Ageing & Growing Old

[Who me]

Morning everyone thank you very much.
Yep I won at padel but I think they let me cos I’m a silly old fart

 

[brownmane]

An idle question Brownmane...do you have plans to visit your place of birth?

I've not moved far. I live 15 km from my mom and the home I grew up in.

I think I'm one of the few who can go to an older cemetery (not old in relation to ones in the Old World) and have all of my dad's family from the 1800's who immigrated to the area I was born in that cemetery.

My paternal grandmother who was born in the 1890's could give you chapter and verse who you were related from relatives in BC, to a couple of western provinces, to Ontario. These would have been "old" families if you know what I mean. No one I never met or knew, but she grew up in a time that the families you were connected to meant something. They might not know you specifically, but you were connected by relation. Of course I grew up in a rural community, much different from urban communities.

People now (and I mean 1950's or so) are much more disconnected from family. Even as a kid, I was often identified, not as myself, but by my dad's name and family.

I realize now, how unusual this is.

 

[Stormkhan]

In general, my upbringing and personality has 'allowed' me to have no real connection to my origin location. I have many fond memories of the various places I've lived, but if I move home then I don't have a ... yearning for that place.
Once, out of interest, I revisited my childhood home that I'd left some twenty years before. Apart from a couple of sights triggering memories, it was boring.
Again, I had to re-visit the town of my early twenties ... and it looked the dump that I thought it was, with some improvements though.
It's a cliché that people moan about it 'all being different now' and having their nostalgic memories 'shattered' but that's the point: they are memories of a certain place, at a certain time, with certain people and time does change everything.
Lately, I experienced this with a person. I'm in social media contact with an ex. We split on good terms decades ago but happened to re-establish contact a while back. They are so changed (by time and their experiences) that while I'd chat to them in a pub, I wouldn't feel attracted to them again. They come out with some bullshit assertions 'as an expert' that it shocks me. A lot must've happened in the decades that had so changed their world-view. In fairness, I'm not the same person I was when we were together.
It's this 'change' that affects places too.

 

[escargot]

In general, my upbringing and personality has 'allowed' me to have no real connection to my origin location. I have many fond memories of the various places I've lived, but if I move home then I don't have a ... yearning for that place.
Once, out of interest, I revisited my childhood home that I'd left some twenty years before. Apart from a couple of sights triggering memories, it was boring.
Again, I had to re-visit the town of my early twenties ... and it looked the dump that I thought it was, with some improvements though.
It's a cliché that people moan about it 'all being different now' and having their nostalgic memories 'shattered' but that's the point: they are memories of a certain place, at a certain time, with certain people and time does change everything.
Lately, I experienced this with a person. I'm in social media contact with an ex. We split on good terms decades ago but happened to re-establish contact a while back. They are so changed (by time and their experiences) that while I'd chat to them in a pub, I wouldn't feel attracted to them again. They come out with some bullshit assertions 'as an expert' that it shocks me. A lot must've happened in the decades that had so changed their world-view. In fairness, I'm not the same person I was when we were together.
It's this 'change' that affects places too.

Yup: the change is in us. We carry our own idea in our heads of a place. It's our picture, not how it really is.

 

[Stormkhan]

Case in point: many people I experienced in the dump I spent my disaffected youth in were born and bred there. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But they had no inclination to experience anything. They felt happy with all that the place could offer. Again, nothing wrong with that ... sort of. But it severely limited their world view. I came to the town from London and a multi-national co-ed boarding school and the experiences I'd had, the mindset I'd gained, was completely baffling to them. I realised that you could easily tell the people who'd moved to the town and who was born there - they weren't stupid ... but docile. They had no interest in reality but the one they had in a very provincial and old-fashioned town.
They had no drive, no ambition.

 

[Floyd]

Case in point: many people I experienced in the dump I spent my disaffected youth in were born and bred there. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But they had no inclination to experience anything. They felt happy with all that the place could offer. Again, nothing wrong with that ... sort of. But it severely limited their world view. I came to the town from London and a multi-national co-ed boarding school and the experiences I'd had, the mindset I'd gained, was completely baffling to them. I realised that you could easily tell the people who'd moved to the town and who was born there - they weren't stupid ... but docile. They had no interest in reality but the one they had in a very provincial and old-fashioned town.
They had no drive, no ambition.

I do know what you mean, but to be fair though, they may have looked upon you as a know it all townie - (I'm not saying you were/are) - and in any case, isn't 'ambition' & 'success' relative anyway?

I mean, some people want to live as a hermit on the moors, or have a huge house in the country (none of which appeal to me for eg).

 

[Floyd]

It's a cliché that people moan about it 'all being different now' and having their nostalgic memories 'shattered' but that's the point: they are memories of a certain place, at a certain time, with certain people and time does change everything.

Yup: the change is in us. We carry our own idea in our heads of a place. It's our picture, not how it really is.

At the end of the film The Beach, the main character asserts;

And me? I still believe in paradise. But now at least I know it's not some place you can look for, because it's not where you go. It's how you feel for a moment in your life when you're a part of something, and if you find that moment... it lasts forever...

 

[brownmane]

Though I don't live far from my rural family home, I am not provincial. As a teen, I used to spend a week in city of Stratford ON. I loved living in town.

Then I lived in Toronto for six years. So, though I haven't really travelled much, I do have a broader world view.

In my hometown there are a lot of people moving from Toronto (which is very multicultural), South Korea, India. I have several friends who are of Middle Eastern descent.

I enjoy talking to them all about their experiences, their food, their childhood homes etc. My life has been very sheltered in relation to what others have experienced in theirs.

 

[brownmane]

Ok. So another official sign of being old. One of my molars broke last night. I was eating popcorn and chewed on a small hard piece of the corn (not a huge kernel). As I chewed, I noticed a slight pang. I have a dentist appt this coming Tuesday so I noted that I would mention this slightly sensitive area. I often crack my teeth and then the crack gets filled or it is wear on the tooth and it is just sensitive.

I don't remember how I noticed, but a little while later, I realized that the side of my tooth was gone. Right now, half of the front part of the tooth is gone with the filling in the centre exposed. It's not painful, so no root is exposed.

But now I worry what I can eat that won't dislodge the filling, or there will be a whole 'nother problem. Hot and cold doesn't bother it so I can still have my coffee.

I'm surprised that I didn't have nightmares last night as one of my nightmares that I have regularly is about my teeth coming loose and just falling out.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Ok. So another official sign of being old. One of my molars broke last night. I was eating popcorn and chewed on a small hard piece of the corn (not a huge kernel). As I chewed, I noticed a slight pang. I have a dentist appt this coming Tuesday so I noted that I would mention this slightly sensitive area. I often crack my teeth and then the crack gets filled or it is wear on the tooth and it is just sensitive.

I don't remember how I noticed, but a little while later, I realized that the side of my tooth was gone. Right now, half of the front part of the tooth is gone with the filling in the centre exposed. It's not painful, so no root is exposed.

But now I worry what I can eat that won't dislodge the filling, or there will be a whole 'nother problem. Hot and cold doesn't bother it so I can still have my coffee.

I'm surprised that I didn't have nightmares last night as one of my nightmares that I have regularly is about my teeth coming loose and just falling out.

The exact same thing happened to me recently. A perfectly good tooth went this way, no pain at all.
It seems that our teeth have become brittle. I do wonder if it's low calcium levels.

 

[Sollywos]

Hi @Mythopoeika and @brownmane

ME TOO!!

Last Friday I was eating a healthy snack, ie radishes, when I noticed one of the bits wasn't breaking down. On inspection it proved to be half a tooth and then lo and behold I found the other half and a further fish around found two little spikes where the right side canine tooth should be.

Damn and bloody blast it!!! No pain meant it didn't count as an emergency so I had to wait until Monday to phone my dentist. I'm due a check up in June so half expectd to be advised to wait until then!

Anyway I was fitted in this lunchtime and ten minutes later the root was out. I was lucky enough to get an NHS dentists when I moved here ten years ago but even so it set me back £70.70p. As I said to the dentist I would have been better off eating a nice soft biscuit!!!

The bleeding had stopped by the time I got home but my instructions are to be careful not to dislodge the clot so I'm having to be ultra cautious. I'm really hungry but the instructions were to not rinse until tomorrow meaning I'm being ultra careful.

 

[brownmane]

Hi @Mythopoeika and @brownmane

ME TOO!!

So shall we now be known as The Toothless Trio?

 

[Spudrick68]

Me three. Half a molar fell off. It hurt like he'll at the time but no pain since. My dentist says she will leave it unless it gives me pain.

 

[kesavaross]

I'm now missing two back teeth. They crumbled within a few weeks of each other about a year ago. I still have enough teeth to eat with so I'm not bothered at the moment. I know at some point I'll need to visit a dentist and I also know the cost will be prohibitive. What I'll do then, dunno?

My teeth have had a good innings. The last time I saw a dentist was when I was 16. I'm now 66.

 

[brownmane]

I'm now missing two back teeth. They crumbled within a few weeks of each other about a year ago. I still have enough teeth to eat with so I'm not bothered at the moment. I know at some point I'll need to visit a dentist and I also know the cost will be prohibitive. What I'll do then, dunno?

My teeth have had a good innings. The last time I saw a dentist was when I was 16. I'm now 66.

All of my back teeth have fillings. I go every 6 months for cleaning.

My teeth can also be sensitive because of enamel wear - both because of teeth grinding and jaw clenching.

I grew up on a farm with well water, so no fluoride. I'm pretty sure that that is why all of my back teeth have fillings. I know people who grew up on "city" water who never had cavities.

I don't think I would have teeth if I didn't go to the dentist.

 

[Mythopoeika]

All of my back teeth have fillings. I go every 6 months for cleaning.

My teeth can also be sensitive because of enamel wear - both because of teeth grinding and jaw clenching.

I grew up on a farm with well water, so no fluoride. I'm pretty sure that that is why all of my back teeth have fillings. I know people who grew up on "city" water who never had cavities.

I don't think I would have teeth if I didn't go to the dentist.

Although... dentists do create work for themselves...
That cleaning thing? They grind away a bit of enamel... months later, you need a filling. Odd coincidence, that.

 

[brownmane]

Although... dentists do create work for themselves...
That cleaning thing? They grind away a bit of enamel... months later, you need a filling. Odd coincidence, that.

I don't think that a piece of equipment that jets water to clean my teeth is affecting enamel. Cleaning does not involve grinding of any kind. I have had my teeth cleaned every six months since I've been an adult and paid for my own dental care.

Now, if I need a tooth filled, then the tooth is ground to clean out any soft rotted area and to roughen the surface to prepare the amalgam to adhere to the live part of the tooth.

I have not had a filling in years due to a cavity. I have had worn fillings replaced to prevent bacteria from getting under the filling and into the root. The most recent filling I've had was due to my top teeth causing wear on my bottom teeth and the dentin being exposed.

It is the softer dentin that bacteria eat away at. My dentist told me years ago, that in general, adults don't get cavities because they become immune to the bacteria that causes cavities.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Cleaning does not involve grinding of any kind.

Tell that to my dentist.

 

[BlackPeter]

A former poster called Merrick, now sadly long AWOL, claimed to be related to him by a couple of removes.
He reckoned the abnormalities showed up here and there in the extended family.

Discovered recently that the twenty year old woman next door suffers from the same condition as Merrick but this (luckily for her!) has not caused the same horrific effects

 

[charliebrown]

Maybe it’s in the genes, but my oldest son-in-law has never had a cavity.

How is that even possible ?

The rest of the family has had the normal dental work over the years.

 

[Stormkhan]

I have a full set of healthy teeth. On the rare occasion I can find a dentist to have a check-up (and scrape down), they report no issues. I guess I'm lucky - and, of course, all those crunchy aniseed ball sweeties I used to chew on.

We've got to the point in our lives where t'missus and I have decided to move house. The one we're in is cheap and has a glorious garden. But the landlord is unreliable, the house is officially illegal for human occupation, the garden will soon become unmanageable, and the cold,damp, and mold war we have in the interior has broken us.
We've decided to move to a more expensive lease, but a more modern (and energy efficient) home.

 

[Sid]

Came across this Science/Newsy item this morning, and it seems to raise an interesting question -
"What came first, 'or last,' the Chicken, or the Egg?"

To be more accurate "What originally came first, (or last) - Men, or Woman?"

This reports findings seem to show that 'Mans' future importance seems to be quite literally ~ in decline!
It's to do with the x and y chromosomes, and how the (why?) 'Y' seems to be gradually disappearing!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/worl...vanishing-what-will-happen-to-men/ar-BB1iTOgo

 

[Mythopoeika]

Came across this Science/Newsy item this morning, and it seems to raise an interesting question -
"What came first, 'or last,' the Chicken, or the Egg?"

The egg.

To be more accurate "What originally came first, (or last) - Men, or Woman?"

Women.

This reports findings seem to show that 'Mans' future importance seems to be quite literally ~ in decline!
It's to do with the x and y chromosomes, and how the (why?) 'Y' seems to be gradually disappearing!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/worl...vanishing-what-will-happen-to-men/ar-BB1iTOgo

Somehow, creatures were able to reproduce without the Y chromosome before it came along. The Y chromosome is just a means of passing along various genetic survival strategies and traits for survival, all encoded into a few pieces of DNA. It's a concentration of DNA programming that is constantly changing from one generation to the next.
The chromosome itself is (IIRC) an X chromosome that has a leg missing, possibly because it contains 'mutant' DNA.
It's probably not essential for species survival.
The future of humans may be female, or hermaphroditic - if the Y chromosome disappears altogether.

 

[Sid]

The egg.



Women.



Somehow, creatures were able to reproduce without the Y chromosome before it came along. The Y chromosome is just a means of passing along various genetic survival strategies and traits for survival, all encoded into a few pieces of DNA. It's a concentration of DNA programming that is constantly changing from one generation to the next.
The chromosome itself is (IIRC) an X chromosome that has a leg missing, possibly because it contains 'mutant' DNA.
It's probably not essential for species survival.
The future of humans may be female, or hermaphroditic - if the Y chromosome disappears altogether.

Whoopsie daisy. . . lost a couple!

 

[ramonmercado]

Happy Hundredth Birthday Bill!

Haverhill D-Day veteran's surprise at 100th birthday party​

Bill Gladden was aged just 20 when he was shot in France


A D-Day veteran shot just 12 days after being flown into Normandy was treated to a surprise party in Suffolk for his 100th birthday.

Bill Gladden was 20 at the time and serving with the 6th Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment. He was shot in the leg by a German tank and spent the next three years in a hospital back in the UK.

His family arranged the party on Friday in Haverhill, describing him as "a legend" and "an inspiration".

"He always says he didn't do much because he got injured, he got wounded," said his niece, Kaye Thorpe, 69. "He was only over there for about 12 days then he was three years in hospital - he had his ankle virtually blown off, shot off."

Mr Gladden said he had no idea the party was planned for him

Mr Gladden had been with his unit at the time near the French village of Ranville, close to the strategically important Pegasus Bridge, which they were tasked with protecting. Before his service, he had been a builder, and after his recovery he worked in various jobs in factories and in payroll departments.

Although he had told his family he did not want "any fuss" when he turned 100 - on 13 January - Mrs Thorpe said they felt they had to mark the occasion with the surprise party at the local community centre in his home town. He was greeted by a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday.

A themed cake was presented to Mr Gladden

As people set off party poppers, the veteran, who was brought into the room in a wheelchair, mouthed "thank you".
When asked later by a guest if he had any idea about the surprise, he replied: "No idea whatsoever."

Mrs Thorpe said: "I just think he's a legend, what he's been through, what he's seen, what he's done."

She said Mr Gladden, at 100, was still "bright as a button" and "loves singing and painting, and has created watercolour artworks from his memories of the Second World War".

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-67967629

Bill has moved to Valhalla.

D-Day veteran who flew into Normandy on a military glider dies aged 100​

Bill Gladden, of Haverhill, Suffolk, was just 20 years old when he arrived on a Hamilcar glider carrying a tank and six motorbikes on June 6, 1944

D-Day veteran Bill Gladden, who has died at the age of 100 (Family photo/ PA)

A “one in a million” D-Day veteran who flew into Normandy on a military glider and survived being shot by a tank has died at home aged 100. Bill Gladden, of Haverhill, Suffolk, was just 20 years old when he arrived on a Hamilcar glider carrying a tank and six motorbikes on June 6, 1944.

He moved to an orchard just outside the French village of Ranville, near the strategically important Pegasus Bridge that the 6th Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment was tasked with protecting.

While holed up on June 17 he carried two of his fellow soldiers, who were wounded, into a barn that was being used as a medical post. They died of their injuries and are buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Ranville. Mr Gladden was himself injured by machine gun fire from a Panzer tank two days later, while brewing tea, and was carried into the same barn.

D-Day veteran Bill Gladden with daughter Linda Durrant arriving at the surprise party for his 100th birthday in Haverhill, Suffolk (Sam Russell/ PA)

He was flown back to the UK with a severe leg injury and spent the following three years in hospital.

His family threw him a surprise party for his 100th birthday in January of this year and Mr Gladden was open-mouthed as a crowd sang Happy Birthday to him. As people set off party poppers the veteran, who was brought into the party venue in a wheelchair, raised his cupped palms to his sides and mouthed “thank you”.

When asked later by a guest if he had any idea about the surprise, he replied: “No idea whatsoever.”

Mr Gladden died at home on Wednesday.

He was a regular on trips to Normandy and the Netherlands, as well as to events in the UK, with the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans.

Bill Gladden (left) and Ted Pieri sit in the back of a black cab at Wellington Barracks, London, ahead of their veterans trip to northern France with the Taxi Charity (Victoria Jones/ PA)

Dick Goodwin, honorary secretary of the Taxi Charity, said: “Bill was one in a million who was adored by everyone he met. He had a wonderful gentle voice and loved nothing more than singing some of his favourite wartime songs. Earlier this year we had the joy of celebrating his 100 birthday in Haverhill and testament to the man he was, the hall was packed with all those who knew and loved him. Stand easy Sir, your duty is done.”

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41381257.html

 

[Sid]

Bill has moved to Valhalla.

D-Day veteran who flew into Normandy on a military glider dies aged 100​

Bill Gladden, of Haverhill, Suffolk, was just 20 years old when he arrived on a Hamilcar glider carrying a tank and six motorbikes on June 6, 1944

D-Day veteran Bill Gladden, who has died at the age of 100 (Family photo/ PA)

A “one in a million” D-Day veteran who flew into Normandy on a military glider and survived being shot by a tank has died at home aged 100. Bill Gladden, of Haverhill, Suffolk, was just 20 years old when he arrived on a Hamilcar glider carrying a tank and six motorbikes on June 6, 1944.

He moved to an orchard just outside the French village of Ranville, near the strategically important Pegasus Bridge that the 6th Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment was tasked with protecting.

While holed up on June 17 he carried two of his fellow soldiers, who were wounded, into a barn that was being used as a medical post. They died of their injuries and are buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Ranville. Mr Gladden was himself injured by machine gun fire from a Panzer tank two days later, while brewing tea, and was carried into the same barn.

D-Day veteran Bill Gladden with daughter Linda Durrant arriving at the surprise party for his 100th birthday in Haverhill, Suffolk (Sam Russell/ PA)

He was flown back to the UK with a severe leg injury and spent the following three years in hospital.

His family threw him a surprise party for his 100th birthday in January of this year and Mr Gladden was open-mouthed as a crowd sang Happy Birthday to him. As people set off party poppers the veteran, who was brought into the party venue in a wheelchair, raised his cupped palms to his sides and mouthed “thank you”.

When asked later by a guest if he had any idea about the surprise, he replied: “No idea whatsoever.”

Mr Gladden died at home on Wednesday.

He was a regular on trips to Normandy and the Netherlands, as well as to events in the UK, with the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans.

Bill Gladden (left) and Ted Pieri sit in the back of a black cab at Wellington Barracks, London, ahead of their veterans trip to northern France with the Taxi Charity (Victoria Jones/ PA)

Dick Goodwin, honorary secretary of the Taxi Charity, said: “Bill was one in a million who was adored by everyone he met. He had a wonderful gentle voice and loved nothing more than singing some of his favourite wartime songs. Earlier this year we had the joy of celebrating his 100 birthday in Haverhill and testament to the man he was, the hall was packed with all those who knew and loved him. Stand easy Sir, your duty is done.”

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41381257.html

He's certainly had a memorable life!

 

[Sillyhuron]

3 years in hospital. Wow.

 

[ramonmercado]

3 years in hospital. Wow.

And after he got out he went on to live another 77 years.

 

[FelixAntonius]

R.I.P. Dr Norman Rose Royal Marine Commando who took part in the D-Day Landings but also later as one the UK’s leading nuclear physicists

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/cymru/dyfed/about-us/news/articles/2021/dr-norman-rose/