In the most recent issue of Newsweek, Sir Paul McCartney said that he felt it hard to believe it's actually he who is approaching the age of 65. I certainly understand the sentiment, for I, as most who live this long, still feel in our minds that we're much younger. Also, for most, all we have to do is look in the mirror to confirm the reality we sometimes just don't want to face.
With aging, for me, has also come a degenerative spinal condition combined with arthritis and stenosis, the surgery for which left me in about as much pain as I experienced before the surgery. It's difficult for me to walk more than ten feet or so without stopping to allow the pain to ease, even with my cane or walker. As a result, our outings are always taken with any walking distance in mind, such as our last Sunday on the banks of the Mississippi River. Had a bench not been relatively close to the parking, I simply would've missed the duck show I described in a recent blog.
But there is a solution, though not physiologically. Have you ever seen those commercials for The Scooter Store? They've probably been showing for years, but of course I never paid much attention until I couldn't walk very well. So I sent for literature and came to find out that they fold up such that I could get one in the back of my PT Cruiser if the back seats are down. And I'm no novice. I've had a little scooter driving practice at such places as Cub Foods and Home Depot, which are huge buildings that I couldn't walk around if I wanted to. Of course I used a scooter at the Mall of America. Actually, I look pretty cool zipping around.
It's just another one of the adjustments to aging and physical deterioration. But it is what it is! Hell, all I need is a Captain America motorcycle helmet and people will think I'm Peter Fonda!
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