After 50+ years on motorcycles, many of them across Thailand, I feel lucky to be here at all!!  😄😄

8 hours ago, Lacessit said:

the same cancer that killed David Ogden Stiers. An actor who absolutely nailed his role in M#A#S#H, and a man of culture.

He was great. He once narrated a fantastic PBS series documentary about the history of New York that was created by Ken Burns. DOS also had a great speaking voice. 
 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220924

 

 

1 hour ago, harryviking said:

After 50+ years on motorcycles, many of them across Thailand, I feel lucky to be here at all!!  😄😄

I had some pretty hairy events on motorbikes in my teens, and the same with cars, as well as making pretty large pipe bombs out of weedkiller and sugar and having some near misses with those escapades.

 

Travelled to Libya to work for an oil company just after the Gaddafi revolution, and things were very "unsettling" there for the expats like me and I almost got my head stoved in by a very large pipe bolt thrown by an irate Libyan mechanic and luckily it missed by inches.

 

Then onto Nigeria just after the Biafran war had ended, although there was still quite a bit of aggravation in south-eastern state and one had to be very wary.

 

Back to Libya in 1976 and had a very large pistol held against my temple by an angry Libyan soldier who caught a few of us drinking, and I thought those were my last few moments on earth, I really did.

 

On almost my last trip to Libya, the Fokker Friendship F 27 which was flying a few of us out of our desert camp to Tripoli airport, encountered an undercarriage problem, when it wouldn't come down and lock in place. 

 

The rotund Scottish pilot (a very experienced man by the way he handled it) told us that we had to strap ourselves in as we could well have to execute a crash landing. He flew the plane over the control tower a few times to see if they could pinpoint a problem from where they stood, but apparently not, so he told us to prepare for a "bumpy landing" (his nice words for a crash landing I think).

 

Anyway he managed to put the plane down with one hell of a bump and I thought the rear wheels would come through the bottom of the plane, but as it happens the front landing gear, which eventually came down, held up, but I can tell you it was one hell of a frightening experience, especially seeing the fire engines lining up alongside the runway.

 

A few more dangerous escapades, but none as bad as the above, and I consider myself lucky to have made it this far and I hope for a few more years yet!!

At 30 I never thought I would make 50, at 50 I never thought I would make 70. Smoking, drinking and generally over- indulging throughout all those years. Now 83, still around and ok. No idea why.

1 hour ago, Thingamabob said:

At 30 I never thought I would make 50, at 50 I never thought I would make 70. Smoking, drinking and generally over- indulging throughout all those years. Now 83, still around and ok. No idea why.

When people live hedonistic lifestyles they often refer to other people like you as a reference and as a way of living in denial and justifying their own unhealthy existence. I knew a woman who was like that and who died in her early 70s with pulmonary complications related to smoking. Yet she often referred to others a lot older than her who did the same and seemingly without consequence. 
 

Point being, although good fortune has been on your side for 83 years, there are many who don't make it half as far on the same set of tires. Who knows why, I still think if your goal is longevity then you should try not to poison or damage your body in any extreme manner or on an ongoing basis. Having said that though you have won the game of life and are a walking testament to the contrary. Perhaps it's all just luck and based on winning the genetic lottery. Who really knows?

8 minutes ago, RSD1 said:

When people live hedonistic lifestyles they often refer to other people like you as a reference and as a way of living in denial and justifying their own unhealthy existence. I knew a woman who was like that and who died in her early 70s with pulmonary complications related to smoking. Yet she often referred to others a lot older than her who did the same and seemingly without consequence. 
 

Point being, although good fortune has been on your side for 83 years, there are many who don't make it half as far on the same set of tires. Who knows why, I still think if your goal is longevity then you should try not to poison or damage your body in any extreme manner or on an ongoing basis. Having said that though you have won the game of life and are a walking testament to the contrary. Perhaps it's all just luck and based on winning the genetic lottery. Who really knows?

Must be genes. My father died at 75, my mother at 95. Averaging out I will likely be gone at 85. That gives me just under 2 years to make the best of time left ...

2 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Must be genes. My father died at 75, my mother at 95. Averaging out I will likely be gone at 85. That gives me just under 2 years to make the best of time left ...

Yes, they also did well, but nobody knows. I wouldn't make any assumptions. You might outlive them both. 👍🏼

Just like Megalopolis, you are misunderstood 

29 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Must be genes. My father died at 75, my mother at 95. Averaging out I will likely be gone at 85. That gives me just under 2 years to make the best of time left ...

 

Will you choose to do something exciting?

Such as skydiving?

 

As I recall, Bush enjoyed skydiving in his old age.

 

But, you will need to wait 9 more years if you wish to compete with Bush.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/jun/13/george-bush-sr-celebrates-90th-with-skydive-video

 

 

I could do this.

But, I would not do this.

 

However, I might have thrown Barbara out without her chute.

 

 

2 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

Will you choose to do something exciting?

Such as skydiving?

 

As I recall, Bush enjoyed skydiving in his old age.

 

But, you will need to wait 9 more years if you wish to compete with Bush.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/jun/13/george-bush-sr-celebrates-90th-with-skydive-video

 

 

I could do this.

But, I would not do this.

 

However, I might have thrown Barbara out without her chute.

 

 

Nowadays, excitement for me consists of a good day on the golf course, or good food  at a new restaurant.

 

Barbara Bush made herself famous with this observation:

 

"Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is."

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Nowadays, excitement for me consists of a good day on the golf course, or good food  at a new restaurant.

 

Barbara Bush made herself famous with this observation:

 

"Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is."

 

OK.

Let's not be so quick to throw her out of the aircraft.

 

16 hours ago, Lacessit said:

 

 

"Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is."

I don't remember this! That is hilarious and I would never expect it from her.

 

I never gave death any serious thought.  Maybe I should but at 57 it still seems premature.  I do remember how unattractive 50+ year old women were in my thirties.  Now I'm with a woman well into her 5th decade and she is hotter now  than any other woman I've been with.  Her dying is something I have thought about but rarely.

20 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

Must be genes. My father died at 75, my mother at 95. Averaging out I will likely be gone at 85. That gives me just under 2 years to make the best of time left ...

You are a realist Sir and good luck to you