# Do you know any really old fogies?



## The Backward OX (Jan 5, 2012)

What do *they* do, to fill their days?

(In case you hadn’t caught up, I’m an old fogey)

My fiction writing has seriously fizzled out, for a variety of reasons. Now I’m wondering what else there is to do, *besides reading*, while I wait to be measured for my shroud. 

I’m not handy, so making stuff is out. I don’t collect things either. And having led a somewhat fragmented life - which comes from having a mind like a can of worms - means there’s little I can write expertly in the _non-fiction _field.

You might feel inclined to say, the only other thing that’s left for me, besides reading, is to join an old people’s club. That’s where everyone sits around wearing silly hats, eating cake, and blowing those fool roll-out paper whistles. Thanks, but no thanks. Besides, I’m anti-social, too. 

Over to you.


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## Like a Fox (Jan 6, 2012)

Hello, friend.

My Nanny watches a lot of TV. She's 89 but still completely there, mentally.
We buy her box sets of DVDs for Christmas. New as well as old stuff. She also likes to go to the pokies. A lot.

So there are two suggestions. Gambling or the idiot box.

I had a customer in his late 80s who claimed to have a hot Russian girlfriend in her late 60s. He did terrible watercolour paintings, of her and other things.
Once asked if I wanted to pose nude for him. He also used to write a lot of letters to politicans.

Another two - making official complaints or finding a hot Russian girlfriend.


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## dale (Jan 6, 2012)

i'm an "old fogey"...or at least i feel like one nowadays. I'm 42 years old. you know what that means?
that means I need glasses and can kick your ass. but really......people disregard old people nowadays. 
that's why the world is turning to ****. we look down upon wisdom and seek emotional fortitude..and there
 is zero progress in that. the world of "non-fiction" is rarely based on reality today. it's a real problem.


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## The Backward OX (Jan 6, 2012)

Like a Fox said:


> making official complaints or finding a hot Russian girlfriend.


You've been reading my mail.


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## BabaYaga (Jan 6, 2012)

Charity work? If you're anti-social you could choose something that didn't involve working with other people- like with animals or in nature. Might help you get your mind off your own impending mortality. 

Or, since you are computer literate and thus different from many other old fogies I know, maybe you could start a blog detailing what it's like to be an old fogie so that those of us that aren't there yet know what to expect?

There's always organised crime.


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## Rustgold (Jan 6, 2012)

One of my best friends for a few years was a former Pom in his 80's.  He did work with the Guide Dogs and was responsible for the complete recreation of a suburban park.  I'm actually working on a project which will hopefully result in another type of non-brain-dead activity for senior citizens (and hopefully a few younger ones as well) in my area; but that's currently a finger's crossed.




BabaYaga said:


> There's always organised crime.



Crime really doesn't pay.  Seriously.  And we're not talking about law enforcement or that.

When I read about how a couple of robbers have spent days to rob a 7/11 of $400, I thin what idiots they are.  I wouldn't even bother getting out of bed for it; particularly when getting a normal job pays better.  But anyway, off topic.


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## BabaYaga (Jan 6, 2012)

Rustgold said:


> Crime really doesn't pay.  Seriously. .. I wouldn't even bother getting out of bed for it.



Well, that's why I said, organised crime, you know, you could plan heists in your part time (from bed) and then outsource it to younger, stupider people. 

It's almost like an underground form of employment creation- so I guess I've gone full circle with my advice.


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## Rustgold (Jan 6, 2012)

BabaYaga said:


> Well, that's why I said, organised crime, you know, you could plan heists in your part time (from bed) and then outsource it to younger, stupider people.
> 
> It's almost like an underground form of employment creation- so I guess I've gone full circle with my advice.



I could prove the general economic unviability of this, but that would be for a different thread.


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## BabaYaga (Jan 6, 2012)

Rustgold said:


> I could prove the general economic unviability of this, but that would be for a different thread.


 I know... I just thought it would make a nice hobby...


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## The Backward OX (Jan 6, 2012)

BabaYaga said:


> Well, that's why I said, organised crime, you know, you could plan heists in your part time (from bed) and then outsource it to younger, stupider people.



I actually like this. Seriously. I _do have_ an administrative streak. And it could also be an idea for a humorous short story. Maybe I haven't fizzled out after all. Maybe it was just the so-and-so novel getting to me.


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## Bloggsworth (Jan 6, 2012)

I meet one everyday when I'm shaving.


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## philistine (Jan 6, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> What do *they* do, to fill their days?
> 
> (In case you hadn’t caught up, I’m an old fogey)
> 
> ...



Two things immediately come to mind, one being more useful (on a general level) than the other:

1. Learn a language. As John Bridges says, and as I have always maintained, is that a gentleman should be able to speak at least one other language, excluding his mother tongue, to some degree of proficiency. 

2. Acquaint yourself with common loan words, primarily those in French, German, and the myriad of expressions used frequently in Latin. Some might say this is is superfluous, so long as you communicate effectively, though there are expressions in other languages which transmit the same meaning in fewer words, and more often than not, much more eloquently. 

That's all I've got.


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## The Backward OX (Jan 6, 2012)

philistine said:


> 1. Learn a language. As John Bridges says, and as I have always maintained, is that a gentleman should be able to speak at least one other language, excluding his mother tongue, to some degree of proficiency.


About 30 years ago I began learning French. I advanced to the point where I could think in French. Then I stopped. Today it’s all gone.




> 2. Acquaint yourself with common loan words, primarily those in French, German, and the myriad of expressions used frequently in Latin. Some might say this is is superfluous, so long as you communicate effectively, though there are expressions in other languages which transmit the same meaning in fewer words, and more often than not, much more eloquently.


I already do this. Doesn’t everybody? :-?


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## philistine (Jan 6, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> About 30 years ago I began learning French. I advanced to the point where I could think in French. Then I stopped. Today it’s all gone.



That's a damn shame.



The Backward OX said:


> I already do this. Doesn’t everybody? :-?



You'd think so, but no. 

Perhaps some geriatric crocodile hunting could be on the books? :lemo:


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## justbishop (Jan 6, 2012)

My grandmother-in-law is 96, and seems to fill her days mostly with cooking. She is a 1st generation American child of Italian immigrants, and makes the absolute best homemade pasta dishes I've ever had. Her ravioli is legendary.


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## Bloggsworth (Jan 6, 2012)

justbishop said:


> My grandmother-in-law is 96, and seems to fill her days mostly with cooking. She is a 1st generation American child of Italian immigrants, and makes the absolute best homemade pasta dishes I've ever had. Her ravioli is legendary.





When can I come for tea?


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## qwertyman (Jan 6, 2012)

Gigolo?


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## justbishop (Jan 6, 2012)

Bloggsworth said:


> When can I come for tea?



Not before me! Unfortunately, she is in Pittsburgh and we are in SC, so we don't see her as often as we'd like


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## felix (Jan 6, 2012)

My grandparents just turned 70. Judging by some of the ages posted already and the way in which they never shut up or stop moving, they're still young. 

They spend most of their time drinking and riding the fairground rides on the pier (they live on the seafront). The other day my Nan wandered onto an exterior location for a popular tv programme and began taking pictures of herself with the cast.


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## Ditch (Jan 6, 2012)

I really enjoy my metal detector. I don't like scrounging around school yards but like searching historical sites. Considering that the third largest gold nugget ever found was in Australia, it is a thought.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 6, 2012)

My folks were into gardening all their married life. Even if you don't have a yard, there's indoor gardening. It's amazing how involved one can get with it, particularly if you get into more exotic plants.


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## bazz cargo (Jan 6, 2012)

My Dad is a nutter: he is suing the Government, three banks, Numerous companies, several individuals and the RSPCA. He is promoting an idea to develop a new alternative energy grant, dating two woman, and investing other people's money in dodgy shares. He was suing a bus company, but he won that one. Any day now he will be leaving the country in a hurry, just in front of two big geezers with shotguns.

Much more fun than sitting on your veranda sipping beer and exercising your genius on us mere members of the proletariat.


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## IanMGSmith (Jan 6, 2012)

Friend of mine overdosed on viagra last week and now he is completely addicted. 

Oh man ...really screwed his life.


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## philistine (Jan 6, 2012)

IanMGSmith said:


> Friend of mine overdosed on viagra last week and now he is completely addicted.
> 
> Oh man ...really screwed his life.



Cocked, and ready for the round two I see.


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## The Backward OX (Jan 6, 2012)

Ditch said:


> I really enjoy my metal detector. I don't like scrounging around school yards but like searching historical sites. Considering that the third largest gold nugget ever found was in Australia, it is a thought.


The way we tell the story down here, it was the largest. But don't talk to me about gold; it's been my downfall.


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## Patrick (Jan 6, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> The way we tell the story down here, it was the largest. But don't talk to me about gold; it's been my downfall.


When looking for gold, always watch out for Silver.


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## Terry D (Jan 6, 2012)

Ox, if you have any interest at all you might consider taking up amateur astronomy.  Many backyard stargazers come to the hobby later in life (I didn't start until I was 53).  You can do it with equipment ranging from your naked eyes to binoculars to telescopes costing thousands of dollars.  It's a hobby which engages both the intellect and the imagination.  And the night sky in Australia is stunning (so I've heard).


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## The Backward OX (Jan 6, 2012)

Terry D said:


> Ox, if you have any interest at all you might consider taking up amateur astronomy. Many backyard stargazers come to the hobby later in life (I didn't start until I was 53). You can do it with equipment ranging from your naked eyes to binoculars to telescopes costing thousands of dollars. It's a hobby which engages both the intellect and the imagination. And the night sky in Australia is stunning (so I've heard).



Our best-known constellation is The Southern Cross, not visible in the Northern Hemisphere. As you know, _said OX smugly_, as Earth moves, the positions of the stars appear to change. In days gone by, the members of an outback shearing team, on turning in for the night, would say to their mates, “Call me when the Cross turns over.” 

_You don’t find stuff like that up North.

_


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## Terry D (Jan 7, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> Our best-known constellation is The Southern Cross, not visible in the Northern Hemisphere. As you know, _said OX smugly_, as Earth moves, the positions of the stars appear to change. In days gone by, the members of an outback shearing team, on turning in for the night, would say to their mates, “Call me when the Cross turns over.”
> 
> _You don’t find stuff like that up North.
> 
> _



I do envy you the Southern Cross, the Coal Sack, and both Clouds of Magellan.


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## Rustgold (Jan 7, 2012)

Terry D said:


> I do envy you the Southern Cross, the Coal Sack, and both Clouds of Magellan.



You have the aurora lights, which we have to go to sea for.


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## Dramatism (Jan 7, 2012)

Well, I guess I can't give you any ideas based on my grandparents because they are the most social old people you'll ever see in your life.

Once, I was on my grandma's computer, and the screen pic was that of her and about 18 friends at her house... yeah....

My grandparents do water volleyball every week, help extensively with a Halfway House (for cats), and my grandma has a "Tuesday group" of friends and the works...


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## Terry D (Jan 7, 2012)

Rustgold said:


> You have the aurora lights, which we have to go to sea for.



I've lived at about 40 degrees north most of my life which is not quite far enough north to see the Aurora Borealis regularly, but I have seen it twice.  A neat sight.


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## Tiamat (Jan 8, 2012)

Don't you old fogies still play bridge or canasta or casino or something--card games that only old fogies seem to know anymore?  Well, then again, I guess that would constitute being social.  You could learn to build card houses.  Or do crosswords or sudoku or jigsaw puzzles.

Then there's aquariums.  I seem to remember awhile back you mentioned making a sort of pond outside, but the birds kept eating your fish.  Take the pond inside.  I'd say you're sufficiently anal retentive to maintain a successful aquarium.  My dad's quickly becoming an old fogy, and he seems to enjoy his (even though I'm the one that maintains it).

Or how's about learning to play the piano or any other musical instrument of your choosing?


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## The Backward OX (Jan 8, 2012)

Tiamat10 said:


> I seem to remember awhile back you mentioned making a sort of pond outside, but the birds kept eating your fish. Take the pond inside.



It's a 60-year old steel bathtub on claw legs. It took three men to manhandle it out of the house. If you think it's going back...


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## Tiamat (Jan 8, 2012)

Haha.  Then you could always get a glass one.  If the Aussie Craigslist is anything like the American one, you can usually find tanks on the cheap.


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## Rustgold (Jan 8, 2012)

Tiamat10 said:


> Don't you old fogies still play bridge or canasta or casino or something--card games that only old fogies seem to know anymore?


Hey, I must be an old fogie.  Mind you, I do get easily annoyed when I play canasta on the computer.  I'm also not familiar with the game called casino.




Tiamat10 said:


> Or do ... jigsaw puzzles.



Best leave that until you don't have enough braincells functioning to do anything else I say.  There's also a reason they save bingo for nursing homes.


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## bazz cargo (Jan 8, 2012)

How about starting a new political party?

Racing pigeons.

A vendetta.

Making a kit car.

Morris dancing.

Cereal killer.


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## philistine (Jan 8, 2012)

bazz cargo said:


> ]
> *Cereal killer.*



I see what you did there. Surely, it's not sporting enough to be considered a pastime, though. Cheerios don't quite provide the same level of entertainment as that of a dog, parrot, human prisoner or severed mantle-piece head, for example.


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