What is a good age...

Another birthday has passed. I don't feel any different for it. I haven't changed my life because of it. It seems that it will just be 'business as usual'.
I was planning on spending a quiet day here on 'the farm', just me and 'Little Yogi'. I actually do enjoy my own company and never feel 'alone or bored'. ( Mrs. Y. is no longer in the picture, but that's another story). I was enjoying my second coffee and browsing the news when Dad knocked on the door. Always a welcome sight. We were just finishing off another coffee when along came my sister and brother-in-law. More happy and welcome faces! They had decided that I should not spend my birthday alone. Cake, gifts, homemade soup and sands, chicken with all the trimmings for supper, movies. Just a real surprise and a very enjoyable day.

Of course we all got to talking about 'age' and what, if anything, it means and what to expect of life as we grow older. So I asked the question, 'What's a good age to.....die'?

Dad is 87 and lives on his own , still drives, in fact just bought a new Sebring and has put on about 20,000 km. in less than a year, is in 'reasonable, health. He figures he could do with a few more years.

'Hughie' is 84 and he is in darn good health, my fishing partner, does a lot of manual labor around here, always doing something, very active and sharp minded. Thus far he too has done a lot of living, welter-weight boxing champ of Wales-until he gave up the title because no one had been able to beat him, invented 'fusion welding', was one of the technical advisors who actually did help design the emergency equipment that was used by the Apollo 13 astronauts. ( un-like the movie) He also would like to 'stick around' for a few more years'.

My 'Big Sis' is 65 (yes, she is quite a bit older than me) ! She has done a lot of travelling and is getting ready to head off to Europe for a couple of months, Looking forward to retirement and 'just being with Hughie'.(he's hubby #4) She says she'll just take 'what ever the good lord sees fit to give her'.

Me on the other hand, I think that anywhere from 70-75 years max would be a good time to 'move on'!. I mean, I don't want to end up in some lodge,getting my 'chin' wiped by some old broad who can grow a more impressive beard than I can! Really though, I don't think I 'old age' is in my future, certainly not if fate continues on the path of late. In the last few years I have been in a head-on colllision, Been rear-ended and pushed out in front of a truck on the highway(that one hurt)! Went underneath a semi and got dragged about 1/2 mile ( that was plain scary)! Damn near drowned- strange- but AFTER you get passed the point off really needing to breathe, there seems to be a period of utter peace-and then everything goes black. Last year I experienced a charge of 640 volts thru me ,(again everything went black for a while)! Still my left side feels 'severely-sunburned'. This year, a sump pump exploded in my hands and has caused some serious damage. I have regained a lot of use of my arms now but it appears that surgery is in my future. I have to depend on others to get a lot of the work done around here. That's quite frustrating.

I think that I would like to die in my sleep. Just like my Grandpa did.....

Not screaming in terror like his passengers did! :lol

So what do YOU think is a 'good age to die'? Why?

Congrats on your birtday!

What is a good age to die... That is a tough one. I don't think it is age, although I am way too young now. My father in law was too young at 68, he died on the tenniscourt, but an ex father in law had had his first heart attack when he was 40, and died at 55, he was old.

My great-grandmother died in her sleep at 96, in an old peoples home, where she did fine, and she loved it there... My grandmother died at 89, just 6 weeks after she was diagnosed with Alzheimers (which obviously was going on for a few years

) and my other gramma died at 83, 10 days after she was diagnosed with cancer in her liver, pancreas, stomach and colon (she was a tough cookie, never complained, lived on her own, till she was diagnosed

)

I think, when you can still do the things that make your life worth living, it will always be too soon to die. But when the only thing you do is sit and breath, and you cannot accept that your life is like that, it might be time to go...

I'd say it is all in the mind, not so much in the body. People can accept bodies that don't seem to work properly, but when your mind stops doing what it should...

I'd like to see me go like my great-grandmother. Completely sane, at 96

I'm currently of the mindset that I don't ever want to die. I just haven't made all the lifestyle choices necessary to prolong my life as much as possible. Mostly this is because I'm alive today and will do what I want because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Atheletes dropping dead doesn't really help promote fitness and nutrition in my opinion although I do keep active and I don't eat much junk or fast food. I do love my bacon and sausages though!!!

I do think the real key to a long life is to live it as stress free and happy as possible.

please tell me when you refer to athletes dropping dead you aren't talking about pro wrestlers

after somedays, dropping dead yesterday isn't soon enough.

My grandfather had a saying: No one wants to live to 90 until they turn 89. He lived a healthy active life till he was 95..........his brother lived the same way to 105.

Happy birthday Yogi!

'What's a good age to.....die'? Every year I'm looking ahead to the next year. Getting older never put me down and getting old amuse my senses. I've been asking the same question to myself from time to time and I think around.......80 is the best for me. I should retire at 60 thus 20 years for doing nothing will kill me anyway. Enough to see my grand children. I don't want to die in sickness nor in diseases. The other question is 'How would I die'? Prolly from an accident in some sort. I don't think about death that often, but more of whom should I kick some asses tomorrow?

I bet your close relatives are in good a shape to kick some young punk asses anytime.

[quote="Yogi"]. In the last few years I have been in a head-on colllision, Been rear-ended and pushed out in front of a truck on the highway(that one hurt)! Went underneath a semi and got dragged about 1/2 mile ( that was plain scary)! Damn near drowned- strange- but AFTER you get passed the point off really needing to breathe, there seems to be a period of utter peace-and then everything goes black. Last year I experienced a charge of 640 volts thru me ,(again everything went black for a while)! Still my left side feels 'severely-sunburned'. This year, a sump pump exploded in my hands and has caused some serious damage.

Nice list.. i have 3 motor accidents ( including being rear ended on my motorcyle at 120 kmh by a drunk driver, not very nice of him )

had the peace and blackout bit on the bike, too.. i think its the point where the brain says
"self, u dont really want to know whats coming next, so were just gonna shut down for a bit;
see ya on the other side if you make it"

Does it have to be a number ??.. i rather have a list of things i want to do before..

some are done, some arent, but when my list is done, then i will be happy to go.

Isnt how you live more important than how you die ???

my dad died at 57, grandfather at 55; cancer seems to run in the family.

i am 40 now.. i want to make sure i go 'with my boots on', as it were.

Do you have some stuff you want to do before you go ??

But since your post deals with a number, I'll go for 68.. quick, with enough time

to say " well, my damn list was done anyway ", with not much left over to cremate.

Then have someone drop some ash in the Atlantic, Pacific, Med, Red and North Seas,

and we're done..

Interesting post u made..

Thank-you all for the warm wishes. Much appreciated.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not in any particular hurry to 'check-out'!

It's just that this topic seems to come up everytime someone has another birthday and in my case because of some of the legal changes-wills etc- that I have had to make due to circumstances.
We were all sitting around and laughing about some of the things that I had experienced in my 'comparitively short life' thus far and wondering 'what's next' and my Dad said 'not much at the rate you're going son'!

I think that I would like to 'try boring' for a while and see what that is all about'! :lol:

I recall a marine from the Seneca nation at the start of TET. Shouting , shooting explosions and this guy was calm as a millpond.

He said:

"This is a good day to die."

He didn't.......

My regret is seeing these folk get to 65 and then draw an invisible shawl around their shoulders.

My ambition is to be shot dead by a jealous husband at about 90.