Happy Birthday to Me!

Today (Dec. 22, 2022) is my 73rd birthday. If you believe what "The Bible" says - a lifespan is three score and ten years - I am beginning the fourth bonus year of my life. I guess I can attribute my reaching 73 to several things: good luck, trying to remain active, and the miracles of modern medicines.

There are both bad and good things about being 73. The worst is being unable to do many things I was able to do when I was younger. Some of this, of course, involves health issues.

On a basketball court, I could once run up and down energetically. Today, I'm thankful there are no fast breaks permitted in our 60-and-over games at the Y; it's unlikely that I could run a fast break.

In the outdoors I'm unable to cover the ground I once could. Last fall I encountered a small flock of gobblers that were heading up into "the rocks." At one time I would have followed them, hoping to catch up to a straggler. This autumn I halted at the base of the steep final ascent to the top of the mountain and watched the gobblers disappear. When fly-fishing, I can no longer wade rugged, swift, or deep sections of larger streams, limiting my ability to latch onto fish, especially on the BFO River. Even on relatively calm sections of the river, I need a wading staff to negotiate my way to favorable casting positions.

I no longer have the stamina to regularly put in long outdoor days as I once could. Instead, I usually put in shorter days. When I have managed to complete a long, arduous day, I take it easy the next day or do not fish or hunt at all.

After catching a large trout or tagging a turkey, I morbidly wonder whether it's going to be the last one. You don't know at 73.

However, not all is negative. I can fly-cast much better than I could when younger, reaching trout that were then out of range. Although I can't cover as much water or woods ground as I once could, I still do relatively well for my age. I may fish a mile of water during an outing, which allows me to cast to plenty of trout hideouts. I can even follow my son, Bob, onto some steep places when turkey hunting. This allowed me to tag a tom he called in for me last spring.

Anyhow, happy birthday to me. I hope I get to experience a few more.