It’s actually happened. I’ve reached an age that almost nobody (if we are talking about the huge group of very vocal versions of myself in my head) thought I would reach. Just typing the actual number is still insane to me, even though I have apparently been 70 since New Year’s Day, 2024 (see pic above).

Is it really just a number, or can I really feel the difference between 69 and 70 (get your mind out of the gutter about 69, you’re too old for that)? And, is it time for all of my “long in the tooth” friends and family to finally acknowledge that we are all in the final descent into various final landing zones (some bumpier than others)?

And…most important…what the hell am I going to do with the time I have left?  
But, before we go too much further, let’s take a second to catch up (as I haven’t posted anything on this site since 2022). 
First…the big question that loads of people (OK…maybe a handful) were asking about my weight loss post.  The quick answer is, YES!  I seem to have permanently rid myself of the annoying 5th grader that has been hitching a ride on my back for decades.  As of this writing, I have lost a total of between 60 and 70 lbs. (more on the fluctuation in another post later), and am now pushing to get rid of another 30-40 over the course of the next couple of years. I owe it all to my Apple watch…and an obsession to “close my rings.” I started my weight-loss journey with the purchase of an Apple Watch. I can’t imagine succeeding without it. (and no…Apple is not a sponsor of this site).  The graphic is an old one, as I have now crossed 900+ straight days.  Apparently, being obsessed with mini-goals doesn’t decrease with age. 

Second…I will NOT be focusing much on the next election, even though I am as surprised as anyone (not!) to find that what I wrote about in 2016, 2020, and even later, hasn’t changed much at all.  Why? Because, it would seem that politics, news, and the aching feeling that all of our gnashing of teeth, is all for naught.  We are past the tipping point on so many levels of common sense, that thinking that any one President, or even a handful of new Congress folks are going to do anything of substance to change our trajectory, is simply silly. Pick your echo-chamber. Camp out in your silo. Nothing I say is going to change anyone. It is still all about the same old, same old, I wrote about years and years ago. Guns, abortion, and sexual identity. Forget about climate change, the proliferation of nuclear arms, or the rise of AI…as long as you have a solid stance on who can own a gun, who can get an abortion, and what flavor of the rainbow you are, we are all going to be fine. Right?  Ugh. 

RETRACTION… I wrote the proceeding paragraph BEFORE Biden bowed out…and Project 2025 became the game plan for the decimation of our country. I WILL BE WRITING ABOUT POLITICS…but from a different perspective than “teams, tribes, and silos). The entire world is at a crossroads.  We have to find ways to solve problems, not just keep pointing fingers.  

Third…Being happy changes as you get older. And deciding what you can and can’t change, is pretty much the beginning of finding the most important part of being happy…which is contentment. The two are not the same.  Trust me on that. I am almost never content.  It is something I am working on, but don’t have a lot of faith that I can change easily.  I am trying. But the fact that I have to try to be content, speaks a lot about my transitory state of happiness. Deep. So freakin’ deep! 

Anyway…
I’m back…even though I really never left…except I did pretty much check out…which didn’t actually make me as happy as I thought it would.  Go figure.

CrankyOldGuy is back. Like it or not. 

Let’s get to work!