Wednesday, April 18, 2007

GOLDEN -- BLOG OFF FOR BREAST CANCER

We are all on the way there. We cannot avoid it, inevitably we will all get there. Where is there you ask? Well the Golden Years of course.

Seems to me so many people spend their time worrying about getting old that they forget to enjoy life. And worry for what really? It's not like we can stop the fact the one day we will all reach senior citizen status. People get all up in knots about it like it's some sort of death sentence and yet most people who are in their Golden Years seem to be having the time of their lives. Think about it for a second. No kids, no job, nothing but you and whatever you want to do. Many spend their time traveling. Imagine it--you, your spouse the open road and all the time in the world to go wherever you want. And what about the Golden girls? Who would have thought that four single ladies in their late 50's and up could have had such a great time? And for all you Golden Girls fans out there, this one's for you.

"Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
Your heart is true your a pal and a confidant.
And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you ever knew
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say thank you for being a friend."
Sorry for the Golden Girls sing along. But come on, admit it. I know you started singing it. Okay, back to the topic at hand.

About 5 years ago Chris and I went on a road trip down to Southern California with a friend of ours. While most of our time was spent in the Los Angeles area and hitting up Disneyland and Universal Studios, we did spend a few days down in Palm Springs with Chris's grandparents. At that time they spent a good part of the year down there at a beautiful RV resorts for seniors. I totally get why people retire to places like this. It was amazing, the palm trees, the blue sky. One thing however that I will never understand is how older people survive in that heat. I remember when we first stepped out of the car when we got down there I thought I was going to suffocate. Now I know what your thinking? What fun could 2 people in their mid 20's have spending a weekend in a place like that? Well believe you me when I tell you that Chris and I had a fabulous time.

We were there for 3 days. On the second day there was a husband and wife comedy duo scheduled to perform in the evening. Bernie and Red do all sorts of RV tours and such. When I googled them to see if could find some info on them for this post I was surprised to see they are still going strong and that they even have a website.
Knowing that we were coming that weekend Grandpa went ahead and bought 2 extra tickets in case Chris and I wanted to join them at the activity center that night to enjoy the show. When he first told us Chris and I smiled politely and said "that sounds like fun." But really we were thinking was "what the heck? I don't want to watch a corny old couple try and tell jokes." Boy were Chris and I in for a shock. We went about our day and after supper we got ready to go enjoy an evening with a bunch of people 30 or more years older than us and a British Comedy Duo who were certain to bore us to death. Turns out Bernie and Red didn't just tell jokes but they sing and stuff too. And turns out they were actually pretty darn funny. Chris and I actually quite enjoyed ourselves and laughed into the night with Bernie and Red. The funny thing is we ended up staying longer than Grandpa and Char did. Bernie and Red were a little on the crass side and I don't think they appreciated it very much. Chris and I however, thought they were a hoot. I don't really know what that says about us. Perhaps Bernie and Red really are that funny or perhaps Chris and I should be trading in our youth and car keys already and checking into the retirement home.

Maybe we should all follow Bernie and Red's lead into our Golden Years because they sure seem to be enjoying every second of it. I like to think that when Chris and I reach those years that they will be spent traveling, golfing A LOT and spending holidays with our kids and grand kids. Sounds like a great life to me.
Did anyone hear about the 102 year old lady who hit a hole in one a few weeks back? Read about it here. I hope I will still be golfing at 102. Golden Years indeed. So come on people. Let's embrace what is coming to us anyways. I am not saying turn in your keys and pick up your walker just yet, unless you want to of course. I just think we should enjoy life a little more and let the future worry about itself and welcome the Golden Years when they do arrive instead of trying to escape them.
Once again, this is a post for the Blog Off for Breast Cancer. Feel free to click on any of the links on the right to check out any of the other blogs involved. Also, if you'd like to make a donation to Courtney, please click on the banner below.


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11 comments:

Sketti said...

OMG! I laughed so much...I love your posts, they're so great! Only 35 more years and then I get to retire! Roll on 65! Smiley and I have all sorts of plans for when we retire and plan to be going strong when we're 92! E x

Andrea said...

LOL! That's awesome! (You and Chris should think about checking yourselves into SOMEWHERE, that's for sure! Ha ha!) Love the comics!

TaraMetBlog said...

Looks like i'm not the only Golden Girls fan or Blog Offer who wrote about them this week :)

When I saw your mention of Golden Years, I thought of the David Bowie song of that title.

Lucy Stern said...

Well, at 57 I'm getting closer by the day....Hopefully you will have saved enough money to retire AND be able to travel and see the world. Hopefully you will have your health, Still have your spouse, and a paid off home to live in.

The Golden years are what you make of it, along with the things God gives you to live with.

Anonymous said...

I'm run of those people running scared from my golden years. I'm not scared of any age up until 40. Fourty scares the living bejeesus out of me. I don't want my body to break down. I don't want to be wrinkly and unattractive. I don't want that middle-age paunch. I want nothing to do with it!

Lori said...

Acute angina. Hee hee!

Anonymous said...

see what you did there...theme was golden...story about something that happened in the golden state? (right? california is the golden state is it not?)
your golden references are threefold...nice work.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tribute to Seniors. I'm not quite there yet, but I like to think of myself as being fortunate. It is so true about the "freedom" that one has at that age. When I turned 40 I was complaining to a co-worker of mine about getting old. The response she gave me was one that has stuck with me all these years. She said "It's a priviledge denied many people." How true! I hope to live to be very old.
Thanks for that post.
Glenda (C)

QueenieCarly said...

You make a good point, Evey. There really is a lot to look forward to in our 'golden years' although, I will say this: that whole Bernie & Red thing? Not loving that idea. Why tour trailer parks when you can you can sell out stadiums (the Stones)? And the Golden Girls? Seriously? Fuck, if anything could scare you about getting older it's those bats. It's not even like they were funny. Gawd...

QueenieCarly said...

I published before realizing I wasn't actually finished.

I liked your angle on getting older. I think it's true that you're only as old as you feel and we should enjoy things without fear. I hear what Courtney's saying, but I'm different in that I'm a little fearful of being unwell and maybe neglected or abandoned, but I'm not afraid of any certain age. Heck, I loved turning 30 more than any age I've ever been!

Once again, great post. FYI: when I get your emails going on and on about not having a topic and how this week is so much harder than any other week, don't be surprised if I ignore you. As always, this was a great post!

Cupcake Blonde said...

Great post...you had me rolling!

I awarded you the Thinking Blogger Award. Check out my blog for more details.