flat-foot floogie with a floy floy

Geezerdom is a coming to terms with the body's transformations. I once was able to jump flatfooted from the floor to the top of a person's desk. Though why I wanted to do that, I do not know. Sheer exuberance, I think. Now I just flatfoot it across the floor. And that's fine with me.

What care I if a 100 year old woman runs(?) marathons and lifts weights? If that is what she wants to do, fine. But don't hold her and other body pushers up as a role model for all geezers and geezelles. That's just another hype from the "boomers" who believe that with the right nutrition, physical exercise, sexual activity, and following some version of the Gospel of Oprah, they will not age like their unenlightened parents and other assorted ancestors.

Sure, I understand the importance of moving around, but moving around at age 73 has a different meaning than it did three decades ago. There is something nice about moving more slowly. One sees a lot more and one is a lot more. One becomes one's context rather than zipping through it on the way to somewhere.

Every age has its way of expressing its exuberance. At an earlier age I felt I could not be contained and continued bursting all perceived bounds. At this age, I feel boundless. I am already "there" so what is the rush to get there? No need to get all exercised.

the quivering of petunias

Sitting under the shade tree in the back patio, engaged in approved geezer behavior, watching the petunias quiver in the gentle breeze. The breeze blows through my mind, conjuring thoughts. Person A sees me this way. Person H sees me that way. Person Z sees me still another way. Which one is me? None of them. I am a legend in their own minds, simply a myth understanding. Why? No me exists, only this rising and falling, this falling and rising.

an aging geezer point of view

Proponents of the theory that social engagement is essential for the well-being of the elderly, and the request and requirement that elders do so, seem to take the view that living in human form is the most desirable of all desirables: life in human form at any cost.

As one ages, one can see that this is not the case. The bravado of I will "not go gentle into that good night," that I will "rage, rage against the dying of the light" is seen as so much middle-aged rant (Dylan Thomas was 37 when he wrote that).

At some point, one wishes to let go. Like a stone skipping across water, one does not want others, no matter how well meaning, putting a drag on one's skip. Social disengagement is essential.

I think we hold onto others for both selfish and misguided reasons. We want them to stay around in bodily form because of the pain that will come when they leave. And because we misguidedly think that bodily form is the highest of all possible forms. Maybe we could use a little disengagement ourselves.

perspective

No longer a scurvy young boy! Thanks, Brad Olson!

unencumbered

One of the positive aspects of being a geezer is that I care even less about what people think of me. This does not mean I am rude. It means I am unencumbered by such baggage. This baggage includes both praise and blame, both adoration and negation. If I am hooked into praise, that donkey will pull my cart. And its donkey twin, sensitivity to negative criticism, is available and ready to take its place. In fact, it is one donkey, not two -- the praise/blame donkey. As a geezer, I need no donkey to pull my cart. Besides, the structure of my cart is falling away. Its sides and bottom are gone. All that's left is one wheel. And that wheel is spinning along just fine, thank you.

the dying animal

"Can you imagine old age? Of course you can't. I didn't. I couldn't. I had no idea what it was like. Not even a false image -- no image. And nobody wants anything else. Nobody wants to face any of this before he has to. How is it all going to turn out? Obtuseness is de rigueur." -- Philip Roth, The Dying Animal