Thoughts from the ammo line...Listen Geezers edition

[Valin]

Power Line

Scott Johnson

Oct. 2 2020

Ammo Grrrll sets forth SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY AVERAGE GEEZERS. She writes:

You may have heard a motivational talk on the many fine habits of highly-successful people. This will not be that talk. It’s more like a memo to myself. When you have lived through 73 long years, and are turning the odometer over to 74 this week, the wise geezer realizes that it is probably too late to be highly successful if she isn’t by now. And that’s OKAY.

Average success is good enough for me. So here are seven habits of a happy but highly average geezer for your inspiration. If you are yet more successful than this average geezer, think how good about yourself you will feel after reading this.

ONE: FOR PETE’S SAKE, LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS!

Perhaps you saw a beautiful television special about 100-year old people who run marathons, learn three new languages, or begin a new career in watercolor painting. Mazel tov to them all, but, yeah, no, this will not be you. Remember how you started Rosetta Stone Spanish three different times and abandoned it? Es verdad. You have never even run for a bus and you are not about to start with 26 miles.

You had a D going in 8th grade Art until your father carved you that boat out of Ivory Soap. It raised your grade to C-Plus. So what are the chances, really, that some latent artistic talent appears out of nowhere at age 74? Unless paintings with houses not drawn at all in perspective AND a mandatory bright yellow sun in the corner of the picture – complete with more emanations than the Constitution – suddenly become a “Must Have” for the Smart Set.

You are going to die with the same six skills you have had for many decades now: typing, cooking, driving, shooting, packing a fine suitcase, and speaking/writing amusingly. Deal with it. And thank God you could cobble together a decent living with several of those skills.

(Snip)

SIX: CULTIVATE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

No, seriously, DO IT. I am more grateful for this site and its family of commenters than I could ever adequately express. Also for my husband, the famous novelist Max Cossack, wonderful friends, fabulous neighbors, loving family, and our beloved country.

SEVEN: APPRECIATE THE GOOD PARTS ABOUT BEING OLD

Okay, I’m hard-pressed to think of any at this particular moment except retirement. My parents both lived to 95 (Daddy still soldiers on), so I figure I have only five more presidential elections to suffer through. If anything could make a person say, “Lord, please take me home now,” it’s a Presidential election campaign. Just five to go. Neener, neener, young ‘uns.

 

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