Ease on down the road.

1 PM in FL on 1-13-2012, with "Supposedly" 343 days until the end of the world.  :)  Temp isn't even 50 degrees, but not uncomfortable.  I have no vehicle available today (at this hour) so I decide I'm going to walk to the store.  It's about 1 mile away.My walking speed used to be about 4 MPH, Recently, though, I've been averaging about 2.8.  I'm not as fast as I used to be.

I left my meds at home (Foolish) and walked down to the store.  Then I decided to try something.  Is it even possible that I might be able to double my pace?  Can I get the mile in 12 minutes/  It requires me to try a slow run.  I have COPD, such a run may prove to be stupid.  But I decide I will try.

I doubled my pace ... for about a minute.  I was thoroughly winded afterwards.  It was stupid, I guess, to try.  I continued walking...and about 5 minutes later tried again... I didn't even make a minute, that time.

I know this old body of mine ain't in the condition it could be, especially not the lungs.  But I tried.  I did not succeed.

Is there any reason to be discouraged?  Not really.  I didn't expect to be able to do much.
Is there any reason to be ENCOURAGED?  Again, not really.  I wasn't able to double my pace, although I may have picked it up slightly.

I'm just old.  Bodies wear out after time.  Mine is wearing out faster because of COPD.  But I find it slightly promising that I was able to do ANYTHING.  That I am still able to walk 4-6 miles a week is pleasing.

So, I'm getting old.  I can't run a marathon.  Can't cover a mile in under 20 minutes anymore.  but I CAN still walk.  I guess that's something....AS I SEE IT

51 Thoughts (Don't let the title fool you.)

51. It's an odd number, It's the product of two prime numbers. People don't freak out when they hear you're 51, not like the teens do when they hear you're 30! If a person hits 51 homers in a season, he's a probable shoo-in for the Baseball hall of fame. 51 touchdown passes in a season (more than per game) is gonna net you a fortune. If you're married for 51 years, you've quite an accomplishment. 51 gold records in Rock & Roll, you'll be in the rock hall of fame. But there's something else -- 51 is a horrible age. With the average life-span of the American Male at 77.5 years, you've already passed middle age by 12 years. You probably have 1/3 of your life ahead, unless it gets cut short by accident or disease. By age 51, most people have been married a dozen years, 2 kids. They've owned 3 dogs, or 4 cats. They've had at least one auto accident, one broken bone, and one major surgery. I don't fit many of these categories. What's awful is the thought of what 51 REALLY IS. It's a progression IN YOUR 6th decade. You've finished your first decade when you have your 10th birthday. So, your working on your 6th decade. Doesn't that sound awful? Yet one of my family lived for 11 decades, dying at age 109. 51 years may not sound like much, but it's a constant reminder of your own mortality (Especially when you have lost 2 classmates in a week's time.) Think of the average age of the people in Congress. Then compare to the President. You're older than the President, you've got a constant reminder that YOU ARE OLD. The singers/rock stars you grew up with are either dead, or in their late 60s or 70s (Paul Anka, Frank Sinatra, KISS, Jefferson Starship, Marilyn McCoo, John Lennon, George Harrison) Who the HELL is Justin Bieber? Can "Miley" Cyrus REALLY be an adult Child of Billy Ray Cyrus? Most of us haven't really done anything with our lives. We've been living in obscurity, a faceless member of the masses who toil day in and day out, eking out a living. 51 may be just a number, but to me it's a reminder that we're all under a death sentence. Yes, it's death watch time. It's time to Call in Dr. Kevorkian, purchase your grave, and write or update your will. It's the facts: AS I SEE IT!