ELDERLY TRUTHS FROM OLD MAN

I watched a video clip of an old man speaking elderly truths.

He looked good in his v-neck sweater and button down collared shirt.

He said he was ninety-one in the most sincere way.

His talk was aimed at the younger crowd, you know, around seventy.

Made me feel like a teenager.

Elderly truths, spoken by an old man, hit the way they’re supposed to: enjoy the autumn years as they pass by, not fear them.

According to him, it all happens at such a slow pace. You’ll barely notice the hesitation when you stand up.

I didn’t hesitate when I stood up recently, nearly passed out, and instead head-butted a doorjamb.

 

 

That little spot on top of my forehead, make that five-head, tells the tale. Small but significant, like getting hit with a hammer.

Was it alcohol related? Oddly enough, noooo.

From Google AI:

 

Dizziness when standing up, known as orthostatic hypotension, occurs when blood pressure drops rapidly as gravity pulls blood to the legs, preventing enough from reaching the brain. Common causes include dehydration, medications, standing too fast, or underlying conditions like heart issues or diabetes. 

 

 

My buddy showed up and I jumped up, hey Mark, and I kept going. If not for the doorjamb I would have laid out.

The jamb wasn’t hurt and the next morning we drove down to Eugene for the Oregon Duck playoff game.

I was tuned up and ready.

 

Advice For Non-Elderly

The top picture was taken while I got the warning: These chocolates come from the most southern tip of South America and you need to take them home and share.

The picture was for verification that I started home with them.

Did I scarf them down in the car? Nooooo.

Should I have scarfed them down in the car? Noooo.

I saved them for a sharing moment. Who’s a good boy.

Now about that spoon feeding stuff? If you live long enough, chances are you’ll get spoon fed.

I’m an expert from five years on the caregiving trail with my father in-law.

He had Parkinsons and dementia, a lethal one-two punch that’s taken down quite a few people.

All of his food was blended into mush, his water made drinkable with a thickener.

How does that sound so far?

The elderly truths from the horses mouth encouraged everyone still able-bodied to do those things involving mobility.

And he’s not wrong.

My advice, since we’re on the topic, is practice being mobile and use your remaining mobile time where it’s the most useful and satisfying: get down on the floor with kids and legos.

When you stand up, don’t do it too fast. Take that moment to find the right balance.

But Dave, what am I supposed to do? Ask Baby Dingo, not Dave.

 

Where It Starts

Watch Frank Lloyd Daddy Dingo build her city.

It has towers and transportation and trees.

Looks good, no?

I liked it and took it further: Frank Lloyd Baby Dingo drew a plan for a building.

 

 

Did we build it together? Nooooo.

So I started and asked if she would fix it along the way.

And she did.

 

 

It’s a work in progress, like our lives.

We add things, move things around, find new things.

It’s not about slip-in shoes, pausing to take in the moment, a pause that can last weeks, or reflecting on death.

The man in the sweater giving elderly truths he knew from experience was probably never a Baby Dingo with a Daddy Dingo construction super.

Probably not an architect like us, either, but he made good sense for good sense people.

I may not be one of them.

You? What are your elderly truths?

 

PS:

If you’re a baby boomer holding two baggies, history says it must be weed. It’s chocolate, but we have a reputation.

 

PSS:

If you’re a writer writing about the life you live, the life you want to live, or make up a bunch of people living their lives, don’t get carried away. Just do the work, enough to feel like you are who you say you are.

Save the chocolate until you get home.

Try and bridge the gap between planning and reality, drawing and building.

Don’t get up too fast.

Remind yourself that today’s breaking news, shocking as it is, fits in with the breaking news of our youth.

That’s enough? Maybe too many elderly truths?