Getting old

[willedoo]

You forgot the strippers.

[onetrack]

If you feel the need to go out somewhere remote in the bush, make sure it takes a long time to find your carcass, so the flies and maggots and worms have done their job fully, and your bleached bones are all there are for searchers to find.

 

A lot of blokes used to get lost in the bush in the W.A. Goldfields - or just die in the bush alone, prospecting. Some of them simply died of hunger, there was no dole in the old days.

When I owned my gold mine at Higginsville, an old Slav prospector (Mick) who used to prospect around the area - and who had "retired" to a prospectors humpy next door to my mine - used to regale me with stories of the earlier Goldfields days (1920's to the 1960's).

 

He told me this story once, there was a local prospector in the area who had disappeared, he hadn't been seen for around 10 days or more. So the locals gathered, and set out to search the local area for him.

Mick told me, he was the one who found the bloke - dead. He'd apparently just dropped on a track from natural causes. But he'd only been dead a few days, and he was RIPE!

 

Mick knew the bloke fairly well, and he said the worst part was finding his carcass well and truly maggot-ridden (it was Summer) and the maggots had filled his skull cavity and were feasting on his eyes when Mick stumbled across him.

Now Mick was a pretty tough old coot - but he reckoned the sight of the maggots in the blokes eye sockets stayed with him for years - and he had regular nightmares for months afterwards, with the vision of those eye sockets crawling with maggots, featuring large in them!

[facthunter]

Dead "anything" smells bad. Riding old bikes across Australia, you get good practice at not breathing IN for a while, quite often. A lot of bodies are carried in Domestic and International aircraft, listed as "Natural History Specimens"..

One of my ancestors (of 3 brothers, all miners from Scotland) died of sunstroke at Kalgoorlie about 1870 OTA. My brief Opal mining experience at Lightning Ridge about 1964 I got to meet some of the" permanents." and see some of their "finds". A rare privilege not often occurring. Most arrived seeking a fortune but when they found some really good ones just put them in a box and kept on mining for the lifestyle. Basically we don't need much if you've got a few good friends, have a roof over your head and get almost enough to eat. Nev

[Marty_d]

...Bitchin' Betty. Apparently if you ignore her warnings, she gets louder and more aggressive. Apologies for thread drift.

I'm pretty sure they've done that with car GPS too. There seems to be a definite edge to the voice after you ignore a few turns.

[farri]

Franco, that is heartbreaking.

Yes! it is, Pete, ! whenever I see Charlie and his wife, she tries to tell him, "it`s Frank", neither of us know if he knows who I am! I`ll ask, " Charlie do you know who I am?", he`ll look at me, smile and give me the wrong name so I laugh and say, " yeah, that`ll do, Charlie."

 

Just keep up your flying as long as you can. Im sure it keeps the synapses active.

 

I have no medical ailments other than some Arthritis and I do enough mental and physical activities to keep the Synapses active, however, in the very near future I have to re-furbish the Drifter! I`ve done it before so I know what I`m in for! next month my RA.Aus. membership fee is due and there`s another $250, makes me think if I should give flying away but no matter how I look at it, I can`t bring myself to do that.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Guest

[octave]

On the subject of getting old I thought I would share something positive and something that illustrates that there are wonderful people out there.

 

As I have mentioned here before my 92 year old father is in an aged care facility and to be blunt is dying. He has many health problems, can't walk without help and his lungs are hardly functioning, he requires oxygen supplementation 24/7. He is mostly pretty cheerful and grateful for the care he gets. Since covid he has been confined to his room and for some time the care facility was in lockdown so no visitors. Although he is philosophical about things he has been getting a little down about being confined to one room. Over the past week or so it seems that his carers have been asking him what things he misses. One of his carers was planning a surprise for him. Yesterday an ambulance turned up with 2 off duty ambos to take my father and mother on a day trip.

 

First the drove past the first house they lived in when to arrived in Aus (1964). Next stop was the old theatre where my parents were in amateur musicals in the 70s. Then off to the beach, my father had said that he wanted to see the sunset.

The person who organised this also contacted some of my parents to meet them at the beach. My parents phoned me and told me they were sitting on the beach drinking some Bailey's and waiting for the fish and chips to turn up and watching the sunset.

My dad wanted to at least get his feet into the water but this was not possible. One of the ambos took a bucket down to waters edge and brought back water for my dad to stick his feet in (pretty cold of course).

 

Just unbeleivable the lengths they went to. The ambos did this on their day off for no pay and the carers and directer of the home must have gone well beyond their shift.

 

[Old Koreelah]

[FLOATR][/FLOATR]p

I'm pretty sure they've done that with car GPS too. There seems to be a definite edge to the voice after you ignore a few turns.

...or is it your imagination? Perhaps you are feeling guilty for having ignored instructions from She Who Must Be Obeyed!

Edited June 9, 2020 by Old Koreelah

[willedoo]

That's great, octave. It sounds like that aged care facility is one of the good ones.

[willedoo]

[FLOATR][/FLOATR]p

 

...or is it your imagination? Perhaps you are you feeling guilty for having ignored instructions from She Who Must Be Obeyed!

Maybe they need to do a survey on the effects of the automated voice commands on two separate groups - single men and married men.

[Old Koreelah]

Maybe they need to do a survey on the effects of the automated voice commands on two separate groups - single men and married men.

But Willie, married men wouldn't need this fancy modern stuff. They'd have their Life Navigator to tell them where to go!

[willedoo]

It's a bit like the self checkout in the supermarkets. Out of Coles and Woolies, one has a more aggressive automatic voice, can't remember which one. It must be designed for young people because if you don't perform your checkout duties at 1,000mph, it continually nags you. I wonder how many old blokes just resign themselves to saying "Yes, Dear" to the machine.

[red750]

In a way, I guess I had it pretty easy, although my dad did it a bit tough. He and my grandfather were dairy farmers in West Gippsland, until the state government compulsorily acquired the property to build the Tarago Reservoir. We moved into the town of Warragul and dad got a real estate agent's licence and also sold farm machinery. However, he suffered bad bronchitis every winter, so decided to move north, and bought a partly completed house in Deniliquin, intending to carry on selling machinery, and farm land. Unfortunately, it was 1956 when the area suffered one of the worst floods. Under these conditions, the bank reneged on the loan they had promised. At this stage, there were 6 kids to care for, so dad collected empty bottles from the shearers quarters at the sheep stations around the Deni area, and took them to the glass factory in Melbourne in the old Dodge ute. With the money he made from the bottles, he went to Queen Victoria Market, where he bought fresh fruit and vegetables and took them back to Deni to sell on a street stall, and do the rounds of the farms and stations selling door to door. In 1959 my youngest brother was born, and my parents decided to move back to Victoria.

 

While we lived in Deni, I attended high school, and delivered newspapers around the streets before school, and helped on the fruit and vegie stall on Saturdays. I had to pay for my own school uniform. At school, I topped the class in Technical Drawing (drafting) in the Intermediate Certificate Year. When we moved back to Victoria, I went to the high school to get my Leaving Certificate, but Tech Drawing was taught at the Tech School. When I left school, I hoped to get a job with the local shire council as a draftsman, but the Shire Secretary;s son also applied and got the job. Almost out of desperation, I took a job in a bank, and there I remained, constantly on the move from branch to branch, state to state, for the next 29 years. The last couple of years were spent managing a district processing centre in Camberwell. One day I was called into the regional manager's office and was told new technology has taken over and made your centre obsolete, so you will have to find another job. No such thing as a golden handshake, as I was told i would be moved into a position for which I had no training or experience, and when I didn't meet the KPI's, I would be sacked, so it would look better if I resigned. No golden handshakes for resignations.

 

I ended up doing door to door sales of all sorts of things, and registered with a few temp agencies, doing all sorts of contract jobs, some lasting a day or so, some a few weeks, doing cold call telemarketing and call centre work. Much of the door to door sales was on a commission basis, and the products weren't much good, so the income often didn't pay for the petrol. I applied for the dole, but as my wife was working part time, her income was $1.56 per fortnight above the cut-off, so I was told to draw down my superannuation to live on and educate three kids, because it was all unrestricted, non preserved. At the age of 56, I got a job as a customer service consultant with a superannuation administration company call centre, where I worked for the next nine years till I retired, eight years ago. That's why my super only lasted the first four years of retirement and I have relied solely on the pension since then.

[red750]

As for departing this mortal coil, I am ready, but am in no way doing anything to hurry it. I believe, and I've said this before, when you time is due, it is due. This is determined the moment you are conceived. The only variable is how. How else can you explain why some people in apparently perfect health simply die at a comparatively young age, while others in a terrible state of health hang on, sometimes for years. Not their time. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am unable to do most of the things that would my wish to have more time, so when it happens, it happens. I've had a few things which could have been curtains, but agian, obviously not my time. Given my choice, I'd like to doze off in the rocking chair in the back yard, in the shade of the large tree there, and just not wake up. Not nice for whoever found me, but a nice peaceful way to go. When you think of the celebrities who have died before the age of sixty, many much younger, when they had so much to live for, how else can you explain it.

Edited June 9, 2020 by red750

[onetrack]

Red, when and where did you fit in your flying career? Your life has certainly had some ups and downs. But I think most peoples lives have. I'm always amazed at those people who are like a 240V globe getting powered with 300V.

 

They shine with incredible brilliance, do a huge range of amazing things in a relatively short time, reach great heights - then they die, suddenly and unexpectedly, at the peak of their brilliant career - just like the light globe finally blowing with too much voltage being put through it.

 

And then there's the plodders and pluggers who just keep going, doing ordinary everyday stuff, rarely getting sick, or catching any nasty disease, until they fall off the perch at a stupendous age.

 

There's not enough room on this page to outline the experiences, the highs and lows, the wins and losses, and the tragedies, in my life - and there's been plenty. I should probably write a book, even if it is only for family records.

 

Does anyone remember or ever watched the TV show, "Front Up"? It was a show where the interviewer, Andrew Urban (a personable bloke), just stopped ordinary people in the street and asked them about the stories of their life.

Some of the most ordinary-looking people revealed some incredible stories of struggle, huge wins, huge losses, tragedies, and heartwarming events. It was a really interesting show, and it does get repeated occasionally.

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395862/

Edited June 9, 2020 by onetrack

[pmccarthy]

Red, some people would blame their misfortunes on prejudice against their race or ethnicity or religion, but I don’t think antecedents being cow cockies is a genuine segment of society any more. A late friend of mine grew up on a dairy farm and had to have cattle around him to be happy, even though he worked as a geologist. Be reassured that you make a contribution to the world, and therefore are valued and one day (hopefully in years to come) will be missed by the world.

Peter

[Old Koreelah]

...When you think of the celebrities who have died before the age of sixty, many much younger, when they had so much to live for, how else can you explain it.

Sorry Red, but you've missed that boat:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/27_Club

 

Red, when and where did you fit in your flying career? Your life has certainly had some ups and downs. But I think most peoples lives have. I'm always amazed at those people who are like a 240V globe getting powered with 300V.

 

They shine with incredible brilliance, do a huge range of amazing things in a relatively short time, reach great heights - then they die, suddenly and unexpectedly, at the peak of their brilliant career - just like the light globe finally blowing with too much voltage being put through it...

 

"...Your candle burned out long before

Your legend ever did."

 

 

...And then there's the plodders and pluggers who just keep going, doing ordinary everyday stuff, rarely getting sick, or catching any nasty disease, until they fall off the perch at a stupendous age...

 

Most of us would settle for that option.

[facthunter]

If we are all predestined, then someone has been very busy just to play mean jokes on us. We over rate our importance in the big scheme of things, thinking we are important at all, beyond a few around us and they will get over our passing as they have to and get on with their own personal existence. It's easy to think you are destined for some form of greatness..Why else would you have been born or avoided death by a whisker somewhere,,? The adulation of the masses would be a flimsy and fickle reward just by examination. You can't take money or chattels with you, either..This great drive can put you into an early grave. The Body cannot cope with constant stress, so wariness of that will pay off if you want to stay around for a while. Don't work TOO hard and spend time on noticing the PEOPLE in your life and around you. The grand miracle is that ANY of this exists. Nev

[red750]

ed, when and where did you fit in your flying career?

 

My flying "career" was purely recreational before it was a thing. I got my PPL in a concentrated 21 day course at Moorabbin (Civil Flying School) in 1968, I was single at the time, aged 24. I was working in the head office of the bank and did the course during my annual leave. I got married in 1972, spent 3 months in Adelaide where I didn't do any flying, and was then transferred to Sydney where I flew with Chieftain at Bankstown. I returned to Melbourne 5 years and two kids later, and when I was told to find other employment I had to let my licence lapse.

Edited June 10, 2020 by red750

[farri]

I think most of us know what the alternative to getting old is... I never got to meet my father-in-law, he passed away a few months before I met my wife, Frances! he`d had a stroke at 53 years of age and passed away 3 years later.

 

My grandfather on my fathers side, and a friend of his, were to attend a funeral that day, the friend was to stop by and pick him up, when the friend arrived he knocked on the door several times but got no response so he went inside! my grandfather was dressed for the funeral, sitting in his lounge chair with a cup of tea beside him, that was still warm, but he was gone...84 years of age.

 

My father was diagnosed with prostate cancer in his mid seventies, he passed away at 86, in his home, sitting in his favorite lounge chair, attached to a morphine pump.

 

After a lifetime of blood, sweat and tears, Frances and I have a property we can call our own! neither of us has any intention of going into a home for the aged, our hope is that we can stay on our property till the end, and who knows when that will be.

 

I know a guy in his early seventies who reckons he`ll fill his Ultralight with fuel and head for New Zealand! I rather have the favorite lounge chair.

 

Frank.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Guest

[Old Koreelah]

Perhaps all we should hope for is to be able to look back on a life well spent and have a painless departure from this mortal plane.

 

My folks were lucky enough to come to the end of their lives in their own bed, two years apart, with family nearby. After a lifetime of honest, hard work, they had the heartache of losing their farm. Their little backyard in town became their new farm and they lived like kings on the old aged pension, even saving enough to visit distant family.

 

I'm lucky enough to have a good women who tolerates me.

Persisting with a challenging a career and giving up other opportunities allowed us to still live in the house we built with our own hands. We also spent nearly forty years turning this eroded, barren paddock into a fertile woodland with mobs of wildlife.

 

I'm in reasonable health because each day I do a variety of work, eat sensibly and limit alcohol to the weekends. Each day of lockdown I worked on building projects and got to wander around gathering firewood from trees I planted. Not a lot to complain about.

[farri]

Being able to grow old does have certain rewards.

 

I`m 6 months older than my wife, Frances! I met Fran at 17, we were married at 18, with our first child on the way! 54 years later, we`re blessed with 2 daughters, a son, 8 grand children and 7 great grand-children.

 

I was born in Italy to Italian parents who migrated here 71 years ago so I suppose that makes me Italian ...Frances was born in Innisfail of Irish descent...Our youngest daughter`s husband is of Aboriginal descent! their oldest son, Matthew`s, wife`s, father is Italian and her mother is Australian!

 

Matthew and his wife have a 3 year old son, who we call our little, Ausi-Wog-Originy! we have a family who make us proud and as we all live in the Cairns, Innisfail area, we all get to enjoy each other.

 

I intend to hold off the the final curtain for as long as possible, by keeping as healthy and active as possible.

 

Frank.

[Old Koreelah]

Franco that pedigree makes your family dinki-di Aussies!

[red750]

I never got to meet my father-in-law,

 

Like you Farri, never met my father-in-law. He was a merchant seaman and a Camel smoker. Got lung cancer and passed away a couple of years before I met the missus.

 

The mother-in-law on the other hand lived till she was 95. Passed away in a nursing home, suffering dementia. The last few visits we made she was asleep in a chair - didn't wake up to see us. Before that she didn't recognize us anyway. Thought my wife was her deceased sister, and asked who the young man was (me).

Edited June 10, 2020 by Guest

[old man emu]

I reckon the most pleasure you can get in old age is passing a soft stool every day.

[pmccarthy]

If you have had an oleostomy or colostomy reversal, passing anything is an infinite pleasure.