[M_Six]

Good deal. Retiring at 55 is awesome. I've worked with folks who put in 30 or more years and did that. It's sad so many people find fault with it. Our "envy" culture is to blame for much of that. People always rail against things they don't have, like good benefits or a decent retirement situation. If you've earned it, you deserve it in my book.

I wish I had started earlier. As it is, I'll be working until I'm 67 just to get 25 years in.

[RABAUKE]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Good deal. Retiring at 55 is awesome. I've worked with folks who put in 30 or more years and did that. It's sad so many people find fault with it. Our "envy" culture is to blame for much of that. People always rail against things they don't have, like good benefits or a decent retirement situation. If you've earned it, you deserve it in my book.

I wish I had started earlier. As it is, I'll be working until I'm 67 just to get 25 years in.

Never forget when I got hired, I just wanted to be a cop and my dad told me I'd won the lottery (pension), didn't get that for a long time and now it makes great sense. Cops get a bad rap a lot of the time. It's a great job, I love coppers. The most twisted fuck's on the planet, lots of down time and them brutal glimpses at reality.......when I think of what I've seen, and what I've done and then look back and I can remember my first day on the job. Time flies, back to your original post and my view......grab life by the balls and live everyday, before you know it you're not 21 and bullet proof anymore.

[UncleWede]

As we age, we can afford better cars and better scotch. If we all lived long lives, there wouldn't be enough of either to go around.

I always thought I'd be checking out by 55, but as I reach 50 this year, maybe I will make it a little further.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

As we age, we can afford better cars and better scotch. If we all lived long lives, there wouldn't be enough of either to go around.

I always thought I'd be checking out by 55, but as I reach 50 this year, maybe I will make it a little further.

60 is the new 40. Shoot for 90 at least.

[UncleWede]

For us type 1 diabetics, 60 is the new 60, unfortunately.

But I got a Fitbit for father's day, and I should be back down to 180 by Oct. 22. Or so it says. . .

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

For us type 1 diabetics, 60 is the new 60, unfortunately.

But I got a Fitbit for father's day, and I should be back down to 180 by Oct. 22. Or so it says. . .

Your feet still ok? Many Type 1 folks end up with badly broken bones in their feet. My brother had to have one of his feet practically rebuilt. They used a bunch of plates and screws to hold it together. And a former co-worker had to have the same surgery on her foot. Both lifelong diabetics.

[UncleWede]

"Feets, don't fail me now." I'm still good, although I see now that I inherited the varicose veins, at least from the ankles down, from mom. I RARELY go without shoes any more, just so I don't invite infection. Losing my foot or my eyesight has always been a motivating factor to keep the diabetes in control.

My wife's uncle came home from work with a nail thru his boot into his foot, and he didn't even know!!! He never wore another boot on that foot, they had to take it off.

[gtron]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I've heard before that you start losing friends when you get into your late 50's and then it slows or stops until you get into your 70's or 80's. It seems that late 50's period is bad. My younger brother (mid-50's) died unexpectedly about 18 months ago and since then I've read about 4 or 5 others who I knew from high school who have died, including my ex-BIL and my longtime high school GF. My former GF's passing really bothered me because we kept in touch right up until a few years ago. I had no idea she was ill and now she's gone. I would have gone to her funeral had I known about it in time, but I've been living halfway across the country now for 15 years and sort of lost touch with old friends from back east.

No real point to make here other than a sense of loss about people who used to be a big part of my life.

If you grow up in a shitty environment that starts happening in your 30s. You're doing well, sir. Good luck to you.

[Sidewinderpb]

Just got home from my buddy's wake. 24 years old...just never woke up.

[gtron]

Originally Posted by Sidewinderpb

Just got home from my buddy's wake. 24 years old...just never woke up.

That's a nice way of saying he ODed.

[fravel]

Shit, I'm not even 30 and I'm already well on that road. Good buddy died in a bus crash shortly after we graduated high school, roommate shot himself 2 days before my 21st birthday (I hope none of you ever experiences that), and the 3rd was a close friend who lost his life in a freak motorcycle accident just riding back to the pits after a drag run.

If you love someone, tell them.

[M_Six]

Look at that guy from the newest Star Trek movies. The guy that played Chekov. Killed while checking his mail when his car rolled down his driveway and pinned him to the mailbox. You just never know.

[UncleWede]

Not to speak ill of the dead, but he was Russian. I'm thinking some sort of potato by-product *MIGHT* have been involved.

[fravel]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Not to speak ill of the dead, but he was Russian. I'm thinking some sort of potato by-product *MIGHT* have been involved.

Irrelevant, it was a design flaw of the the Jeep. That model is actually already under recall because the gear change mechanism is a usability nightmare. People think the car is in park when it's not.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by fravel

Irrelevant, it was a design flaw of the the Jeep. That model is actually already under recall because the gear change mechanism is a usability nightmare. People think the car is in park when it's not.

But, if you didn't put it in park, could you really get out of the car, walk down a long driveway, and THEN it follows you like a Mustang to the mailbox??? I'd think that if it were in gear, before I could step out the door it would be moving once I took my foot off the brake. V8, right???

[fravel]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

But, if you didn't put it in park, could you really get out of the car, walk down a long driveway, and THEN it follows you like a Mustang to the mailbox??? I'd think that if it were in gear, before I could step out the door it would be moving once I took my foot off the brake. V8, right???

From the reports I've read the car is actually in neutral when people think it is park, there was nothing keeping the car in place.

EDIT: Looks like it would be trivial to mistakenly put the car into reverse and think it was in park also.

http://jalopnik.com/heres-the-proble...ter-1782364420

[08njSTEP]

The shifter is a knob on the center column like I drive. I first saw this awful design on a Range Rover. Now Jeep has it. Really bad design. So unnatural. Imagine shifting by turning I drive knob.

[Sidewinderpb]

Originally Posted by gtron

That's a nice way of saying he ODed.

Eat shit.

[UncleWede]

My wife's aunt passed on last night. Wife spent the last 2 nights at hospice with her. Went into the hospital about 10 days ago with UTI, and they discovered stage 4 cancer. I saw her at various family events, but can't imagine we ever said 3 words to each other.

Will NOT miss life (ie my son's baseball games) for death rituals.

[gtron]

Originally Posted by Sidewinderpb

Eat shit.

I wasn't trying to be mean. That's just been my experience.

I suppose I should have been more sensitive to your needs and tried to comfort you.

"I'm sorry for your loss" - I think that's what the normal blanket response is.

My apologies.

[gtron]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

My wife's aunt passed on last night. Wife spent the last 2 nights at hospice with her. Went into the hospital about 10 days ago with UTI, and they discovered stage 4 cancer. I saw her at various family events, but can't imagine we ever said 3 words to each other.

Will NOT miss life (ie my son's baseball games) for death rituals.

Cancer is crazy. It's been awhile since we've cured anything big so I think this one is overdue.

[M_Six]

Year's ago Wifey's grandmother went into the hospital just for some rehab work on an injured arm. Caught the norovirus that was going around and vomited/aspirated in her sleep. Died two days later from pneumonia. Some rehab.

A former colleague of mine died from cancer within days of them discovering it. She thought she had caught a cold or bronchitis from a recent flight. They told her she had advanced lung cancer and she died within days. How can you be that far along with lung cancer and not have known it?