I've been forced to accept that I'm old, and I don't like it.

January 17, 2018, 02:49 PM

"You're only as old as the women you feel."

---Groucho Marx

January 17, 2018, 02:50 PM

Cliff

Better to be blessed standing up looking down at the grass over time instead of laying down staring up at the roots.

January 17, 2018, 02:56 PM

BamaJeepster

I hit 52 last year and absolutely reject the notion that I'm old! I reject your reality and substitute my own!

And since someone referenced this earlier....Here is the full poem:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

January 17, 2018, 03:01 PM

Spokane228

You’re not old. You’re older. There’s a difference.

January 17, 2018, 03:03 PM

aileron

I'll be 67 on Valentine's Day; failure rate of body parts is accelerating

January 17, 2018, 03:06 PM

chansen92

quote:
Originally posted by jbourneidentity:
I just turned 48 on November 27, 2017. People say I'm still young, but the only people who say I'm young are much older than me. I look at my former classmates and think, "Wow, they've aged like shit," and then when I look in the mirror, I look just like them. I'm on the final stretch to 50, the age where people just look through you like you don't exist. I'm overweight because I like to eat too much white cheese dip at Mexican restaurants, but aside from that, my mobility's good, I exercise, and I still have most of my hair, but...

When I was a young patrolman in 1994, I bought a W. German P220 that served as my duty weapon. During my first qualification, I shot 490/500, the best in the department. Not because I was good, and they certainly didn't teach me to shoot, but it was only because that P220 was so unbelievably accurate, it made me look better than I really was. That P220 just did the work for me. It was easy to shoot. I carried it as a trusted duty weapon for years.

Feeling all nostalgic recently, I just bought a mint W. German P220 from a super nice fellow SigForum member, and when I opened the box, it was like the diner scene in Pulp Fiction when the robber opened Samuel L. Jackson's briefcase. All those 90s memories flooded over me. I couldn't wait to get it to the range!

But when I did shoot my new P220, something unexpected happened.

My P220 beat me to death. It wore me out. It battered my hands. Jarred my wrists. Made my elbows ache. Broke my support hand grip on every shot. It recoils so much harder than my TRP and Shield .45. I shot well with it, but it...hurt. It wasn't the girl I remembered in my dreams.

And then I realized the cold hard facts of life. The truth dawned on me thanks to that P220. It's not the P220's recoil. It's sure not the .45 caliber.

It's me. I'm now old, and getting older, and I don't like it. Not one bit. Getting old ain't for sissies.

Your not so old just a little soft and out of practice. That gun may be getting soft also; Have you checked the main spring for proper tension. You probably don't have any idea how many rounds were put through that thing, I'm just saying. My son is a Leo and in his mid forties years and shoots a sig 226,1911 and a Glock duty weapon and I can tell you that he is amazingly accurate and fast with each of them; best shot in the county. He shoots them all the time. Don't sell yourself short just get out and shoot as often as you can. Take up reloading if you have to.

January 17, 2018, 03:18 PM

Yellow Jacket

"They" always talk about the "Golden Years!"

Truth be known, it's more like the "Rusty Years!"

January 17, 2018, 03:40 PM

olfuzzy

I can't even remember being 48.

Gave up on my .41 mag. for a .380 and the 30-06 for a 223 and I've got a .357 mag. derringer around here somewhere that makes my wrist hurt just looking at it

January 17, 2018, 03:45 PM

cincinnatijim

I'll be turning 80 in December. I can still dig post holes but it seems a little more like work than it used to. When I was a teenager a friend and I used to compete counting fleas on running coyotes. I think he fudged on his count sometimes.

January 17, 2018, 03:49 PM

villageidiot

Wait till you have you first "Old Man Fall". That is walking on level flat ground then you fall to the ground. The problem is there is nothing to blame you fall on...VI

January 17, 2018, 03:52 PM

egregore

quote:
Getting old ain't for sissies.

I'd agree, except that 48 isn't that old. At 59, sure, I have some issues that I didn't earlier, but I don't believe myself to be old. I work as hard as the younger guys in my shop, save that I can't lift some of the larger/heavier truck tires. One of them remarked that he had never seen me miss any work.

quote:
My P220 beat me to death. It wore me out. It battered my hands. Jarred my wrists. Made my elbows ache. Broke my support hand grip on every shot. It recoils so much harder than my TRP and Shield .45.

I wonder why the P220 would have more felt or perceived recoil than the smaller and lighter Shield.

January 17, 2018, 04:00 PM

mark60

I'm 57 and except for less hair and the need for reading glasses I'm as good as I ever was and am in the best shape of my life.
If I ever do get old I have absolutely no plans to accept the fact.

January 17, 2018, 04:01 PM

ArLEOret

After reading the previous enteries I feel like I must have written most of them. I was in excellent shape until last April. Then on night watching TV I started feeling bad. I called my daughter and she was still at work at the med center. She sent my sil and he took me to the VA ER. I was in the treatment room all wired up and my heart rate dropped to zero. Got paddled and now I wear a pace maker and take a blood thinner. Sure beats the alternative. Thank God for the docs at the VA. Oh, I just turned 82 last month.

January 17, 2018, 04:07 PM

flashguy

quote:
Originally posted by Elk Hunter:
Welcome to the club!

But ya ain't old 'til you are EIGHTY

You got that right! (I just joined the octogenarian club.) I can still shoot my .45 Win Mag and .50 AE Grizzly pistols, though!

flashguy

January 17, 2018, 04:20 PM

darthfuster

I try not to look at my reflection.

January 17, 2018, 04:25 PM

Woodman

I've preeety much stopped eating at restaurants. On Sunday I ate a pizza, first since August. Monday, a bag of chips and a Coke, first in a couple of months. Even headed over to my folks for dinner yesterday, I pack a Tupperware with a couple carrots, apple slices, olives, cheese, and snack on the drive over. Three-four days a week, 20-40 sit-ups and some weights while laying on the floor.

Practically no alcohol or cigarettes. Walk eight blocks instead of driving all the time. That is how I deal with the age thing. Can't imagine beating my body the way I used to, considering how I feel even now with this low fat, low salt regimen.

Oh, and at about your age I decided .40S&W through a heavy stainless pistol was a superior shooter.

January 17, 2018, 04:27 PM

Gustofer

When I turned 50 I thought, "Pfft...this ain't so bad". Then I realized that I've only got about 30 left. That's what sucks.

I don't look 25 anymore, but aside from the grey, I still look pretty good for 52...better than most my age. Aches and pains on the other hand....

48? Hell, you're still just a kid.

And the recoil thing? That doesn't bug me at all. In fact, I think it affects me less, although I'm not sure how that is. I've gotten into 45-70s and love them.

January 17, 2018, 04:28 PM

MNSIG

^^^^
Isn't that the truth?!!

As you may have seen in some of my other threads/comments, I'm starting the fight at 52.

A colleague recommended the book Younger Next Year which I'm in the process of reading. They claim that you can bend the curve of aging so it is more of a plateau with a sharp drop off in the final years rather than a gradual decline. Sounds good so far, but I'm not sure that the assertions are 100% scientifically sound. BTW: One of the co-authors (a physician) died at 58.

January 17, 2018, 04:45 PM

indigoss

I’m 46 and can relate. I keep in shape but it gets a little harder to do so. My father is almost 70, has cancer in remission and still works out 5 days a week. Keeping active and a bit of strength training really helps. As for the hair and wrinkles , I’m screwed, no way around it.

January 17, 2018, 05:03 PM

TRshootem

I will be 65 in May, Super Senior in USPSA, grand dad to 7 youngsters. As beat up, joint arthritis, weigh too much and more, I shoot better now(Carry Optics) than when I was just 45. Wife still loves me, the young hot shots still pay for their arrogance in Steel Challenge and I just keep on keepin on. ....but...I try not to think of the fast closing number of years left to be awesome