Big Jake
I used a quote from a 1971 John Wayne movie, Big Jake, in an essay the other day, “My fault, Your fault, Nobody’s fault”. Yesterday, as the remnants of Hurricane Ida poured down on Central Ohio, I found that movie on TV. It was a “retired folks” afternoon: a “we don’t have to do anything in the rain,” kind of thing. And I began thinking as I watched old John Wayne. Big Jake was the first of his last spurt of cowboy movies, all in the last eight years of his life (Big Jake, The Cowboys, Cahill – US Marshal, Rooster Cogburn and The Shootist, his personal epitaph). He played an “old tough guy”. But how old was this “old” guy? Bad news for me: John Wayne was sixty-three years old when he made Big Jake. That “old guy” was almost two years younger than I am now.
Membership Card
I think it’s been a week of sub-conscious awareness of impending sixty-five-doom. I got my red-white-and-blue senior citizen membership card yesterday (Medicare). By the way, the good folks at Medicare had one more little surprise for me when I got my card. They’re sending me a bill for $592 – payment for the first four months of service. Only after that can I pay on the “monthly” $148 program. Thank goodness I didn’t have to purchase Medicare A (just B), that would have cost close to $2000!!
Historic Age
And I find myself relating to President Biden more and more. He’s seventy-eight, and balancing Covid, Infrastructure, Afghanistan, Hurricane Ida, burning California, Voting Rights and all the rest, all at the same time. He sounds tired – and should be. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are – that’s a lot on any President’s plate. Yet, unlike the public silence of other Presidents withdrawing from world conflicts, Biden stood up in front of the American people and explained his actions in Afghanistan. Regardless of where you stand on that subject, you’ve got to admire his strength, determination and willingness to put his reasons forward to the American people.
One of the historic figures that stresses me out age-wise is Franklin Roosevelt. He died at sixty-three years of age – after serving as President for thirteen years (a good reason in itself for not serving more than two terms). But FDR looked “old” for a long time – hard to imagine he was younger than I am now when he died. And Lyndon Johnson, only a few years out of office, didn’t manage to qualify for the program he created, Medicare. He was sixty-four when he passed. Of course, the legend has it that after he left the White House at sixty, he took up chain smoking cigarettes and drinking Cutty Sark (Scotch) and soda once again, and driving his car like a madman around his ranch in Texas – he was going to “die happy” I guess.
Get Going
I will say that impending sixty-five-doom is a motivator in one way. You might think retired folks get to sleep in, but you haven’t met our dogs. They are usually up at first light, and I was hoping that as the summer neared an end, they would sleep later. Not true. Right now 5:23 am is the time that at least one decides it’s time for breakfast. And when one is up, they all (five at the moment) join in. There’s no ignoring them. So regardless of whether I watch the 11 pm news, or wake up in the middle of the night to read the Washington Post, the bell for breakfast (or more exactly, the bark for breakfast) goes off before the dawn’s early light.
So sleep remains a rare commodity. And it would be easy to ignore my workout regime: “I’m too tired” echoes in my head. But so far, it’s still a couple of miles on the elliptical, and calisthenics after, five days a week. I’m proving that I’m not THAT OLD – at least to me.
It’s the first of September. My favorite season of the year, fall, is almost here. I’m going to a Cross Country Meet tonight. I’m even going to substitute teach in school on Friday, back in a classroom for the first time since Friday the 13th of March, 2020. Jenn and I are planning a big Lost Pet Recovery event coming up. And we are also going on an actual “trip”, a cabin getaway in a couple weeks – so it’s definitely time to get over getting older.
Guess I’ll get my mileage in now – it’s going to be a busy day.
