Althouse: "Having turned 80 last year, I have developed an appreciation for various activities that tend to keep me resilient."

August 11, 2017

"Having turned 80 last year, I have developed an appreciation for various activities that tend to keep me resilient."

"First would be daily physical exercise. Then comes the forced smile at bad times. Forcing yourself to smile makes you take a deep breath. And deep breathing at random times is productive. Also to keep the mind going keep up with what is going on and contribute comments on the current situation. Some inhalation of medicinal marijuana is also suggested. And get a dog to love."

The second-highest-rated comment on a NYT article titled "How to Build Resilience in Midlife."

Key phrase: contribute comments....

30 comments:

Michael K said...: I agree with everything but the marijuana.; 8/11/17, 8:43 PM
peacelovewoodstock said...: I agree with all of it and if someone in their 60s or 70s or 80s or ... finds some benefit from medicinal marijuana then God bless 'em.; 8/11/17, 8:47 PM
David said...: Midlife? The life expectancy for an 80 year old male is about 8 years. Your results may vary but not enough to make 80 "midlife."; 8/11/17, 8:51 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "Key phrase: contribute comments...."

I will never die.; 8/11/17, 8:52 PM
Henry said...: Well that's a lousy headline.

"How to build " autosuggestions:

"How to build credit"
"How to build a deck"
"How to build a fire pit"
"How to build a shed"

"How to build r"
"How to build retaining wall"
"How to build raised beds"
"How to build rapport:
"How to build roof trusses"

"How to build re"
"How to build retaining wall"
"How to build relationships"
"How to build resilience"
"How to build resume"

Let's face it. People want retaining walls.; 8/11/17, 9:05 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: whenever I see a "help wanted" sign at an urban restaurant, I believe they are pretending they are in good business shape.; 8/11/17, 9:07 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Midlife? The life expectancy for an 80 year old male is about 8 years. Your results may vary but not enough to make 80 "midlife.""

The article wasn't directed at him, but he commented and I liked what he said.

His comment was apt because he's speaking from experience, looking back on a period that mid-lifers are entering. He's saying this worked for me. You might do well following me.; 8/11/17, 9:10 PM
Henry said...: I thought that article deserved a better headline. It doesn't.

Just for to be clear, neurons are not muscles.; 8/11/17, 9:13 PM
Henry said...: Just for to be clear. Stupid neurons.; 8/11/17, 9:45 PM
Earnest Prole said...: Are you gently mocking your mostly geriatric contributing commenters?; 8/11/17, 11:11 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Medicinal marijuana, my ass. Cute and hip but completely irrelevant.
It's the obvious shit, folks.
Control your weight
Don't smoke
Don't alienate your children and siblings with your bullshit
And, more importantly than you realize, keep your possessions and your pets at a level that you can easily take care of.
Your resilience is inextricably linked to your physical health and the dignity of your environment, however modest.; 8/11/17, 11:18 PM
William said...: I'm in my mid seventies. That's definitely old, but due to my healthy diet, strong moral character, and rigorous exercise regimen, I have retained my youthful good looks and upbeat spirit. On the street, I'm frequently mistaken for Justin Bieber......To date, I've been presently surprised by old age. It's not that bad. There's the occcasional biopsy and a fair amount of aches and pains, but nothing overwhelming. (Not yet at least, but not every old person dies in their sleep..)......Being out of it is a feature and not a bug. Figmo. Graduating senior. It's their problem not mine....,,,, I love the sense of detachment that comes with old age. I'm no longer even a bit player on the stage. I'm in the audience, and most of the time I'm not applauding or cheering but snoring.; 8/12/17, 12:42 AM
rehajm said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/12/17, 4:57 AM
rehajm said...: There is no problem smoking weed can't solve.; 8/12/17, 4:58 AM
Professional lady said...: I don't agree with the marijuana either.; 8/12/17, 6:35 AM
virgil xenophon said...: The Cracker Emcee Activist speaks heap big medicine! And I love Williams comment about being in the audience, snoring, and not on stage, heh, lol.

Signed,

Mid 70s and Slowly fossilizing..; 8/12/17, 6:50 AM
wild chicken said...: I wonder how many boomers geezers are going to start fires smoking a joint in bed.; 8/12/17, 7:03 AM
Tank said...: Remember what the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers said about the relationship between pot and money, "Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope."

Well, it's all a matter of perspective I guess.; 8/12/17, 7:10 AM
Heartless Aztec said...: Wake and bake? Jeez. Well no can do. Maybe a social puff at a party or around a guitar pull but at 64 that's about it. Commenting? The older I get the less I have to say. I do take deep breaths and force myself to smile everytime I see a beautiful woman all tatted up with skulls... Ahhh, the wages of aging.; 8/12/17, 7:56 AM
Kate said...: This one smokes weed, that one eats yogurt. Longevity is genetics, and all these "if only you did this" advice pieces are free shaming for those who do differently. Enjoy your time, because the DNA lottery is (so far) out of your control.; 8/12/17, 8:01 AM
Greg Hlatky said...: Heard tell that hunting down and punishing non-PC opinions keeps you young too; 8/12/17, 8:02 AM
Michael K said...: The average life expectancy in the United States is 9.1 years for 80-year-old white women and 7.0 years for 80-year-old white men.

This is longer than most developed countries.

I expect it to increase with time.; 8/12/17, 8:19 AM
Fritz said...: Dad is 93, and can barely move around with the aid of a walker. His little dog died not too long ago, and he wants a new one. Although he was very interested in politics in the past, that has faded over the past several years, and I doubt he would be interested in commenting. No weed.; 8/12/17, 8:26 AM
ndspinelli said...: A good quality, indica cannabis, edible, taken before bed helps w/ pain and sleep. I say good quality because some edibles can be unpredictable w/ their dosage. Cheeba Chews have been around for a long time and the quality and dosage is very consistent. But, ALWAYS follow the directions. Most Cheeba tootsie roll like edibles are 4 doses. You need to cut it into 4 equal parts. They also make a 10 dose chew. And it's important to make sure it's an indica, not sativa.; 8/12/17, 8:45 AM
Ron said...: I've been commenting here long enough to live to a 100!; 8/12/17, 8:47 AM
HT said...: "Longevity is genetics"

"5% genetics and 95% nutrient density of diet and toxic exposures" - Dr Terry Wahls; 8/12/17, 8:47 AM
Ray - SoCal said...: Obviously Trump needs to get a dog. And exercise more.

So what type of dog should Trump get?; 8/12/17, 9:11 AM
hstad said...: I'm sorry my friend the word "resilient" and marijuana do not mix, despite all the PC BS the pushers of marijuana put out to the public. If marijuana is what you say it is, then how come using this drug increases your blood pressure 3x more than normal. I think you are making excuses or are believing the PC crowd who are pushing this BS on the general public. Time will tell, as more people use it, more studies come out showing its harmful effects.; 8/12/17, 12:02 PM
ALP said...: Kate @8:01:
"This one smokes weed, that one eats yogurt. Longevity is genetics, and all these "if only you did this" advice pieces are free shaming for those who do differently. Enjoy your time, because the DNA lottery is (so far) out of your control."

Sooooo good it bears repeating. FWIW my Italian Grandfather smoked hand rolled cigarettes from age 14, switching to manufactured "cancer sticks" at some point. Never, ever considered stopping, worked in an Ohio steel mill his whole life - decades before modern safety standards. Raised 5 daughters. Died at age 95. His secret, had you asked him, might have been something like: "Music - every day play some music." He was an amazing self taught musician that could play anything.

I don't lose one second of sleep over my cannabis use; in fact - with Alzheimer's running rampant on both sides of my gene pool and some research showing that cannabis may prevent that (along with caffeine in coffee) I'll stick with my Saturday morning speedball, thank you very much.

Kate - what you said.; 8/12/17, 1:22 PM
Bilwick said...: "Longevity is genetics."

That hasn't been my experience. Good genes help, of course, but I came from people who ate the typical crap American diet of the post WWII era, never exercised, and often smoked. Around the age of 20 I looked at the gene pool I came from and decided, "Nah-ah." Inspired by people like Jack LaLanne and Paul Bragg, I started eating "clean," as we say these days, and working out, and while I could drop dead or get hit by a car tomorrow, I can say without boasting that I'm aging a lot better than the folks I came from.; 8/12/17, 1:58 PM