An aging pilot

My DOB: 1957. My advice and personal practice:
No drinking, no smoking. Vitamins every day. Get down to your fighting
weight. Sex as often as the wife can stand it. Keep your mind sharp by
keeping active physically and challenging yourself mentally.

No smoking since 1987, a multi-vitamin and 500 mg of vitamin C, plus an
enteric-coated aspirin each morning has kept me remarkably healthy. In
fact, I honestly can't remember the last time I was sick, and I've never
missed a day of work in my life.

At six feet tall, I've been as light as 175 pounds, and as heavy as 205, but
I generally remain in the 185 - 190 range when working out regularly, as I
am now.

But no drinking? At all? Not even a cold beer at the hangar after a long
cross country on a hot summer's night? Not even a glass of rose with a
plate of lasagna?

That ain't right.

And, I believe, health statistics show that alcohol, when consumed in
moderation, is a life-prolonging prescription.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 10/27/04 9:36 AM, in article svNfd.16504$R05.7492@attbi_s53, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:


But no drinking? At all? Not even a cold beer at the hangar after a long
cross country on a hot summer's night? Not even a glass of rose with a
plate of lasagna?

That ain't right.

And, I believe, health statistics show that alcohol, when consumed in
moderation, is a life-prolonging prescription.

Obviously a study funded by the evil, greedy capitalists in the liquor
industry.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino
Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.wizardofdraws.com
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

Jay Honeck wrote:

And, I believe, health statistics show that alcohol, when consumed in
moderation, is a life-prolonging prescription.

Sorry, Jay. Not just any alcohol but red wine is what figures in the studies.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 13:36:24 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

enteric-coated aspirin each morning

The wisdom now is that you should take it in the evening.

The Wall Street Journal had an article on the things you can do to
extend your life, and beside each was the number of months it ought to
add. The one I liked best was to drink a four-ounce glass of wine with
dinner: four months!

I boasted to my daughter that I was now a wine drinker, and that it
would extend my life by four months. She said: "Yeah, but it will be
in the winter."

(I'm serious about taking the aspirin in the evening. It was on the
list, though I think it was only good for a month or two of longevity.
In any event, I switched. I'm not superstitious--knock on wood!--but
why take chances?)

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
the blog www.danford.net

enteric-coated aspirin each morning

The wisdom now is that you should take it in the evening.

Why?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:n8cgd.331333$D%.181798@attbi_s51...
enteric-coated aspirin each morning

The wisdom now is that you should take it in the evening.

Why?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"



That is when your blood is the thickest, and you are most likely to have a
clot clog up your brain or heart, which is what the aspirin helps prevent.
--
Jim in NC


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.782 / Virus Database: 528 - Release Date: 10/22/2004

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 13:36:24 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

Not even a glass of rose with a
plate of lasagna?

That ain't right.

No, it's not right. See my earlier post. The glass of wine is one of
the easy things you can do to add to your life.

(Of course, there's not proof of cause and effect here. The Toyota
Avalon is the safest passenger vehicle on the road, but that doesn't
mean you'll be safer if you swap your SUV for an Avalon. You will take
your driving habits with you into the new vehicle.)


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
the blog www.danford.net

Cub Driver wrote:

(Of course, there's not proof of cause and effect here. The Toyota
Avalon is the safest passenger vehicle on the road, but that doesn't
mean you'll be safer if you swap your SUV for an Avalon. You will take
your driving habits with you into the new vehicle.)

From what I've seen of the driving habits of many of the SUV owners around here, if
the swapped for an Avalon, they wouldn't live long.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.

For those of you farther down life's trail than I, what have you done to
maintain your edge? Any tips on staving off old man winter as long as
possible?
----------------------------------------------

FWIW, I'm 68, recently renewed my 2nd Class FAA medical, don't smoke (never
have), don't drink, don't chase women, eat all the wrong foods, don't exercise,
high BP (treatable), high cholesterol (treatable), flying at least once a week.


Hey, I may make age 70 at this rate. Maybe it's the genes (Dad lived till his
late 80s, Mom is in her late 80s - choose your parents carefully)

Hi Jay,

I started with the old reading glasses and floaters thing when I hit
forty. I am 52 now. The reading glasses are a little stronger now (not
much) and have a few more floaters (again not much). At forty, I can
remember seeing something floating to the side of my vision and saying
"What the hell was that?", thinking it was a bogie.

I read talked to my doctor about the floaters and he told me that
eventually your brain learns to "tune" them out. I have found that
this is true. I've gotten so use to them that they are no longer a
factor and only notice them when I'm thinking about them. Accept them
as part of your life now and move on.

I would say that you have nothing to be concerned about. I keep my
reading glasses in the airplane glove compartment and found that
Walgreens sells sunglasses with bifocals for around 15 bucks. No
problem!!

Keep on FLYING!
Jim
http://FunPlacesToFly.com






"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:5D_ed.243219$wV.57086@attbi_s54...
So I've reached my 46th year fairly unscathed. I've still never missed a
day of work, ever, and I'm rarely under the weather. In fact, I feel great.

Still, now that I'm solidly in middle age, I find that my cholesterol is too
high, I could stand to lose 15 pounds, and, at my most recent check-up, my
blood pressure was a touch high, for the first time.

In short, the inevitable effect of aging is starting to show itself.

To combat this I've been doing daily weight training with my 14-year old son
for over 9 months. I've built muscle mass and stamina, and (for the first
time in 20 years) my back isn't on the verge of "going out" all the time.
I've passed the CAP cadet requirement for running a mile (even though, as a
senior member, it wasn't required), just to show my kid that "the old man"
could still do it. (I darn-near died... ;-)

So, all things considered, I guess I'm doing okay for an old, balding white
guy.

My biggest concession to age has been my vision, which has always been a
weak point. (It kept me from joining the Air Force.) Although I'm still
corrected to 20/20, I'm going to need bifocals at my next check up for sure
(boy, that danged sectional is just about impossible to read), and I am
plagued with more and more floaters every year. Low-contrast backgrounds
(like an overcast) make it very difficult for me to spot traffic.

Since life is a terminal condition, it's only natural that whatever is
deteriorating will continue to do so -- although I assume there are various
things pilots can do to compensate. At some point, however, the lines on
the graph intersect, and you've got to quit flying. Question is, when?

For those of you farther down life's trail than I, what have you done to
maintain your edge? Any tips on staving off old man winter as long as
possible?

And for those of you who have hung it up, what made you do it? When did you
know it was time?