Old People

[Droopy]

I got off work the other day at about noon. I just got done pulling a 12 hour shift without a break and all I wanted to do was get something to eat and go to bed.

So I stopped in a KFC located next door to the place where I work. I was kind of in a hurry to get home so I figured fast food might not be the healthiest meal, but it will fill the void and get me home quicker.

An older couple was in line in front of me and they were debating on what they should get. They appeared to be about 70. They were taking forever placing their order and thoughts were going through my head like, "Jesus Christ! You've probably been to KFC about 50,000 times in your life. Let's go!" and "C'mon people reading the menu isn't rocket science."

Then after we placed our orders the old guy half of the couple was standing in front of the soda fountain evidently debating on what he would like to drink. I was standing behind him thinking similar thoughts as before while growing even more impatient. Then something clicked.

Those people probably don't have much time left; they are probably retired; and they probably savor every remaining moment that they have.

So I'm going to think about that old couple every time I get in a hurry. The next night at work I told myself to slow down a little. The job will get done and, besides, I'm more likely to get hurt on the job if I get into too big a hurry. I'm going to try to remind myself to take my time and look around and appreciate life.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Slow down, smell the roses, feel the thorns, be present in every moment

Getting impatient means that you are living in the next moment, not the present one.

Not that sometimes it isn't important to think about the next moment, but we are all too much busy too much of the time. Slow down, relax, get less done but get it done better, and enjoy life now - instead of looking ahead to a future day of enjoyment.

Good lesson you learned today! And a trap that I often fall into - I'm generally patient, but I become very impatient when I'm being held up by cluelessness. If it was ten people ahead of me, that's fine; if it's just one person who can't decide what the hell he wants, that irritates me.

[Raven]

2. 70 is actually pretty young!

Spoken by a 60 year old "retired" person. I've noticed that I've slowed down since leaving Boston for the woods of NH three years ago. I drive slower, walk slower, eat slower and think slower. I think I slowed down simply because I didn't have to speed up anymore.

Two ther thoughts about the folks you observed...maybe they are on a tight budget and have to watch every cent they spend or maybe they know better than most younger folks that that could be their last meal together.

[Droopy]

3. Yeah, I guess people are living longer than ever now

But an interesting fact I got from Kucinich's site is that there are 34 other nations where the average life span is even longer than ours!

Your observations about small town living might apply in their case as well assuming that they were from that town. It is a small city.

[Justpat]

4. Thanks. We old geezers appreciate it. n/t

:)

[trof]

5. The older I get, the more slack I tend to cut for others.

Especially those older than me (65).
At my monthly Ancient Aviators gathering, I'm one of the youngest.

It's a bunch of old fart pilots who get together to chew the fat and tell our tales of derring do.
;-)

There are still an amazing number of WWII types around, but we're fast losing them.

[wildhorses]

6. you know that old trees just grow stronger, and old rivers

just grow wilder but, old people just grow lonesome waiting for someone to say....hello

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpxZqr8epMM

[DainBramaged]

8. You bet, the hello's are few and far between when the hair turns grey

And the young forget we all get there eventually. My poor Mom is going to be 90 on Feb. 22, and all her friends are gone and she is tired of life. I guess the loneliness is the worst when you get as old.

[wildhorses]

10. so sad--give her a

:hug: for me and tell her i said hello:hi:


oh! the stories she could tell...

[DainBramaged]

11. I try to ask her about when she was young

But she gets easily distracted now. There are things about the early years of our century she'll never tell me unfortunately

[DainBramaged]

7. Every minute is precious, good for you

You can always make more money but you can't make more time. Just the fact that the couple was still together is wonderful. And the fact that they took so long is they work on a different internal clock, just like what a little spliff does.:hi:

[BuelahWitch]

9. An older lady made my day yesterday

All I did was help her get some lollipops off a store shelf, but you'd think I had given her a million bucks. She hugged me and kissed my cheek and made me feel I was a really wonderful person.

[auntAgonist]

14. to her you were a wonderful person

you deserved the hugs and kisses :)


:hug:

aA

[Uncle Joe]

12. I believe the perception of time it self speeds up as we get older,

everything moves faster and a year becomes an increasingly smaller percentage of our life. When you're 5 years old, a year is 20% of your entire existence, this seems like forever, I believe this is why many children are impatient. When you're 50 a year is a mere 2% of your life and it seems more like a quarter and a quarter seems more like a month. ie: I just took the Christmas Tree down and now the Christmas shopping season is already starting up again. It's all relative.

If perception is reality then I believe this could indeed be part of the aging process. I believe this is why it's important to maintain a good sense of humor about life's trials. Depression it self inhibits your immune system. Maybe this is part of the reason as to why George Burns lived such a full long life, he could laugh at getting old.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. My dear Droopy........

You have learned an important lesson, and it's one that many never learn....

Live in the moment, baby.......

It is so important to do that........

I try to be patient at those moments too......

Good for you!

:hi:

[Redstone]

15. It's damn hard to never be in a hurry, but if you can manage it at least most

of the time, it's a life-saver.

So you're going to be ten minutes late getting somewhere? Hurrying will only help you get there, say, eight minutes late instead. And you've added the stress of hurrying and worrying to get those two minutes.

Not worth it.

Redstone