The indignity of growing old
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:25 pm
I just pulled an inch long hair out of the lobe of my ear.
You need to stay on top of that stuff!
One of the most difficult things I'm having to accept (at age 62) is that I am physically unable to do things that I want to do, despite decades of physical conditioning. Much of this is silly, but,
...I can't serve a tennis ball for shit. I occasionally hit an "ace," but it's just as much because my opponents are as pathetic as I am as because the serve was good.
...I can't run anymore. Although I switched from distance running to interval training last year, I have always enjoyed going out for a 30 or 45 minute run. Now, a combination of knee damage in my right leg and a heel problem in my left leads me to the conclusion that my running days are over. My interval training must take place on a stationary bike, or not at all. Thankfully, the short sprints that are necessary on the tennis court are still possible - although I suffer for a few days afterward. How long will it be before I have to hag it as not worth the pain?
...I'm hopelessly flabby, and lack the energy and willpower to do anything about it.
...more and more, my weighlifting is constrained by pain rather than a lack of strength. There are few joints in my body anymore that don't produce a bit of pain when stressed. Stretching helps a little bit, but not much.
And although I still see young, attractive women as the object of my sexual desires, I have to recognize that they see me as about as attractive as Captain Kangaroo. Few people age as well as Sean Connery, and even he couldn't do it without an army of cosmetologists and favorable camera angles.
Live 100 years? Not like this.
