Opus 2026-076: Late Blooming

What areas of growth are open to you when you approach 80?

I know I need to accept that fact that I am old but even harder to accept is the concept that I have wisdom to share.  Part of that acceptance is involved in the futility of blogging.  What kind of arrogance assumes that being able to write a paragraph and remember the final period qualifies you to be read?  Long ago I decided that it was more an inner urge to express myself than to actually think I would go viral.

Another approach I am trying to figure out is finding a coffee shop to hang around in and develop some dialogue.  I have a vague idea how it would work but starting to move is difficult.  First I need to find a place where I can sit and study without putting them out of business by tying up a table.  Then I need the consistency and patience to wait for things to develop.  Over time the regulars begin to recognize each other.  If they are all introverts like me it never moves beyond a nod of the head.  If there is an extrovert in the group then contact might be made.

I am working on a few areas.  My fingers are getting too stiff to play chords on the guitar and my voice is becoming an embarassment so I am working on playing the melody off the sheet music.  So far I can get by in three keys.  More to come, I hope.  I am starting to play around with the recorder.  Little progress at this point.  I dug my golf clubs out of mothballs and am starting to walk nine hole, par three and executive courses.  It is not a promising goal, but good exercise and a bit of fun.  The last two times I went out I scored a scorching 10 on the first hole.

I got sucked in by some click bait that revealed the five things that the elderly do that drive people away.  Most of it I was already aware of.  One of the temptations we get as we get older is to ignore hygiene.  Why shave and shower if you are going no place?  I think the idea is that shaving is a bit of rebellion against the decline of life.  

The battle continues.  Once you lose ground it is very difficult to gain it back.  Ultimately the end will come but I can work to make it as dignified as possible.  So I keep walking, practicing and pushing my limits even if they are not impressive to you young squirts.

homo unius libri