I would, but i don’t have anywhere to go. There aren’t a lot of countries that want old people, and I’m monolingual and find it extremely hard to learn other languages (I’ve tried several.)
I looked into buying Portuguese residency, but didn’t, and they’ve made it much harder (and probably would have cut me off part way through the process.) And I’d be in bad shape having to use Portuguese.
If we didn’t have kids here, we would probably leave.
I said no on the Olympics, but I did work closely for years for someone who competed in the Olympics… He just didn’t medal.
I was tenth out of 630+, but I didn’t care about not being higher. I’m moderately competitive. Sometimes a lot; sometimes not at all. It surprises me sometimes which situations bring out my competetive streak.
A good friend of mine was involved in dog agility and knew Greg Louganis (he got into dog agility, too). She said he was super nice and humble.
I can’t afford to buy my way into anywhere, and am also old, and in dubious health. The only thing I can think of would be to throw myself on the mercy of the Right of Return; though you’d have to go back three generations to find an observant great-grandmother.
But I’m part of this specific place, now. And this specific place, for better or for worse, is part of the USA. My country (right the wrongs.)
If the other guys took over the country completely, I suspect that I would be in prison before too long. I am not young, and it is a very bad idea to piss off old people, who have a lot less to lose.
I said I didn’t know any world champions. I have spent time with a couple of guys who were on the Yankees World Series teams in the 70s talked to both on a couple of occasions. They wouldn’t remember my name.
I do know a current NBA player but he’s never won a championship.
Yeah, I gave up on my Mom. It took 38 years for me to accept that she wasn’t gonna change. I cut her off from all future communication.
It sucks. It was literally her or my mental health.
People are so quick to recommend estrangement these days, but it’s not easy, it’s complicated and messy, and for some people it’s impossible. I had to do what I had to do, but it’s not exactly a golden ticket to peace of mind. It’s just the least painful of the two options.
I don’t talk to my biological father either, but I have less guilt about that. It wasn’t a dramatic rift , he’s just a loser I have nothing in common with.
My Mom, though. I loved her.
Low body fat?
Pretty much.
I worked for awhile with a lawyer who was also an Olympic runner; don’t think she ever medaled. My family and I also once, at the airport, met a runner on the Jamaican Olympic team; she was very nice and gave us all Jamaican flag pins.
If the American political scene turned that dire I would, with unutterable regret, try to leave the country. I’m very active in local politics and suspect it otherwise wouldn’t be long before I ended up in a labor camp in Nebraska.
I wasn’t valedictorian or salutatorian of my prep school class, but got good grades and earned awards for U.S. history, art and the drama club.
I have a close relative who has gotten increasingly snappish and hypercritical in recent years, and I have withdrawn from contact with her as much as I can, much as I wish it weren’t necessary. I also have a cousin who, to judge by his Facebook posts, is pretty far into MAGA territory. I don’t see him often in person but am careful to stay away from politics when I do.
I didn’t exactly say “I quit” at one job but it was close enough that I polled that. I had a job from hell with two bosses who hated each other and a long, long, list of tasks I was expected to perform for a whopping $16k a year. I replaced someone who was sacked. That was my first clue.
After a few months, I made an error proofreading something so they put me on probation. The money wasn’t paying all my bills and now I was in danger of losing what little I earned. Stress city. I broke up in blood blisters all over my hands. I went to the dermatologist who told me it was a reaction to stress. On the advice of the doctor, I went home that night and thought about the job. I made a list of all the stuff I was expected to do without working overtime. I also paged through my previous portfolio of work and determined that I was not the problem. But I still needed a solution.
I called my SIL, who worked for a similar company and was friendly with the owner of a temp agency that was across the hall from her. I asked her, if she lost her job, would she go to work for Greg, the temp agency owner. The very next day, I received an application from the temp agency in my mailbox. I filled it out, went into work early and faxed the application over to him. He called me a couple of hours later with a 6-week temp job as an exec secretary. It paid a dollar an hour more than I was making. The job started Monday. I said yes.
In anticipation of this, I had already started to clean up my desk. There was little to do. At noon, I walked into the office manager’s office and gave notice by saying, “You’re aware that I am leaving early today to travel to one of my racing events?” Office manager rolls her eyes and says “Yes, I’m aware.” I said, “I won’t be back. Here are my keys to the office.” Total panic on her face, “But you can’t go!” she sputters, “We have to have an exit interview.” I replied, “You just had it.” and turning around, I walked out of her office.
The best part was that it took a full-timer, a part-timer, and an intern to replace me. I was definitely not the problem, and I refused to be their victim.
Regarding athletes, I worked with a couple of Olympic athletes, and had the pleasure of working with some former pro athletes who got into racing. I had a roommate who was a world ranked waterskier, a sport status I had been completely unaware of until I met her.
Never mind
Not me, but my dad’s doctor was Roger Bannister (the first person
to run a mile under 4 minutes).
I hope she’s seen a doctor; though you may not have been in any position to bring this about.
I find floating much easier now than when i was a skinny kid. That does make swimming for long stretches much easier, because i can stop and rest.
My mom says i learned to swim in the ocean before i could swim in fresh water. Which i guess means i learned to maneuver when the water supported my weight before i learned to swim well enough to support my weight.
I don’t know if salt water pools have enough salt to make it easier to swim, but that might be an option for people who want to learn.
Note regarding swimming and salt water.
Don’t try to learn to swim in the Dead Sea. Excess buoyancy can be an issue as well!
Fat is less dense than water and muscle is more dense. So the more fat you have, the more buoyant you are.
So there I was…floating about 4 feet above the water…
Which makes me wonder how competitive swimmers do it, because as athletes they all have pretty low body fat.
Expending a lot of effort. Michael Phelps doesn’t float on the surface naturally.