There is a last time for everything.

[walkin jack]

This is true. In the fullness of time many things come full circle. Now that I am an octogenarian I am beginning to to gain perspective on some of the circumstances of my life. I have had passions for three main recreational activities.

Fishing and camping on the beach...The beach and the surf I considered to be my spiritual home. It was where I felt the most connected to my life and my world. It was a time for deep thinking and introspection. Standing waist deep in salt water with the feel on my skin and the smell in my nose and a hot orange-yellow sun coming up in my face was as close as I could get to Heaven without dying. I never imagined I would ever have to let it go.

Motorcycles... Forty five years... on the highways and back roads with the wind in my face and a full view of my surroundings. Never imagined I would let that go either. Saw a lot of the country and met lots of great folks. In the dirt...I did lots of trail riding, hill climbing motocross riding. That was wonderful. When you are going fifty miles per hour, ten feet off the with sixty lbs of hot throbbing iron between your legs you don't have time to worry about any of life's problems. When you are done doing that for an afternoon your mind is clear.

Guns and shooting. Not hunting so much but shooting at indoor and outdoor ranges and shooting in the country at various objects. I also enjoyed cleaning and maintaining all my guns. I could never close my eyes for sleep If I had a dirty gun. And as much as anything else I enjoyed owning all my guns. I didn't have any safe queens, all my gun worked for a living. The end of all that slipped up on me as well.

So now, here I sit. Living on my memories. And I have plethora of them to sustain me dontcha know. I am surprised, And relived to discover that I am actually okay with all my new found perspective.

I am having issues with my balance, I have no feeling in my fingers, my overall stamina and energy levels are fading and my vision seems to be fading as well. So I must accept my new reality with all the forbearance and grace I can muster. I am actually quite content with my life as it now is.

I cant wait for tomorrow!

 

[Rustyt1953]

Jack, you embody "grab the gusto"!

You have managed to pack into one lifetime more than most could do in three.

Ruthie is at the store right now. I'm gonna text her to grab me some Shiner Bock and I will hoist a few to you.

 

[Onomea]

Jack, I like your attitude. And if you've made it into your eighties, you've had a pretty good run, I'd say.

Re there being a time for everything, I think about that, too, usually reflecting on a place, or a person, and then, maybe years later, thinking how I didn't know, of course, that the last time I visited a place or saw a person would be the last time ever...

Sometimes, though, we know. I was in Savannah last October for a first and I bet last family reunion for my generation of siblings and first cousins. It was a good experience, but I think I'll never be back in Savannah again and that the next time that many of us will be together it will most likely be because one of us has passed on.

 

[yaktamer]

In the past year or so, I've come to the conclusion that finding contentment, rather than doggedly pursuing happiness, is the key to a fulfilling life.

 

[Birdgun]

Congrats Walkin Jack. You've lived well. I'm just a couple years behind you. Like you, some favored pastimes come to an end, but the memories are treasures.

Another attitude that I have is I used to say, "Someday, I'm going to....." Someday is now--Today. Regardless of the ravages of age, I try not to wait for Someday.

God bless,
John T.

 

[walkin jack]

A big thank you to Ditrina forth terrific edit!! My computer has some dead keys. The letter after o, the numbers after 8, backspace, enter, apostrophe, colon, Quote marks... I have learned how to work around some of these, like the letter after after o. Still Paragraphing double spacing and some other stuff is a no can do. But spellchecker helps a lot. . Edit to add... I have decided to forgo getting a new one or getting this one repaired because I Dont write that much any more. The above took me over 2 hours. I can feel the end of my computer time coming. I will just use my iPhone for everything at that point.

 

[llowry61]

Glad you had the opportunity to pursue your passions for the time you did and your attitude is a good one.

This post is a good reminder to seize each day each moment with gusto. I am well behind you age wise, but I see the end of some of my passions growing nearer daily.

 

[chuckie]

walkin jack, you have a great attitude. I'm 75 and my health won't allow me to do some of the things I enjoy. I'm going to strive to adopt the same attitude going forward.

 

[SweetMK]

My FIL told my wife and I,, when he was about 78 years old,,
Do anything you want to have done in your life,, before age 75,,,

I am 74,, I bought a 52 horsepower tractor last year,, even though I already had 3 similar sized.

I think I will get a mini excavator,, even if I "only get to use it one year"

I am gonna go down kicking and fighting!! LOL!!
The more active I am, the better I feel,,

 

[pharmer]

I am actually quite content with my life as it now is. I cant wait for tomorrow!

I read the whole uplifting post but I quoted the most important part. I have memories too but mostly: "How did I survive that?" Joe

 

[Golddollar]

Guns and shooting. Not hunting so much but shooting at indoor and outdoor ranges and shooting in the country at various objects. I also enjoyed cleaning and maintaining all my guns. I could never close my eyes for sleep If I had a dirty gun. And as much as anything else I enjoyed owning all my guns. I didn't have any safe queens, all my gun worked for a living. The end of all that slipped up on me as well.

I'm a few years behind you but coming up on 9 years retired. I've been shooting since I was a little boy. I taught myself to field strip and reassemble a Government Model 1911 from reading the text and pictures in one of my dad's books.

Today was the first day of the Walter Wise regional bullseye match outside Harrisburg. Everybody got a good laugh when I told them I had framed the first dollar I won at that match, from back in 1995! As far as I could tell, I was the only shooter who used a cane to walk between the targets and the firing line. But as long as I can put my guns, cane and body in the Batmobile and drive up to Harrisburg, I'll keep shooting in this match.

 

[tops]

Walkin Jack, I like your attitude.
I'll be 83 in a few days and I can still do a days work but it takes me about 3 weeks to do it.
I've always remembered a poem (rhyme) about burning a candle at both ends and I've tried to do that all my life. I'm wore out now but I have many memories and I think it's better to be a "has been" than a "never been". Larry

 

[Model 15-4ever]

Aging is all about attitude. Yours is a role model... bravo!!!!

 

[kozmic]

The ability to think, love, laugh and share become more prevalent as we age. That's not a bad thing.

 

[SMSgt]

Having passed 70 a couple years ago, I've found myself focusing less on what I used to do and focusing more on what I still can do. Priorities change by the day. My wife mentioned to me the other day that I seemed more content than ever. We were sitting at a beautiful waterfront bar that used to host the likes of Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, former presidents and the like. A very nostalgic place. The wife sipped on her margarita, and I enjoyed a perfect Old Fashioned. Yes, for that moment, I was as content as I've ever been.

 

[Doug627]

As I get older, the raging fires have burnt to glowing embers. One of the great things in life is sitting next to a campfire or fireplace and when the fire burns down you begin to think of life and things gone by. The embers warm you and your memories comfort you. I still look forward to tomorrow and what is to come. I appreciate what I have and don't really yearn for more. I am content. I have a personal relationship with God, and I need nothing else.

 

[tops]

I have a personal relationship with God, and I need nothing else.

#1 priority. Larry

 

[Kinman]

Good for you Jack, I belong to a gun club and we take care of our older guys, running targets down, etc. Some of our guys are so well thought of that all they do is show up and a few guys will take his gear up to the 100 yd line or wherever he is shooting. I value my older friends and three days a week shoot with guys in their 80's that can still hold their own in competition. One friend of mine will be eighty this year and he is going down to California for a territorial muzzle loading shoot in coming weeks where he has won California State Championship in past years, its a dying sport with many old guys still participating. We just recently caught one of our old guys cheating at a monthly match, people have been suspicious of it for years but three guys caught him turning in a "ringer" target. Its tough to call out a guy that many have a lot of respect for and some have a hard time believing he would cheat. The facts are the facts and I have a ton of respect for a guy that realizes he can no longer "cut the mustard" or is having problems remembering whether or not he has powder down the barrel and faces the facts as one of our guys did a few years ago. He had an accidental discharge of a black powder revolver, while on the line during a match. The round went downrange but well below the target line, a range officer witnessed the event and pulled him off line. The next month he came down to the monthly match and apologized to the muzzle loaders and announced his retirement from shooting sports. He was a great competitor in his day and regarded as an expert in the field of black powder muzzle loading. Last year he came to me with all of his collection of rifles, powder, etc. and told me to make sure it all got into good hands, the procedes to go to the club. It was kind of tough but I accepted his offer and got a couple of guys into muzzle loading for a good price, we raffled off a couple of his other rifles and made good money for the club. We have even gone to the trouble of filing with the IRS as a non profit organization at the main club, this has not taken off as well as I thought but it does give someone an alternative of disposing of firearms and being able to claim a deduction. If it ever takes off I'm afraid it may turn into a nightmare, although a friend of mine's family just turned nearly his entire collection over to an outfit that works off Gunbroker.