As I am approaching (or am I totally immersed) in my twilight years I realize that I am truly blessed to have excelled health. This is even more obvious when I see many people 20 years my junior who have trouble walking, seeing, hearing or even thinking or talking.
I was always a healthy active child. No problems. I could run and play with the best of them. I loved sports as a teenager and felt I could do anything. Well, not quite. But as I got into my later teen years I found I was falling behind in terms of my height. This was because of genetics. My mom was short. My dad was short. Their parents were short. Although I was a good skater I couldn’t quite measure up in hockey. The bigger guys were better So I switched to curling. I really worked at it and became quite good. I was on the Alberta High School Championship team in 1953 (or 54??)
Because I got involved in construction I embraced the skills and strength it took to do the work. I loved working up a sweat and getting a lot done. Recently I did a rock project that took about 5 weeks. This required a certain process which was the same every day. Screen the sand. Mix the mortar. Fit the stones inside plumb lines (string). Mortar them together. “Point” the joints to make everything smooth then wash the surfaces. All of these steps take effort and all kinds of body movements. But at the end of the day (actually half-day, 4hrs) I felt great.
In the past 35 years I have done many hundreds of tile jobs. Many of these were done on my knees. Up until a few years ago I did these without knee-pads. Because of this I find that my knees are really quite strong. Many of peers have had their knees replaced. You know how drastic this surgery is? it’s incredible what they do, I hope never to have that done.
I am not a perfect specimen. I do take two prescriptions — one for blood pressure and the other for my esophagus. But other than these I am quite healthy!