It occurred to me one of the most effective ways to resist taking on the traits of an old man is to simply not become one, to keep the traits of a young child.

A friend and I did just that a weekend ago. We were biking through the city and took a trip through the city cemetery. It is a gorgeous setting. People walk though it all the time. There are nice walk ways and some good hills which make it great for biking.

Anyway, while biking we came upon a giant leaf pile gathered up by the cemetery workers. So we took a break from our ride and took a few jumps each into the leaf pile. The photo is of my friend. We even took pictures of each other riding our bikes into the pile. We were laughing our heads off the whole time. (We did not make a big mess of the leaf pile. After all, we are semi-responsible adults.)

Years ahead, I will have to ride my wheelchair into some leaf pile somewhere, just to keep from being and old man. 5 months ago

When I would visit my Mom in the assisted living apartments she was in, she would always tell me things that were going in the residence. Sometimes she would tell me about visits she had from relatives. They were short conversations usually. When she would tell me the story for the third time in a visit, I knew then it was time to go home.

My father-in-law is doing the same thing now. My wife relates how she hears the same story from him about three times every visit. Maybe it is an inherited trait as she told me the same story twice this morning about her Dad wanting to have last rites. It was a funny story but she repeated it almost word for word the second time around.

I don’t know exactly how to combat this trait. I’ll have to pay close attention to everything I say to make sure I don’t repeat a conversation.

You know, when I used to visit my Mom in the assisted living apartment she lived in, she would…............... 8 months ago

How many times have I heard someone interject that phrase into a conversation? I heard it a lot when I was young, especially from my Dad and my uncles. Everything was better in the “good old days”. Sports teams were better, cars were better, music was better, houses were built better, etc. etc. Man, did I get sick of hearing that expression!!! Several times I wanted to say, “Well why don’t you go back to those good old days.” But I never did. Mainly because I would have got slapped up side the head for speaking to my elders in such a fashion.

So as I get older, I will never say to anyone, especially someone younger, that things were better in the “good old days.” The “good old days” are gone. I only hope to remember them with fondness and look forward to things to come. And in fact, I do not even believe many things WERE better in the past. I think most things are better now and getting better all the time. And that includes sports teams, cars, music and houses. 16 months ago

Some days I feel really old. I’m not sure why. Maybe it is my aches and pains (most of which are self-inflicted), maybe my mental state, or just the way I view the world that day. It could be a lot of things.

Or maybe it is the people I hang around with? Since I am getting old, most of my peers are getting old also. Some are a lot older than me. Not chronologically, but mentally. They just act old and one would think they are about 10 years older than they really are.

I can see this so it serves as a good example for me for traits I need to avoid. If I can list them here, this goal will serve as a nice guide of traits to avoid.

And as I think about it, maybe I need to list those traits of the young that I need to mimic that would keep someone young? I wonder, are they opposites traits between the young and the old? 16 months ago