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Noted in Passing


VIA A Large Regular: Remember to Be Real

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  • Dirk June 10, 2022, 9:22 PM

    Boy have I become!

    What a ride, wouldn’t change a dam thing. When we “become”, it’s because we have lived life fully!

    • Mike Austin June 11, 2022, 3:04 AM

      That’s it exactly! I would not—and anyway, I could not—change a thing. It took 68 years to get me where I am, and I am loving it. Life is for living, and I can tell that you and I and Gerard and all the commenters here have lived it.

      True that my hair is not as thick as it was. True that me eyes are not as sharp as they were. True that one night’s indulgence costs me more than it used to. True that my knees are rather rickety contraptions. True that losing ten pound now takes twice as long as it once did. True that the top of a pull-up bar now seems like the summit of Everest.

      And so? What, me worry?

      Life is an adventure. It has its glorious victories. It has its glorious defeats. And at the end there is one Final Adventure that we all must accept. But not yet. Not yet.

      On with the show!

      • Mike Seyle June 11, 2022, 5:15 AM

        “But not yet. Not yet.”

        Reminds me of when, after taking care of dad for a decade, I tried to get him to accept death. He missed mom who had died; his knees were shot; all his friends were dead; his back was so bad that he had me take his pistol up to my house. “If I kill myself, I won’t see mom again.”

        “Dad, why are you concerned about death,” I’d ask. “It’s just opening a door and moving to the next thing. I think it’s intriguing. I’m curious about it. Aren’t you?”

        And he’d grimace as his back shot a hot spike up to his neck, and mutter, “Yeah, maybe so. But I’m not ready yet.”

        I’ll probably say the same thing in a few years.

        • Mike Austin June 11, 2022, 9:38 AM

          I’ll be joining you. See you then.

          • Mike Seyle June 11, 2022, 3:25 PM

            I’ll have my hand out for a good shake. Then we can talk about Central America, and our experiences therein. Wish you well on your upcoming trip.

            • Mike Austin June 11, 2022, 4:23 PM

              Done.

              Central America: Really where my life began—and almost ended. Sitting in a café in Flores, Guatemala, overlooking Lake Petén Itzá.

              https://mikeaustin.org/885651-R1-00-24.jpg

              I wish to be there again, walking where my boots have never tread. There are a few places yet.

              One week from now I should be in northern Oklahoma, working on a route to Kansas on the way to Colorado. I plan on camping in the Gypsum Hills.

  • ghostsniper June 11, 2022, 4:55 AM

    Takes friction to wear off the sharp edges of youth.
    The saw teeth become toothless gums, bumpy now and then, few snags.
    Savoring rather than gulping – one bite at a time rather than one plate at a time.

    I mentioned before that the post tops on the bridge that connects my office-workshop to the house are unfinished. Last year I decided on how I am going to deal with the “finials” on the tops of these 4″x4″ square posts. Birdhouse and Feeders. A different one on each of the 18 posts. Except for one.

    One will be different. A few years ago the moment hit the right way and I stood there with a pencil in hand and lined up the setting sun where it touched the horizon through the leaves on the trees, and I drew a line on the top of that post, from one corner to where the sun touched on the other side. I did this on the 21st day of Sept. I did this again on the 21st of Dec and the line was at a different angle. Then I did it again on the 21st of March and I will do it again in 10 days, the 21st of June.

    When all of the lines are complete I will transpose those lines to a piece of wood and from there I will create….something, mostly out of wood, maybe other things too, that will then mount on the top of that post. It will be colorful, it will be lively, it will attract attention. Nobody will know what it means or what it does, save for my wife and I. The next set of people that live in this house will find this easter egg and wonder. Unless they stand at the precise spot at the precise time, with a certain amount of curiosity, it will never occur to them, and the mystery will continue.

    I did something similar in our Florida house back in 2002, but on a much grander scale and I’m pretty certain no one has figured it out. That one is still there and can be seen in interior views of the house on Zillow.

    • BillH June 11, 2022, 7:33 AM

      Always cap those 4×4 treated posts. I left several uncapped 45 years ago when I landscaped this place. Said to myself, age 46, “I’ll never live long enough to see these things rot.” Well I did live that long, and now I’m going to have to do some rot removal. Haven’t decided what yet. Hate to replace the whole post.

      • ghostsniper June 11, 2022, 10:15 AM

        Splice, with a skarf joint.
        Or get fancy, do a finger joint.

  • Il Buono Il Brutto Il Cattivo June 11, 2022, 7:40 AM

    The best part of older is not caring about the opinions of normie dullard sheep.
    Your BS meter is fine tuned and goes to 11 like Spinal Tap when there is the yellow rain on your leg.

    O/T-Family still watches teevee and there was a puketastic Pfizer commercial that began with the word open then went on to show parks, operas, pools, at the end it said you can help keep it that way by getting the depopulation not-a-vaxx death jab.

    • Mike Austin June 11, 2022, 9:43 AM

      Is not that the truth? At 68 I have paid my dues, and I will do as I please—always keeping one eye on God of course. If someone doesn’t like my long hair—uncut for 4 years—or my opinions—I make Genghis look like a New York City ballerina—or my clothes—polo shirt, Wranglers, Stetson, Justin boots and 9mm at my side—or my Surly bicycles, he can go have sex with himself.

  • jiminalaska June 11, 2022, 8:09 AM

    Old and worn? I’ll let y’all know what it’s like if it happens to me.

    The main thing I notice ’bout being 83; I’ve more open (not unfinished, open) projects around the house and property that I’m working on. I used to always have at least 3 or 4 books open that I was reading, now I’ve 6 or 8. Admittedly it’s a day’s work to fell, branch and buck just a couple of trees now.

    OK it ain’t all good but some of it’s really really grand!

  • Lance de Boyle June 11, 2022, 1:46 PM

    I know the moment I became “old.”
    I said to myself, I said, “Hey, I think I’ll take me a long walk around the pond.”
    My knees said, “Oh, yeah? Sit your ass down, Buster. Have a beer.”
    And I replied, “Yeah, you’re right. A beer. That’s the ticket.”