Getting older

We’re all getting older every day. I used to be able to “muscle” my way through most anything I needed to get done. Over the years, as I’ve gotten older and lost muscle mass, I find myself spending more time thinking about how to do a job more easily than using brute force. They call that working smarter, not harder.

I started thinking about this aging thing when I saw a social media posting a while back from a friend I’ve known for more than twenty years. He was selling his sportfishing boat and the pick-up truck he used to tow it. What’s so different about somebody wanting to sell a boat and/or a truck? Let’s get a little background perspective here.

Larry was a lifelong, hard-core angler. He got “hooked” when he was around five years old growing up in Washington state and was fishing in the local creeks within walking distance of his home every chance he got. He said he never brought a fishing rod along because he could always find a stout branch. He carried some string and a hook or two and was able to rig up a fishing pole wherever he fished. As he got older and learned how to drive, he expanded his favorite fishing locales and started fishing for species he hadn’t tried before.

Over time, he developed a fondness for catching king salmon and ultimately ended up in Juneau, where he could fish every day of the summer, and usually did. Larry was known locally as the guy you wanted to go fishing with because he generally knew where the salmon were running and how best to catch them on any given day.

He had a saltwater boat which he took immaculate care of and a short list of friends who were regularly invited to go fishing and help operate the boat. During the height of the king salmon fishing derbies in the Juneau area, he was a regular participant and occasionally placed in the derby rankings.

I had heard many stories about his fishing trips, both from him and mutual friends who fished with him. If he couldn’t find someone to go when he wanted to, he would often go by himself. I was surprised one day to see a social media posting that his boat was for sale and, if desired, he was willing to sell his pick-up tow truck along with the boat as a package deal. Larry said the reason he was selling was because he could no longer operate the boat alone for age and health reasons and he couldn’t always find someone to go with him.

Larry was transitioning from being the boat operator and captain to being the invited guest on somebody else’s fishing trip aboard their fishing boat. I’m sure that was a hard adjustment to make for a guy who had fifty years of running his own boat!

I saw another social media post a couple of days ago where Larry had posted a picture of his last walk up the boat ramp and a couple of photos from his childhood fishing ventures. He mentioned in that post that he had given up fishing.

Larry is in his eighties and his health is sliding some. I can only imagine how hard it was for him to make that decision after a lifetime of doing what he loved.

I’ve been thinking about my own situation along these lines over the past few years because of the various repair surgeries I’ve needed, and the down time spent healing from them. My wife has also aged and can no longer help with some of the operating chores she used to be able to do on the boat when we went fishing.

I had my boat appraised after the repairs made this past summer. I was told the boat was in excellent condition and should easily sell for more than I paid for it. I’m giving some serious thought to selling it this spring or early summer for reasons similar to why Larry sold his boat. But I’m keeping my truck!

I’ve also got a Desert Eagle semi-auto pistol in 44 Magnum with both six- and ten-inch barrels, magazines, holsters, and other items. I’m thinking of selling it. I don’t have the hand strength to rack the slide anymore. If I feel the need to hunt with a 44 Magnum handgun, I can use a revolver I have and won’t need to worry about operating the slide.