Trombone and parachute

I am continually delighted by the random nature of connections generated by the internet. A visitor to this blog was sufficiently interested to make his own very wonderful contribution (above) - click on the image to see it large enough to read.

Hugh also says "My old school song - in Birmingham - ended with "die of service not of rust", so I'm sticking to it. I've a friend in Chile who ferried hundreds of aircraft with the ATA in WWII. She did her first parachute jump at 65. Then another at 75. Then another, at 85, from 13,000 ft. Yes we can, to borrow a phrase."

Thank you, Hugh. May we all be jumping out of aeroplanes, literally or figuratively, at the age of 85; and never be afraid to blow our own trombone.

supercentenarian

Thanks again to Pat for this inspirational lady.

"You keep yourself active," she said. "You do things. You think about things. And then, don't waste time fussing about things you can't change. And then just be lucky."

Isn't that just common sense?

Never too old to exercise

Today I received an email from one of my computer training students asking for a session to help her to use her new digital camera. She's in her mid-seventies. I quote:

"Is 3.00pm OK? That should give me breathing space to recover from my morning session in the Gym."

And on the BBC news website this afternoon, I found this encouraging article.

I'm off to the gym so I don't get left behind.

Warning

Received by email today from a friend...

An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%.

The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, 'Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again.' The gentleman replied, 'Oh, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will three times!'

Blade runner

While working in London a week or two back, I came across this fabulous chap in the free Metro magazine. Just in case it vanishes from their site, I'm also preserving it here:

Old swinger in rollerblade gang

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Racing through retirement as a geriatric blade runner is Britain's oldest street gang leader – 71-year-old 'Dangerous Brian'.

More 'hip' than hip replacement, Brian Allen loves nothing more than to skate through shopping precincts and practise tricks with his gang of teenage speed nuts. He said: 'I've been skating all my life and there's no better exercise. 'I just love the speed – you can get up to about 20mph – it gives me such a buzz.' And while his peers may be playing bowls or going to tea dances the pensioner prefers playing roller hockey or rocking up to a roller disco near his home in Redhill, Surrey.

He added: 'I can do most of the tricks the youngsters do. Some people give us black looks but never say very much. The police sometimes ask what we're doing, but they soon change their attitude when I turn round and they realise I'm a relic.'

Mr Allen's wife, Brenda, 65, said: 'I don't worry about him going out there, it's keeping him active.'

Go, Buster

The Zimmers are one of my favourite examples of growing old disgracefully. One of their number is now 101, and hoping to break the record for the oldest person to run a marathon...

George Carlin's Views on Aging

Thanks to my (young-ish!) friend Paul for this, received by email. These are the views of the redoubtable George Carlin.

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop" And the devil'sname is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER : Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,but by the moments that take our breath away.