Old Age...

I am older now than I have ever been before!

So are you.

I am now...and have been for several years...the oldest living male in my family in three generations. (It could be even more generations, but since I don't do that genealogy thing, I am not certain about that fact.)

And so...when does "Old Age" begin?
And what are the symptoms of this malady?
And what comes next?

I found this:
Responses to the question, “When does old age begin?” vary by sex as well as age, with women taking the more generous view. On average, women say old age begins at age 70, according to the Pew study. Men, on average, say that old age begins at 66.

One definition of "Old Age" is that it is "the later part of normal life."

I discounted that one because by my own account...and that of others...I have not lived a normal life.

This doesn't help much either: You know you are old when you still got it, but don’t know what to do with it.

I never did have it.

When I was born:
The average new house in America sold for $4,600.
The average annual wage paid in this country was $2,400.
A portable typewriter sold for $68.37.

When I started high school:
That new house was going for $12,400.
Wages were at $5,010.
A gallon of gas sold for 25 cents.
A movie ticket cost $1.00.
A Kodak movie camera set you back $67.50.

When I moved from Indiana to California:
That house cost $13,050.
Wages came in at $6,000.
A first-class postage stamp was 5 cents.

When I moved from Los Angeles to Indianapolis:
The house was up to $14,950.
Wages had risen to $7,850.
The average new car sold here cost $2,822.
The Dow closed the year at 943.

When I began serving my first church as pastor:
That house was selling for $34,900.
Average annual wages were at $13,900.
A gallon of gas went for 55 cents.
A Samsonite business case sold for $62.00.
The inflation rate was 11.3%.

When my youngest child was born:
That house was now up to $129,300.
And wages were up to $38,100.
The average price of a new car was $17,200.
A pound of bacon was $2.53.

And when I retired:
That house...$188,900.
Those wages...$44,600.
Four years of college, on average, set you back $160,000.
A grande size latte at Starbucks cost $4.00.
A PC went for $650, and a MacBook went for $1,300.

Obviously, living to Old Age means living through incredible financial changes.

When does Old Age begin? And what are the symptoms?
For me, Old Age probably set in sometime in my late sixties.

My mental capacities weren't so much impaired as they were slowed down.
I began to have some difficulties recalling names, places, things.
Nouns...I had trouble recalling nouns. I could start a sentence with the noun in mind, but when I got to the noun, it was often gone...just gone.

Physical stuff that had been questionable for a few years, got real.
Sports that I used to enjoy participating in...softball, racquetball, basketball, distance running...weren't really fun anymore, They were more like work. And I'm certain my body no longer moved or responded in ways that it used to.
I ran my last half-marathon in 2012.
Wait, that's not true.
I ran my last half-marathon in 2011. In 2012 I finished...by jogging and walking and something akin to actual running...my last half-marathon.
Golf is still an option. And like all old golfers, I hope to shoot my age someday.
(That being the case, I have several more years to go...more than several, actually)

The hip replacement took place in 2016.

I used to think of myself as younger than I actually was.
It was a mental mirage, of course, but I thought it was mostly accurate.
Compared to many others my age, I imagined I acted younger.
Those others might have thought just the reverse.

I had said and done all I thought I could say and do in my 41-year profession.
I found that I was pretty much preaching just one or two or three sermons over and over again:
The Kingdom Is Within, Grace Trumps Everything, Times Change.
My work colleagues were gracious in allowing me to hang around at what was certainly a somewhat reduced capacity.
My long-term friends kept assuring me retirement was a good thing...and not to be feared, financially or otherwise.
When it was over, people were very kind and appreciative.
When it was over, though, it was time to go.
And I have.
Old Age will do that to ya.

What comes next? After Old Age, what is there?
Even Older Age comes next, I would think. Like I said at the beginning, I am older now than I have ever been before.
And that will be true every day hereafter...until there are no more days hereafter.
That's a "tautology."
In the discipline I studies in college...Philosophy...Logic being within that discipline...a tautology is a truth anyway you look at it.
In the profession I undertook, truth was a big deal.
And where Logic and Religion cross paths, you find this sign-post: The Truth will set you free...but first it will piss you off!
(That is also a tautology and big deal.)

I made quite a point in my final six years of sermonizing, saying (to quote Peter Putnam's poem, Detroit Jesus) that The Time on the Clock of the World is Now.

What comes next is Now, I think. And it comes until there is no more Now.

And while the transition from Old Age to The-Time-When-There-Is-No-More-Now takes place, one can enjoy each day as it comes.

Which is pretty much a good rule of thumb at any age.

More Things...13 Actually

In July of 2014, after having announced my plan to retire the coming June, and after having been asked by a small group of folks in the church I was serving to offer any "wisdom" I had gleaned over 41 years of ministry, I offered a blog-post listing the "18 Things I Learned in 41 Years."

I admitted then and I admit now, that there are hundreds (maybe thousands...maybe more) of lists available from all sorts of people and sources...lists of "Learnings" that point to ways one might live a good life, be a better person, feel more comfortable in one's own skin, achieve inner piece, etc. There may be little or nothing in either of my lists that is new or unique. My lists are just two new ways of packaging what is probably common knowledge, and hopefully good thinking.

These 13 More Things have come to my attention since retiring from gainful employment just over eighteen months ago. Since posting that first list of 18 Things, I have played more golf than I would have otherwise, I have had hip replacement surgery, my daughter has completed high school and moved out on her own, my wife and I have traveled more than we had in previous years, and we have been attending a Friends Meeting instead of a United Methodist Church. All of these changes probably did something to make me aware of these 13 More Things. Getting older (I am now 72) has contributed, too, no doubt.

First, here are the 18 Original Things...
1. You don't need to know every detail to succeed.
2. Don't live in the future.
3. Don't set unrealistic expectations.
4. There is more than one way to do just about anything.
5. Stop all-or-nothing thinking.
6. Its OK to be a lone wolf.
7. People change.
8. People never change. (I know 7 and 8 seem contradictory...but not really.)
9. Don't settle.
10. Never forget who you are.
11. People are capable of both great humility and great arrogance.
12. People can be incredible liars.
13. The universe is a tough place.
14. You will be betrayed.
15. Just about everything is political.
16. You can change the things you can change...but you may have to work at it, and it may not happen over-night.
17. Despite how we refer to the One God who has created all that is, it is that One God who loves us, is present with us, and redeems us.
18. For many of us the clearest revelation of God is the person of Jesus of Nazareth, but he is not the only revelation of God.

 

And now here are More Things...13 Actually...

1. To do something, you’ve got to start at the beginning.

   To build something you’ve got to start from the bottom up.
2. Being afraid serves an important purpose. 

   Being brave serves a more important purpose.

   There are lessons to be learned from both fear and bravery.
3. The big picture is nothing other than many smaller pictures brought together.

   Be sure to notice the smaller pictures.
4. If something makes you uncomfortable, try looking at it differently.
   If it still makes you uncomfortable, leave it alone.
5. The truth will sound the same no matter how you speak it.
6. If it doesn’t look like love, no amount of words can make it otherwise.
7. If you find yourself hemmed-in, boxed-in, or trapped, do whatever it takes to break free.
8. If someone demands your silence, leave.
9. To be on the mend first requires the admission that you are broken.
10. Listen to your inner voice.
    Learn from what hurts you.
    Learn from what heals you.
11. Read good books. Often.
12. Its only “Good Advice” if it points to the truth.
13. Learn to listen to and understand the Language of Silence.