Sunday, July 27, 2014

Communing with the stragglers on the road of progress


13 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...

Being old is a gas! All the petty shit falls away.

I'm having a hell of a good time being a retired Old Dawg! I've returned to the life of a teenager. Get up in the morning and the day is all mine!

And I know what to do with my day, which I did not know so well when I was a teenager.

I've got a 10 to 15 year window, if my health holds, of getting up, playing music and taking care of my health. And, I've got a granddaughter and another grandchild coming.

My days are long and slow. It's as if everything has stopped. With no appointments and no schedule, there just is no reason to hurry. Time for everything.

The Dude said...

I have seen that movie several times and like it. Great story about a guy who would not let the small stuff stand between him and his goal.

Based on how he lived and died, I get the sense that Richard Farnsworth, who played Alvin Straight in that movie was a man of integrity. I guess I am saying that he didn't have to do a lot of acting to convey Alvin's character.

RIP, Mr. Farnsworth, you were a man.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I guessing along with you.

Michael Haz said...

"The worst part about being old is rememberin' when you was young."

This.

Dad Bones said...

When David Lynch asked Farnsworth to take the role he replied that he was in poor health and needed a cane to get around. Lynch said that wasn't a problem as Alvin Strait, the man he would portray, needed two canes. He also told him he could wear his own clothes.

Not long after the movie was made, suffering from bone marrow cancer and unable to get around, the old actor and cowboy shot himself. If it happens that I'm faced with similar circumstances in the days or years ahead I'll be remembering Mr Farnsworth.

The shooting of the movie began not far from the fields where I grew up.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

"The worst part about being old is rememberin' when you was young."

No. It is not having anyone around who remembers you when you were young. Being alone and all your lifetime friends are gone. No one to share your youthful memories with. You are just another "old person" with a young person still inside that no one can see.

That was depressing wasn't it?

The Dude said...

DBQ, my brother always says that - I think he got that idea from my mother.

I disagree - I look forward to the time when no one, probably including myself, remembers me when I was young.

Take me as I am, today. The '50s are long gone, and not at all relevant to today's world.

Forward! Excelsior! Got stuff to do, and yesterday is long gone.

Michael Haz said...

Being alone and all your lifetime friends are gone. No one to share your youthful memories with. You are just another "old person" with a young person still inside that no one can see.

True. If you live long enough, everyone you knew is dead. That's one reason why I don't understand the communities planned only for people age 55 and higher. I couldn't live anywhere without hearing younger voices, especially little kids playing in the yards and parks.

Michael Haz said...

Okay, enough of this. I have to go wax the DeSoto, then refile all my Dorsey Brothers albums.

The Dude said...

Me? I am off to put a "Coexist" bumper sticker on my Prius. Must endeavor to remain current with the "kids" these days. They are ever so smart.

virgil xenophon said...

Well, "Sixty" hints at part of the problem with his last comment, above. The WORST part of growing old in the age of a dumbed-down educational system is to have to suffer the voiced inanities of brain-dead youth--especially when they can vote and effectively degrade/destroy Western civilization--one that has taken centuries to build.

Were I El Cid/MAXIMUM LEADER I'd start by sending my stormtroopers after the COEXIST Prius owners and "Che" T-Shirt wearers/worshipers first and then work my down and up both ends of the spectrum.

Signed: The misogynic old bastard..

virgil xenophon said...

P: LOL! Meant to sign off as misthantropic old bastard, but the above will do just as well at my age , (certain present company excepted, lol.)

ndspinelli said...

Haz, That is a major reason we spend winters in San Diego and not a retirement community. I love watching kids play on the beach. Even better if they're w/ a MILF.