Aging and its Inevitable Twinges of Sadness for those no longer with us

 (Above: Boomer says "How the hell did I come to this?")_
Even as a child I could foresee the future if one were so lucky as to live long enough, having seen first our older teachers, relatives, and yes, parents die, and then the lists of the departed taking in more and more of our contemporaries with the hidden music of "And then There Were None" somehow there..

Well, growing old aint for sissies, as Bette Davis observed, and of course we are often struck ( and it IS like being struck== by likewise sometimes being reminded of dear ones who left this realm so long before what should have been their appointed time). ( Pardon me, by the way, Bette D.,-- but you were mincing words. Growing old sucks!)

This can all contribute not just to sadness but to our National State of being depressed, which just the re-election of George W Bush could do so much to increase, -- ( to say nothing as to the vast topic of how we have to deal with sexual changes that go beyond what can be conquered by Viagra--if a doctor tells you THAT is not of high risk for you either--but then, we also have our better sexual and sensual memories to keep with us...

Luckily as we grow older we also find news ways of adapting and coping and new friends and acquaintances ( one of the many pleasures of doing volunteer work, I might add) as well as feeling even more comfort for those we still have with us and in many cases have helped give us a really good Life..

 And then people also find their peculiar obsessions such as with railroading or the plight of the Rainforest keep giving them focus and renewed energy.. 

As one of the boomers with the prescience to realize this shuffling off this mortal coil could come sooner or later with no control over it really( friends who are outdoorsy and in perfect health suddenly requiring pacemakers remind us that our regular physical check ups are no guarantee against the inevitable progress of arthritis, or the sudden hernia, or God knows what else, blood clots and other horrors ranging down to including teeth)...  yes, with this knowledge never being out of sight and out of mind when all is said and done

Luckily my days of feeling like Oblomov--wanting to STAY in bed-- and, appropriately, having the echoing chorus of the "Song of the Volga  Boatmen" not actually in my ears but not far from it when having to attend to the ordinary tasks of getting ready for a new day are NOT the case any more

But as I said we live in a country of all sorts of beings who are depressed by this or that ( needing a "Lifestyle lift" when older or obsessed that they cannot remain with Barbie doll like proportions if in fact they ever had them...or those of us for whom the routine of exercising and weight resistance is more and more of  a challenge ..)

To say nothing at all of simple worries about money, which luckily sometimes rears its lovely head when we find we had more than our bleak assessment of our bank accounts might have led us to expect

Garden variety depression, then, is sort of a normal state for an aging boomer and one is constantly being reminded how worse off one could be, just a walk down the street in NYC is a constant lesson in this ( cheeky annoying bugger of a Brit folksinger is inspired in our mind here as he  launches off into and " Let me take you through the streets of London...")

But, oddly, researchers have found the resignation of dealing with the fact that Life is going to give us what it gives us rather than our hearts desire  , plus the resolve to persist, persist, persist in areas where we have some control makes it all "doable"--at least most days.,,this aspect of aging is an unexpected boon...

I keep being reminded of those Thomas Cole paintings, "The Course of Empire" and "The Ages of Man," which, oversimplified as they are, are still so apt...

My researches too keep me going and it looks like I will indeed find out how life looks to those young Milennials who are not indeed white or urban or educated (or suburban in a comfortable sense)

There are always need fields to be explored and new challenges to conquer, too. as my friend Goddard often closes , 

"Lox Vobiscum" and enjoy what the day may hold for you, wherever you are on the strange journey that is Life.

LK

Post script: You will notice in this whole rant I have avoided the topic of "exes", offspring and THEIR offspring, and sibling rivalries etc. still not resolved...that will have to wait until another outing.