Used to be, when you rode around in the back of the pickup (yes, we did that back then), you would jump out over the side to the ground. The higher you kicked your legs up the better. Now, I need a three-step ladder to enter the bed of my pickup, and to get down, I need to lean on the side wall to slowly kneel down and inch my way backwards to the end of the tailgate, then one knee to the bumper, and step back to the ground.

But, that's from the knowledge of just how long and painful the rehab is from rupturing something or breaking some bones or such nonsense by jumping down.

What worries me more is those insipid little tripping things that you catch the bottom of your toes on- even in your 20/30's you can't be graceful, but can save yourself from falling or stick the landing. Now, I'm lucky to get my arms up to keep from impaling my skull on some object I stagger into from 20 feet away.

In my teens I worked on a house rehab removing all the old paint from an old Elgin watch factory home. The 30 odd year old carpenters would constantly yell at us about using every step on the latter an not jumping down. That it seemed great now but we'd regret the damage we were doing in 10-20 years. Well.. I don't think it was that Sumer job that did it but I do know I no longer skip that last step on the tractor when I crawl out to stretch my legs and getting in an out of the back of the pick up bed sure has become more of a process than it was in my 20s.

Well played

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I've been telling my sons a similar warning now for six years now.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

My Dad's big ones were protect your ears and your back.. Should have listened when I could hear him.

I've been super lucky with my back. Knock on wood.

A ton of loud music and standing next to the burnout area at the Grove back in the day has given me a little tinnitus in my right ear.

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My dad wasn't a jock, I had to learn the lessons the hard way.

But he did teach me how to work a little with my hands.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

That is perfect.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Reminds me of the old days of the old house music clubs where you couldn't hear right for 8 hours.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

..........Colonoscopy \\

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-"God is great. Beer is good. And People are crazy!"

You think that's bad? Ever seen My Bloody Valentine or Dinosaur Jr?
My ears have been jacked for like 35 years, but a lot of that stems from playing drums like they weren't mic'ed in bands.
MBV and Dinosaur Jr actually gave out free foam earplugs at the door when I saw either band in the recent past.

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Just chillin' like Garret Quillin.

I was talking with my assistant and O.J. Simpson somehow came up. It dawned on me that she was probably born after his trial. Sure enough when I asked her she said, "I've seen a documentary about it". It's like me saying I've seen documentaries about the Vietnam War.

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No, but when I left the Music Box, I couldn't hear right for 8 hours .

And no one was paying for extras.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Yeah, that does kind of blow one's mind.

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-"God is great. Beer is good. And People are crazy!"

Dad wrecked his ears in the army and during a short stint at US steel working on the floor before going to grad school after his second tour. That might of been the job that messed his back up a bit too.

you see other people your age or that u grew up with have gray hair.

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I started getting gray hair in my mid 30s.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

JOrr is going to be riding his bike behind your gimp ass all summer long.

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Jorr is lucky he wasn't riding his bike on the lakefront path 25 years ago back in my rollerblading heyday. I used to treat bikers like they were the enemy and they didn't call me the Butcher of the Bike Path for nothing.


I used to take down at least 2-3 bikers on the path every summer.

Rollerblades have a wide stride and bikers don't realize this sometimes as they are passing. My favorite was when I completed the 7-10 split by Fullerton. I had a biker on the left and right of me just behind me. Guy on the left tried to pass as I was striding, I clipped his tire with my wheel and he flipped sideways off his bike and right into the guy on my right knocking them both to the pavement. Not sure if they heard my cackling as I skated away without even breaking stride.

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Music Box is a MOVIE theater, dummy, not a concert hall.

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It was also a dance club on lower Michigan in the 80s and 90s mouth breather.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Did.Not.Happen.

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I’ll be 60 next year. It’s not the body stuff, that’s been going on for years, although I must say the hair growing/not growing in places expected and unexpected is an ongoing mystery. But for me what sucks is simply death. Not my death (I’ve never worried about my own demise, just the sadness it would create for my wife, sons and grandkids), rather others…the ongoing loss of artists, musicians and writers that made my life better, sucks…if they are a part of my consciousness, they were always there, and now they are not. And that list keeps growing.

you try to do a pull-up and you can't.

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@audioidkid

YES.

I used to play a bunch of softball. a few years back sitting in the dugout with a bunch of guys, they were talking about how old they were and how they were starting to sometimes get tired playing softball all day long on the weekends. These guys are all in their late 20's and early 30's. I'm at the time nearing 40. I was like wait hold on a second. do you guys consider me an old guy? and they were like "you have grey hair and like 5 kids....yeah" and thats when it dawned on me. i'm the old guy on this team. now i can still hang out in the OF and even play short if needed so i'm not relegated to catching but man alive.

This also cut me hard when a chunk of years ago they were referring to Matt Forte as a wily veteran at the ripe old age of 29. I was 34. and that feeling that any real opportunity to become a professional athlete (the Jim Morris story) was likely over. I feel like this is a thing that most sports fan men have for most of their life even though deep down we all know its impossible. we feel like some scout will come up to us after a rigorous evening playing ball in the jewish basketball league at the Y and be like, "have you ever thought about playing professionally? you really took it to all these old guys playing in jeans"

i also watch the local nightly news fairly regularly. mostly for the weather. the same weather that i can get a pretty thorough run down on my phone. I also subscribe to Kiplinger and the WSJ and read articles pertaining to "How to fix Social Security" and "Where will bond yields be in 20 years"

I hadn't thought about it before, but I guess that routinely watching the 5 o'clock news equals old.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Yup. Right after dinner.

Then to bed right after The Wheel.

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