Today, I had lunch, a meal provided by PWA retirement village, (euphemism for old people’s home) in which I live. I had three companions at table, my wife, another old lady and another retired old man. The other man was quite enthusiastic about the bingo he had just participated in. He also waxed enthusiastic about the 1500 piece jigsaw puzzle waiting for his attention back in his unit. I have never heard him express an opinion about anything except that he prefers to avoid political involvement. The old lady is a pleasant person who avoids conversation. My wife is in the throes of Parkinson’s. I often assure her that the people who visit us aren’t really there. Because of my faulty hearing I can’t decipher much of people say to me. It really doesn’t matter since what I do hear is generally a comment on the weather or something similar – never anything controversial or thought-provoking. I respond to ‘How are you?’ with ‘old, frail and useless.’

On the olo forum there are many opinions, some I agree with and some I disagree with. I am thankful to all of you. How wonderful that you have opinions. You are a window on the world. I hope to continue interacting with you. The Forum is my escape from the confines of PWA village

Dear David,

Thank you!

I keep coming back to the forum because of contributors
such as you. Such as Banjo, Steele, Paul, and so many
others too numerous to mention. I've been posting on this
forum for decades now and have seen so many come and go.
Many who became friends over the years. Sharing views
and discussing various topics does keep the mind alert.
Forcing us to delve into subjects we may not normally
delve into. That's how we learn and keep our minds active.

I too am grateful to this forum for giving me the opportunity
to learn from different perspectives. I certainly don't agree
with all the viewpoints expressed - but I do appreciate
reading the arguments presented, especially when they force
me to check the facts surrounding those arguments.

Once again, I hope that you will keep on posting for
years to come. You have taught me a great deal - and as I
stated earlier - it's people such as yourself I consider a
privilege to inter-act with. Again - THANK YOU!

Hi David, well said, the internet is a great boon for us as we age.

I have dozens of friends all round the world I have never & will never meet. I contribute to a few forums including classic car forums, particularly those catering to old Triumph sports cars. Then there is the remote control flying crowd, a very mixed bunch, & the long range yacht cruising fraternity.

The one thing wind power is really useful for is sailing. I find it very interesting to see how different sailing the worlds oceans is today to when I was doing it a mere 40 years ago. Few today would know what a sextant was, & taking sun or star sights is a long lost skill, with sat nav doing all the work today.

We are so lucky to be able to access so much world today, from the comfort of our computer desk in our house, retirement village or yachts saloon.

Dear davidf,

I am glad you still stomp around the halls of OLO.

I will admit I do get many of my diversions elsewhere now but it is fun to come back to familiar territory.

I'm not sure if you follow podcasters but Lex Fridman is one I am enjoying at the moment. He can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/@lexfridman/videos

He has a PhD in electrical and computer engineering but has a very eclectic range of guests on.

He also committed, as a new year undertaking, to read and discuss a book a week, old friends of he and many of us.

The list thus far is:

Sun, Jan 8 – 1984 by George Orwell
Sun, Jan 15 – Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Sun, Jan 22 – Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sun, Jan 29 – The Stranger by Camus
Sun, Feb 5 – Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Sun, Feb 12 – On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Sun, Feb 19 – Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Sun, Feb 26 – The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Sun, Mar 5 – Old Man and The Sea by Hemingway
Sun, Mar 12 – 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke
Sun, Mar 19 – Animal Farm by George Orwell
Sun, Mar 26 – Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankel
Sun, Apr 2 – Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Sun, Apr 9 – Metamorphosis, Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka
Sun, Apr 16 – The Plague by Camus
Sun, Apr 23 – Player of Games by Ian Banks
Sun, Apr 30 – Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Sun, May 7 – The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Sun, May 14 – Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky
Sun, May 21 – Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
Sun, May 28 – Dune by Frank Herbert
Sun, Jun 4 – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

He discusses 1984 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sk6lTLSZcA

Thanks David for letting us in to have a peek at your day, one thing I disagree with is; "frail and useless." Physically at 97 you wont be what you once were, no one at that age is, but judging by your reasoned comments on OLO your mind is as sharp as ever.

For me today is free, I'm off to the library to pick up some reading material. Think I'll read one of the old classics, maybe Daniel Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe', see what they have available, I like to read Dickens and Twain etc, love those old adventure stories, a great bit of escapism.

So, it's only selected people that Paul 1405 rubbishes if they live in a retirement village. Don't say anything he doesn't like, david f, or he will start bringing up nurses and dementia and his other insults.

It's not good to reveal your personal details on OLO. On the other hand, I suppose your Lefty credentials will protect you from Paul and his girlfriend's venom.