:"Four times as difficult as anticipated, takes four times as long" ... Isn't that one of Murphy's laws? Seems to have been a "law" for me all my adult life, especially if dealing with old plumbing or auto mechanicing.

that describes me quite well !

however, the disease does some to be progressing as the OP postulated. i am a few years behind him. still working full time [ 11 hours a day ] and thankfully, and i truly am thankful, hasn't affected my performance at work.

Canuck Bob · Post by **Canuck Bob** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 2:26 pm

The same here. We adopted later in life and at 61 I've got a 10 and 12 year old. I worry about the rapid changes to my abilities with age and the aftermath of cancer treatment. Gotta go to work and find ways to overcome the changes. Best one so far is a little pocket memo book, my memory. These foolish new phones have some value too it seems.

What I lack in motion I still make up for it in toughness. Seems like a few others around here can relate.

Hardest part is staying positive over the long haul.

Off to the garage to fix up my Jeep!

jnyork · Post by **jnyork** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 4:40 pm

It aint all age-related. For instance, the other day I went to put a tee fitting in a propane line in my new-to-me RV. Since I already had the fittings, taken from my old trailer, should be a 10 minute job, right? Wrong! Fittings didn't fit.

Started at 0830, finished at almost 1600. Three trips to Ace Hardware and TWO 50-mile round trips to the propane company in another town. Frustration factor of 14.2 on a scale of 10!

Stuff like this keeps happening to me more and more, it seems. I spend half my time looking for the tool I just used 10 minutes ago.

jeepnik · Post by **jeepnik** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:08 pm

Hmm, I wonder what the average age of this group is. I'm beginning to think it's over sixty, at least.

I don't matter taking longer, or things being harder to do. I' just like to quit injuring myself every time I do something. If nothing else, I tear open the skin on my hands and arms. You'd think skin would get tougher with age, not tear like tissue paper.

hfcable · Post by **hfcable** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:15 pm

jeepnik wrote:Hmm, I wonder what the average age of this group is. I'm beginning to think it's over sixty, at least.

I don't matter taking longer, or things being harder to do. I' just like to quit injuring myself every time I do something. If nothing else, I tear open the skin on my hands and arms. You'd think skin would get tougher with age, not tear like tissue paper.

me too !

just did that last pm

Old No7 · Post by **Old No7** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:21 pm

The only thing I can think of to say is...

"Getting older... Sure beats not getting any older!"

Old No7

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:30 pm

My old boss said "never do anything today that will leave you idle tomorrow". I tell myself that is why I take two days to do a two hour job these days.

That is my story and I am sticking to it!!!

jnyork · Post by **jnyork** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:40 pm

jeepnik wrote:Hmm, I wonder what the average age of this group is. I'm beginning to think it's over sixty, at least.

I don't matter taking longer, or things being harder to do. I' just like to quit injuring myself every time I do something. If nothing else, I tear open the skin on my hands and arms. You'd think skin would get tougher with age, not tear like tissue paper.

I do that all the time, during the aforementioned propane fitting project I cut myself 3 or 4 times, not big enough for a bandaid but still cut. I wonder if it has something to do with the 81mg aspirin every morning?

I'm betting you are right on the average age of this group. There are a lot of wise, knowledgeable folks here. That is not a characteristic of under 50 or so.

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:59 pm

Ok, so YOU"RE the guys that when the light turns green you have to figure out where the accelerator pedal is, then it takes you a half mile to get up to 25mph in a 45mph zone.

I'm double nickles next month and my wife swears I will be "that guy' when I turn 65.

wm · Post by wm » Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:04 pm

I'm 47 and I feel the same way. I was shooting handguns the other day and even though I was doing everything right I was shooting horrible groups because my eyes just are not what they used to be.

I notice I'm losing dexterity in both hands as I get older (I've broken my hands and wrist several times and have nerve damage) which is a source of frustration for me.

And in the last year I've noticed when I sit for as little as 15 minutes when I get up and start walking it takes 5 to 10 strides for my ankle and feet stiffness to break up. Then I am fine but those first 4 or 5 steps I look and feel 100 years old.

Oh well.......like I often say (mostly because I need to hear it) ........ any day I am on this side of the grass is a good day.

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:11 pm

This also reminds me of a very important observation.....

Take a tape measure and pull it out to 85 inches. That's about the average life of a male. Grab the tape, at your age, and look how much you have left to enjoy life.

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:14 pm

I'm sixty and can still knock out a fifth of Wild Turkey 101 and go to work the next day and after coming home, split wood, change the oil in the Jeep, load a couple of hundred rounds of ammo, smoke a joint, then eat a two pound steak and go to bed.

Yea, I lie a lot.

For real, I can still put in a full day's work (physical) but I can't work fast anymore. What used to take a full day now takes a day and a half. It ain't nothng to pull transmissions but working on the cement leaves me sore so I now do things like put an old blanket on the ground.

Thanks the Good Lord for You Tube and Google. There is not a job out there that is not explained in detail. It takes the frustration out of a job at an age where frustration comes on fast.

The males in my family live to a ripe old age and they all had one thing in common........they never stopped...slowed down a little, but never stopped.

If you stop to sit in the rocking chair, you will be dead in 6 months. The brain and the body work together....they both need to stay busy.-------6

Ray Newman · Post by **Ray Newman** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:19 pm

"Take a tape measure and pull it out to 85 inches. That's about the average life of a male. Grab the tape, at your age, and look how much you have left to enjoy life."
--jdad

Gawd I am screwed! Chronologically 68 years old with both feet in the grave. Plus, twice I've been clinically dead. CPR, defibrillation, epinephrine injections, etc., are wonderful medical inventions.

Knew I was getting older when my outlook on work changed. Was a time when I looked at a project and said to myself "That's a six pack." Now I look at the same or a similar project and say "That's 3 extra strength Motrin"!

jeepnik · Post by **jeepnik** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:32 pm

jdad wrote:Ok, so YOU"RE the guys that when the light turns green you have to figure out where the accelerator pedal is, then it takes you a half mile to get up to 25mph in a 45mph zone.

I'm double nickles next month and my wife swears I will be "that guy' when I turn 65.

I only wish, my insurance would be lower. Once a lead foot, always a lead foot.

EdinCT · Post by **EdinCT** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:48 pm

I have the same issues but still muddle through. Shingled the roof 3 years ago 17 square two stories up, and told the wife if it starts to leak before I die we will sit with umbrellas inside when it rains

octagon · Post by **octagon** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 9:32 pm

Just reading about all you old fanny burbs is making me feel better!

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 9:42 pm

octagon,
up yours

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:21 pm

Henry David Thoreau said, "most men lead lives of quiet desperation". Always wishing, always dreaming and when you are in your rocking chair, you look back and wondered about all of the things you did not do.

So, as an old timer, look at your life...Did you fill your reasonable expectations to a satisfactory degree?

If so, you are the winner, much more so of the rich man who lived a miserable and deceitful life.

I've always said, ever since a young man, that the man who dies with the most toys is the winner, and by toys, not only guns and cars etc., but also the success of yourself as a person and your children.

Sleeping a solid 8 hours a night shows yourself you did the "right thing" and have no need to feel like a curmudgeon.

This all boils down that some men live more in 30 years than others can do in 100. If you feel like a curmudgeon, you have skeletons in the closet. (Not you JNYORK, generally speaking)

I sleep 8 hours a night easily and when the pelosi hits the fan, so be it. In the meantime, I'm pullin the trigger until the last breath.

-----6

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:27 pm

I have carried a copy of the works of HDT all of my life.
I would have NEVER guessed that six had read HDT.
I continue to be surprised.

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:35 pm

Mescalero wrote:I have carried a copy of the works of HDT all of my life.
I would have NEVER guessed that six had read HDT.
I continue to be surprised.

His Cub Scout leader would read to them.

Streetstar · Post by **Streetstar** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 11:31 pm

I'm 43 (20 years or more some you guys' junior) --- i have some of the same tendencies mainly because i am so distracted with everything else around me if i am trying to do something

Doing something simple to one of my motorcycles i dread, as my phone will ring 4 times during a transmission oil change and filter cleaning -- and i will invariably lose my 8mm T handle wrench, the copper washer for the oil drain plug , and my aerosol air filter oil sometime during the process

Then, i will set down my beer --- when i lose it, i will open another one, only to find the old one 3 hours later when it is hot and skunked out

Many many things are a darn hassle now .

I dont have kids, but i dont even have time to read the latest copy of Sports Illustrateds that arrive in my mailbox like clockwork every week and stack up --------- I used to keep up with a lot of reading -- and i would read a couple of books of some sort per month --- now i'm lucky if i can read a book every 3-4 months or so ------- Just too dang tired at the end of the day

Obviously piddling around on internet forums is much easier though

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:04 am

Streetstar,
That's the way the government wants you to be......tired from working......too tired for you to realize how those shytheads are screwing us all over.

Mescaline,
Non fiction is all I read as anything else is mindless entertainment. I live my life very close to how HDT encouraged others to live......simplify, simplify, simplify.......and to be wary of the friends you choose and to disregard the losers of society who try to bring you down to their level.-------6

roundup · Post by **roundup** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 3:03 am

I'm 78

. I love getting up early in the morning, making coffee and trudging down to get the morning newspaper.. To me life is sweet. I still work part time for the sheriff's department. Still tend a garden and keep the yard up I have survived major surgery for cancer. Almost bit the big one when I had hepatitis and came down with Asian flu. Heard the nurse say to the doctor "I don't think this ones going to make it" I woke up and said "Bull feathers!" or words to that effect. I am a little behind on my reloading for my 45/70, 30-06 and 7MM Rem. magnum for my annual elk hunting foray. Still fly fish for trout in local streams. Enjoy my time with Grand and Great Grand kids. Ten of the former and almost five of the latter. I enjoy a little rye or bourbon and a good steak every now and then. The secret is to keep moving.

Now where the hell are my glasses....

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 3:11 am

Yep, jnyork has always come across as a curmudgeon to my thinking which is OK, means nothing.
I do worry though!
At 47 I get periods of grumpiness and fight waves of depression, every time I undress and see this pot belly growing! Every time I come in from a good walk, sit down and get up, I look like a 90 year old!

N.

cshold · Post by **cshold** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:48 am

http://m.youtube.com/?rdm=13tuoi3ue&cli ... VAlDGJi6kc

.45colt · Post by **.45colt** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:59 am

My Grandparents serve Me as an example of How to Grow old. they lost everything in the depression, and were well past 50 when they bought 3 acres and started on a house they built themselves. I think the struggle added years to their lives. as a Kid going to their place was a trip to the garden of Eden. most everything they did somehow revolved around growing/ raising enough food to be comfortable.
At 60 I'm like the rest of the forum slowing down but it's time to switch gears, bought a new zero-turn mower last spring and a Cyclone Rake for the leaves. cleared the yard in one hour yesterday, it would have taken a whole day by hand, and they will come down for the next month. slow but steady.

.

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:15 am

what a bunch of old fanny burbs.......
now....what were we talking about...

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:56 am

According to the various "life stress/longevity" tests available (which I last took about 10 years ago), I've been a cranky Zombie for about 25 years.

Curmudgeon? Hell, I passed that at 25 and went straight to Misanthrope. Hermit (or Ragnarok Warrior) is the only/next step.

OldWin · Post by **OldWin** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:13 am

I'm only 47 but in the last couple years I can see a little difference. I get sore a little easier now but it doesn't slow me down too much yet. I was always blessed with great eyesight and notice it starting to slip a little.
That said, I still work nights by choice. After working all night, I got home Friday morning and put new plugs in the jeep, pulled and never seized the skid pan bolts, changed the oil in the Harley, cleaned up the leaves on the lawn, cleaned up the garage and prepped a bunch of 32WS brass.
I still felt ok after being up 28 hours or so but once I eat supper I'm about done. I still don't like to feel like I didn't get anything done in a day so I guess that's a good sign. I think as long as you keep moving and doing it makes a big difference.

Two weeks ago I helped my dad and uncle put a 48 gun safe in my dad's cellar. My dad just turned 73 and my uncle is 70. Those guys are tough and strong and I hope I hold up like that. Their mom, my grandmother lived to 100 and walked around like she was 70. Still had her teeth too!
Tougher than a bag of hammers all. Hope I can live up to their example.

Wrangler John · Post by **Wrangler John** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:26 am

It isn't just age alone that sneaks up on us, wear and tear also play a part. All that fun and hard work in my life, and a bit of misfortune, is coming back demanding its toll be paid. When I was a kid I rode motorcycles and horses, that cost me my left shoulder broken once in a motorcycle accident and once by parting company with a horse. I would never again reach above my chest with that arm. Then came smashed knee caps from kicks, a hernia from lifting bales of hay and 100 pound feed sacks, and that argument with a Welsh Pony that tried to pick up and flop over so the vet could work on it (they are heavier than they look). Then I changed jobs and lost most of my hearing operating a firing range for which I received hearing aids, was involved in a head-on crash with an unlicensed driver while driving a county truck, and generally abused, broken and patched up. Even the supervisor's position involved developing cubital and carpal tunnel syndromes from years of computer use. I lost feeling in my hands, dropping papers without even knowing they were gone, having my hands cramp while writing or typing, and worse while driving. Finally I was experiencing severe back pain and falling down, so I retired. The docs helping me with the falling down and back pain found a huge spinal cord tumor in my neck that would have made me quadriplegic if allowed to continue. It was removed in a risky bit of surgery and I could walk again.

Now I am near to 70, the cubital and carpal tunnel problems eased up after retirement, but arthritis in my hands cause them, and my forearms, to painfully cramp if I work with hand tools more than 15 minutes. I gotta be quick changing an oil filter, or priming brass, or even installing a light fixture. My neck is sore from arthritis, and my back injuries act up once in awhile. Hydrocodone is my best friend some days, but does nothing for those shooting pains that stab me in the hands and wrists, neck and back. I won't mention sleep apnea that was discovered in 1990, or the time I was set on fire and burned on the neck and hands, or the nerve tumors that developed in my foot, or the hepatitis B that I was infected with in the hospital OR having the foot tumors removed.

So remember that age alone isn't the greatest misery, it's all those bumps along the way partly responsible. One thing i discovered is that having Mrs. Wrangler write a check to this or that contractor is much preferable to doing things myself these days. The painters just finished on Friday after the roofers left, and I didn't feel a thing.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:35 am

AJMD429 wrote:
rjohns94 wrote:I'm 56 and I'm finding I'm slowing down and it takes longer to do things. I don't have the strength, flexibility, endurance I once did and I find it takes too much time to earn a living anymore, just to give it back to the government for them to misspend it. Seems my home is aging faster tahan I am and it takes more energy to keep it maintained. Simplify simplify simplify, that's my motto for the next several years as I prepare for my golden years. Your in my prayers.
Pretty much the same here...

+ another. Turned 50 this year, but with all the injuries I've sustained over the years, I am not a young 50...

Mescalero · Post by **Mescalero** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:37 am

If I had known I would live this long............... I would have taken better care of the body.

mikld · Post by **mikld** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 10:55 am

Hmm, I wonder what the average age of this group is. I'm beginning to think it's over sixty, at least.

That would be an interesting poll. I'm 67.

One thing that connects many of the "complaints" about getting older is everything wears out, especially our bodies. I was faced with just that fact about 10 years ago when I started having back problems; Dr, said my lower discs were worn...

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 10:59 am

62 two months ago. Feel like h.e.!.!. The last two years have really beat me down. Been long past the curmudgeon stage, but didn't like to show it. Now I don't care who knows it.

With as much pain and discomfort I live with, what I miss the most is the ambition and drive to do things. Used to be I could push past the pain and discomfort to get things done, but not much any more.

Sad thing is my wife is a few years older than me and between the two of us we are really noticing just how much we are slowing down. What a pain in the behind old age is.

Joe

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 11:30 am

Mescalero wrote:If I had known I would live this long............... I would have taken better care of the body.

Much more than a "tad"........

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:25 pm

.

Well.......... At least, now that we are all growed up - we know more words. .

.

Bill in Oregon · Post by **Bill in Oregon** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:35 pm

Be 62 in March, and I'm taking early SS just so's I can say I got it before I get hit by a speeding bus.
I found I cut and bruise a lot easier than I used to, but haven't yet gotten to the tissue-paper skin stage thank gosh.
As to the pot belly, I have named mine Edgar, and he goes with me everywhere.

I know y'all have seen this ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6m_Fq6dsIo

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:59 pm

Bill in Oregon wrote:Be 62 in March, and I'm taking early SS just so's I can say I got it before I get hit by a speeding bus.
I found I cut and bruise a lot easier than I used to, but haven't yet gotten to the tissue-paper skin stage thank gosh.
As to the pot belly, I have named mine Edgar, and he goes with me everywhere.

I know y'all have seen this ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6m_Fq6dsIo

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 3:10 pm

Lets do that poll... I turned 68 in August.

2X22 · Post by **2X22** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 3:32 pm

Coming up on 56, so pretty young compared to some of you!

Being a weightlifter has helped me with the aging process, I believe. As muscular and just as strong or stronger in some movements than ever before, it has helped stave off much of age related problems. Not to say I'm not feeling a few aches and pains, most of those come from work related injuries though. In fact, it was a Doc after an injury that started me in my weight lifting years ago!

I can still pack a boned out buck a dozen miles, can pack out all four quarters a bull elk, as long as its not much over a couple miles each way. Where I really feel my age is after the fact and how long it takes before I am recovered.