2014

And so begins the year 2014, the year yrs trly turns 70.
My wife didn’t make it. She died April 17th, 2012.
I didn’t expect to be the the last one standing, but I figured I’d make 70.
80 I don’t know about. I’m falling apart, and get weaker.
My wife would have turned 70 tomorrow, January 2nd.
Relatives were always upset she waited until January 2nd, that she wasn’t the first baby in Steuben County (“Stew-BEN”) for 1944.
I wait another month, February 5th.
As far as I’m concerned I’m already 70 from the moment of conception.
I sure feel it. I have to pull myself up stairs with my arms.
I say I have attained “old-fartdom.” 60-69 was “crusty curmudgeon;” 70-79 is “old fart;” 80-on is “geezer.”
I don’t know if I’ll make “geezerdom,” but I might.
I do work-out, and am in fairly good shape for my age.
I see many others my age in worse shape than me, particularly retired bus-drivers.
Diabetes and Alzheimer’s/Parkinson’s.
No health-issues so far. I eat healthy and never smoked or pigged out on alcohol. Nor did I partake of various hallucinogens.
I used to run too — footraces.
But I’m not my wife. I don’t have her genes.
Had she not got cancer, she would have made 100.
Women in her family all made over 90. Her mother is still alive at age-97.
My paternal grandfather lasted well into his 90s, but my father died at 79.

• My wife was born in Corning, NY, which is in Steuben County.
• For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service (RTS) in Rochester, NY, a public employer, the transit-bus operator in Rochester and environs. My stroke October 26th, 1993 ended that. I retired on medical-disability. I recovered fairly well. —I eat out with Transit retirees occasionally.