esrosedotblog

GAY NINETIES

I have made heroes out of people who manage to live vitally until their 90th year.

Just yesterday I mentioned my 94 year old neighbor Herman, out on his daily walk unassisted.

I don't romanticize growing old. I know that you can do it with or without quality of life. I also know that one person's quality is another person's nightmare.

Today, in the LATimes, there is a profile of a man, oddly a man who studied death all his life, who does not seem to be in the category of the happy nineties (in my case I would be in gay nineties of course).

Waiting for death, alone and unafraid

Actually the article seems to be more about death than life.

For example, there seems to be an easy use of drugs for pain or fear of pain. Drugged.

And so on.

He seems pretty miserable to me.

I don't plan to waste anytime philosophizing about death. I did enough of that when I was young.

The time to let all that go is in the final stretch. All the philosophy in the world can't substitute for a good breakfast, a nice walk, and a relatively drug free life a day at a time.

If I get as far as he has and end up in the same place I will quit eating. That will take care of all of it. Nothing philosophic about it. I will miss that good breakfast though. For awhile.

I got this advice from my Doctor incidentally. The foolproof way out.

I won't be putting this guy in my hero roster.

Labels: life