Over the last few days, I have been feeling all of my seventy-five years (e.g. aching muscles after undertaking minimal physical effort, dozing off in my arm chair without warning, spending more time finding reasons not to do something than it would take to do it) ... and when I mentioned this to my wife, she replied, 'That's not really surprising, you are old!' (We have been married for forty-three years, so she knows me far too well for my own good!)
This exchange put me in mind of Lewis Carroll's poem, YOU ARE OLD, FATHER WILLIAM.
"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head—
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."
"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door—
Pray, what is the reason of that?"
"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
"I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment—
one shilling the box—
Allow me to sell you a couple."
"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak—
Pray, how did you manage to do it?"
"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life."
"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose—
What made you so awfully clever?"
"I have answered three questions, and that is enough,"
Said his father; "don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!"
The poem was included in Lewis Carroll's book ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND, which was published in 1865. In it, the Caterpillar asks Alice to recite the poem, which she does. The book was illustrated by John Tenniel, and I have used copies of his drawings in this blog post.
:) Bob my aged mother says not everyone gets to make old age he says it's a privilege
ReplyDeleteBTW enjoy your wargaming blogs & books
Andrew,
DeleteVery true. I’m of an age when I now go to more funerals than weddings or baptisms.
My problem is that five years ago I was fairly active and healthy, but over the past five years I’ve had colorectal cancer and prostate cancer, and developed axonal polyneuropathy. I now have a stoma, have to have regular cancer medication, and have problems standing and walking. In particular, the latter has seriously impacted on my ability to enjoy life as much as I used to. Still, being the way I am is better than the alternative!
All the best,
.
Bob
Bob, I’ll turn 75 in December. There are some days I feel 10 years younger, and some days 10 years older. The body parts definitely creak and groan.
DeleteNickN,
DeleteThat sounds very familiar … although the days when I feel ten years older seem to be more than the ones when I feel ten years younger!
All the best,
Bob
BOB,
ReplyDeleteI'm 69 and feeling all of it's age - I shudder to think what I'll be like at 75...by the sound of it your doing OK at 75 - and yes, we are old- though we are only as old as we feel- I like to think younger thoughts. Best Wishes. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteUntil I became ill five years ago, I thought that age was more a state of mind. Now I realise that it’s a combination of personal attitude to life coupled with how well your body works.
All the best,
Bob
Bob, you're only as old as the woman you feel.....err.....games you play.....err you know what I mean! ☺
ReplyDeleteNeil
Neil Patterson,
DeleteAbsolutely true! I only wish that I had more time to spend on my wargaming.
All the best,
Bob
Old age. It happens. Just remember the alternative is worse. I'm slowing down as well, but at 63 you've got 12 years on me. Here's to many more, even without the energy and drive of youth!
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteIn my case, old age seems to have arrived with a vengeance. I can live with the impact of my cancers but the lack of mobility has really slowed me down. That said, Facebook has reminded me that a year ago I had just been able to stand for a minute using a Molift Rider. Looking back over the past twelve months, I’ve gone from total immobility to being able to walk with sticks or a rotator, which is something I’d never expected to achieve.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteLike you, I'm tending to find reasons not to do things - such as write wargame articles - that I would once have embarked upon with alacrity. I'm busy in the Swansea Cats & Kittens charity shop most weekdays (now getting there and back using my bus pass rather than walking}, and am still doing some tuition via email and Zoom. But otherwise, I often find myself sitting with the cat watching some old afternoon Western movie, when I really ought to be doing something wargame-wise.
I find I have become quite uninterested in 'conventional' wargames with large numbers of model soldiers, 'realistic' terrain and rules that require me to read more than about six A4 pages. The various versions of the Portable Wargame, the One Hour Wargame and the 'Dominion of....' rules appeal to me much more.
Although I still enjoy reading good military history, I have lost any enthusiasm I once had for wargaming historical battles as traditional tabletop wargames, and am now more interested in either adapting boardgames, such as Palitoy's Waterloo and Balaclava, Waddington's Battle of Little Big Horn, or Ariel Games' English Civil War (just obtained via ebay), or in 'toy soldier' games with my pseudo-Napoleonic ImagiNations armies, so have stopped collecting uniform information altogether. I'm also seriously considering culling my library significantly, as when I look along the shelves I realise there are many volumes I am most unlikely to read - or even dip into - ever again, and I could use the money obtained by selling them to buy some more toy soldiers!
Best wishes, Arthur
Arthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteI could have almost written your second paragraph myself! Like you, I am finding the prospect of fighting large wargames on big tables no longer appeals to me. I’d far rather fight lots of small wargames that fit on a coffee table and that use simple one-brain-cell rules.
I am also concentrating on my imagi-nations and will probably cull my book collection in the near future. I have quite a few books that I’ll probably never look at again and there seems little point in keeping them other than for their sentimental value.
One thing that I won’t be getting rid of is my MEMOIR ‘44 and BATTLE CRY games and supplements. They don’t take up much room and will give me a good game … and I can use the boards and figures with my PW rules. I will also be keeping my various editions of RISK as the figures are very useful and the map boards have lots of potential.
My involvement in WD continues to bring me lots of enjoyment and keeps me in touch with the way wargaming is developing. It still produces cutting edge game designs and is often several years ahead of the mainstream.
All the best,
Bob
PS. Keep up the good work at Swansea Cats & Kittens!
Growing old is a privilege. Too bad too many doesn't. Life can be full of different challenges through all ages and I think one have to make the best of it. Do the things that pleases you, in a way that's comfortable and enjoy your hobby your way. Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.
ReplyDeleteRoger,
DeleteYou are right about aging being a privilege. I’ve always tried to do my best for myself and everyone around me to justify that privilege. As for my wargaming … well, I hope to continue enjoying it for as long as I possibly can.
All the best,
Bob
That's true, that growing old isn't something everyone gets to do. Good health while doing so is a privilege, too. My 89 year old father is going on his next cruise soon. My 89 year old mother has had much more experience with hospitals and healthcare systems than anyone would want, but she is also enjoying life to the extent she is able.
ReplyDeleteFitz-Badger,
DeleteIt’s a great pity that we cannot guarantee people good health and a long life … but we can wish that we could.
I hope that your father enjoys his cruise and that your mother continues to enjoy life as best she can.
All the best,
Bob
I've recently turned 64 and I'm profoundly grateful that I'm still pretty fit. I certainly get lots of exercise with my grandchildren! I still do enjoy big games with lots of toy soldiers, not that I get to play them very often, but I too can't be bothered with complicated rules anymore. One of my wargames projects is to adapt PWG rules for big battles with larger units (16 Infantry or nine cavalry figures). I also use Neil Thomas's rules, suitably amended for big battles, and they work well.
ReplyDeleteGary S,
DeleteCongratulations on both your recent birthday and you becoming a very active grandparent! I wish that I’d known my grandparents better than I did, although my maternal great grandmother lived until I was a late teen.
I would love to know more about your ideas for a big battle version of the PW rules. I must admit that if you can get it to work, you might just convert me to fielding larger units … which rather contradicts something I wrote in another comment!
All the best,
Bob