[John in AR]

The combination of a James Bond marathon on tv, along with a commercial for "Happy Gilmore" made me think some depressing thoughts.

Richard Kiel (big guy, played "Jaws") was on both some Bond movie as well as Happy Gilmore, and seeing him before & after, gave me pause. In the later movie, he's probably 60-65, and already needing a cane.

When my kids were out of the room, I asked my wife how many 70-year old mean she'd ever seen. She said 'a bunch'. Then I asked her if she'd ever seen a 70-year-old man my size. She just looked at me and didn't answer.

Never had thought of that before. All the really old men I know, and have ever known, are small-to-medium guys.

Better enjoy myself now, I guess... :crap:

 

[brass hammer]

ha!ha!ha1

your first line in the post about about 'rocked me outta' my chair [very funny]

p.s. you are not that BIG/NOR IMPOSING friend! :bawling:






:beer:

 

[41mag]

Just my guess about that actor.If you look at "abnormally" tall(or heavy) people in general that aren't in the NBA.IOWs people that don't have personal trainers on call,it's pretty common to see them w/canes at a fairly early age.Both the cardio-vascular & skeletal(knees anyone?) system just aren't designed for 70 years of use by bigger people.

It'd be interesting to actually see a lineup of NBA & NFL players from the seventies & eighties.& keep in mind that these guys had daily physical traing that,more than likely,Mr.Kiel didn't have.

A short anecdote?In the summer of '98 I took my Grandfather to the Ann Arbor,MI,VA hospital for some tests.He & I sat for about an hour in a waiting room full of WWI & Korean war vets.(I didn't see any Vietnam or younger age guys?)Anyways,some of these guys were hunched over & dragging oxygen bottles around w/them.There were quite a few,tho,that were straight backed 5.5-6.0 footers.They were in great shape & were as hale & hearty as any of us "young folk".

The ones that were talking the loudest & were the most animated seemed to be MARINES.I'm not even going to go there...

A little of my perspective?

I'm four inches taller & 100lbs+ heavier than my dad.I'm also almost at the same age he was when he had his first heart attack.& by age I'm within ten years of paternal grandfathers & uncles first heart attacks too.

My moms side often goes from cancer from the mid-fifties on.

I don't smoke or drink but if I make 60 I'll be suprised.

 

[Magnum88C]

Better enjoy myself now, I guess... :crap:

Well John, that's a good idea anyway. It really doesn't matter what your size or age is, there's no guarantee that any of us will be here tomorrow.
Like the Tim McGraw song goes on about, we should live like we were dying. Because really, we are, we just don't know when.

 

[Rich Z]

Sheesh! This is depressing. Here I am facing surgery for bone spurs in my neck rubbing against my nerves..

Well one good thing is that I am rather small framed, so I don't have to worry about the "big guy early death" syndrome inferred here.

But think about it. Bigger people put more stress on everything in their bodies. The heart has to work more to push more blood around. The legs and backbone need to support more weight.

I think if you are big boned, the best thing to do is to keep off the extra weight. Every little bit would help. Pick up a 50 pound sack of feed and carry it around for a while. Now think about the difference you could make if you could DROP 50 pounds from the extra weight your body has to lug around ALL of the time. If you are 50 pounds overweight, you are hurting things in your body with every step you take. That extra 50 pounds is NOT muscle!

 

[John in AR]

...p.s. you are not that BIG/NOR IMPOSING friend! :bawling:

Have we met...?



Don't mean to be too maudlin or morbid about this topic, it just struck me. I'm not a monster or giant, but I don't believe I've ever met a man who was both 6-foot-plus and 70-years-plus; even a hunched-over one.


Rich - agree on the weight thing. Although I'm not terribly overweight, I could lose some. But I'll never be "medium" (or even just plain 'large'), for that matter. I'm 6'3", wear a "50 long" jacket, and 38x36 pants. I could (and probably even should) get to a 36 waist, but I'd still be substantially over 200lbs.

Several weeks ago I told my wife I want a Bowflex for Christmas; this just reinforces that.

Anyway, that's why god created life insurance.

 

[Rich Z]

Anyway, that's why god created life insurance.

Yeah, but God didn't give most people the smarts to START private life insurance when they were 18 years old.

I've had life insurance with every job I have ever had, so saw no need to buy into it myself. Now that I am self employed and 54 years old, that is now no longer an option.

 

[Garand]

A week ago at work, I had just finished planting an AP mine for some trials that we were carrying out. I did this on my stomach and had my face about 8"-9" from the mine. After I removed the safety device, I went to move straight back a ways before getting to my knees, and at that moment the partner I was working with almost dropped a 2x4 holding scientic equipment on the fuze. He barely missed it. At that split second as I watched the 2x4 come down, I accepted the fact that I was about to die. Lucky me, I'm still here!

Then again you can get killed by jaywalking across a city street. Death can come at any time and I have spent alot of time in the last week reflecting on my life. Because of my previous military service my affairs are always in order, I know that my kids know that I have always loved and cared for. Most of my associates have respect for the way I conducted myself in my trade both in an out of the military. I know if it happens I will be missed, thats the important point. My life has been full of accomplishments and that is the most important point. My life hasn't been wasted. Death doesn't justify your existence, the way you live your life does.

 

[RIKA]

Don't mean to be too maudlin or morbid about this topic, it just struck me. I'm not a monster or giant, but I don't believe I've ever met a man who was both 6-foot-plus and 70-years-plus; even a hunched-over one.

The only really large 70+ years man I remember seeing or hearing about was John Wayne. I think the Duke was 6' 4". He died at 72 years and looked pretty good in his documentary last interview.

From a personal standpoint, I've been near to or faced death a few times not of my choosing. For me, our birth is the beginning of death and when we die, then our time has come. Nothing to be afraid of if we have faith in our God.

On a lighter note for all of us, just think of all the people we've outlived who went to school with us.

RIKA

 

[hipster]

I think if you are big boned, the best thing to do is to keep off the extra weight. Every little bit would help. Pick up a 50 pound sack of feed and carry it around for a while. Now think about the difference you could make if you could DROP 50 pounds from the extra weight your body has to lug around ALL of the time. If you are 50 pounds overweight, you are hurting things in your body with every step you take. That extra 50 pounds is NOT muscle![/QUOTE]

I can attest to that one Rich, I have dropped and held off about 40 pounds since Jan of this year. I come from very large people but not overly tall at the same time (men average about 5'10" and 240-250 pounds on both sides) Lucky for me both sides have long life spans on the average, late 80's for the most part. Getting back to a nice even 200 pounds has put the spring back in my step for sure. I just have to watch the beers and I should remain constant at this weight.

 

[John in AR]

...Then again you can get killed by jaywalking across a city street. Death can come at any time...

Then don't jaywalk. :dgrin:

I know what you mean about the moment of 'acceptance'. On my way to a screaming-woman 911 call one night nearly a year ago, I came up on a curve in hwy 5 that I'd swear had never been there before. I was doing probably 85 or a little more, there was a drop & trees outside the bend, and there was just no way I was going to make that curve. I actually said out loud, "Oh, well" and knew that was it. It was a strange moment, because there was no terror of dying or even panic about my kids; just a really hard to describe feeling of "the end of the game", for lack of a better way of saying it.

Believe it or not, that curve in the road's still been there every time I've driven that road since...