>>>>>>>>>the people will react in unpredictable ways
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>try changing that statement to 'the people will react in ways which we cannot predict'
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I tried. I got a sentence. The sentence doesn't contain "25 to life" and I am happy.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>You deserve much, much more for the puns alone.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I always smile when I see some felon was sentenced to multiple counts of 99 to life. Every time I think he won't serve the time.
>>>>>
>>>>>I wonder if I could get sentenced to live that long !
>>>>
>>>>I have seen speculation that medical advances will increase life expectancy to 140 or 150. My question is will it be proportional or will people just stay 80 for 70 years?
>>>
>>>Since I just turned 70 I would settle for 80 more years.
>>
>>Happy birthday! I think ;-)
>>
>>My 56th birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. In one way I feel like that's impossible, because I still feel the way I did at 22. My thoughts and outlook seem unchanged. Yet the moving finger writes. My body sure isn't what it was at 22, playing serious basketball and running. And I recognize that 55 is on the downside of life, not the climb. My intention is to make the most of what I have left. I really wish I had your religious faith but I have not been favored with that.
>>
>>PS --
>>
>> The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
>> Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
>> Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
>> Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it
>>
>>-- Omar Khayyam
>
>I have a friend in Paynama. He was director of the Costa Rican Philharmonic Orchestra in his early 20's. Went deaf and lost that opportunity. Went to work for Billy Graham as the lead man in Central and South America. Had a huge budget to set up the crusades. Now he is our man on the ground in Panama and arranges our mission trips with a zero budget. Anyway, he paid me my favorite compliment.. he told me I am the oldest kid he knows.
>
>I too cannot do what I did as a youngster, partly because i weigh 50 more lbs. At @# I was a platoon leader in Viet Nam and weighed 160lbs. I plan to lose half of that difference before the end of May. Three long bike rides coming up... Angel Ride across CT, Erie Canal in NY and RAGBRAI across Iowa. That keeps me young.
>
>As for the faith thing, its never too late. You just have to want it and ask for it.

I wouldn't say I have given up but I have tried and it didn't take. It was an obstacle for me in AA, which has a heavy religious element. Some say it is a spiritual program, not a religious one, or that your higher power can be something other than God. ("Even a doorknob" -- that always irritated me). Then you notice that the word God appears in six of the 12 steps and that those who have been in recovery for some time almost always speak of God as the power that helped them break alcohol's hold over them. BTW, I am an agnostic, not an athiest. I do not claim to know whether there is a God or not, he just hasn't spoken to me. And I did try. For a period of time I took the standard advice to pray to God first thing in the morning, asking for his help keeping me sober that day, and thanking him again at bedtime if it was a sober day. For me it never seemed like anyone/anything was answering or even listening. As I said, I wish it were different. I have seen how religious faith has helped many people's lives.

Losing 25 pounds in the next 4.5 months, that's an ambitious goal. Of course bicycling will be a big help. FWIW a guy I used to work with and remain friends with lost about 70 pounds a couple of years ago. We met for lunch at Chili's, which we do every once in a while, and since he got there first I didn't notice until he stood up after the meal how much weight he had lost. He is a big guy to begin with -- he played in the offensive line at Wake Forest -- but he had a big 50 year old gut going. I asked him how he did it. He said he hadn't gone on any fad diet and made only two changes to his diet. One was he dropped soda completely. That stuff is the ultimate empty calories, even worse than beer. The other thing he did was watch portion sizes like a hawk. He said he still goes to Portillo's (local chain known mainly for Chicago style hot dogs) for lunch sometimes but instead of having three hot dogs he has one.

I keep vowing to get back in better shape myself. The hard part is getting started and grinding it out through the first couple of weeks when it's pure misery. In the past when I have done that it becomes enjoyable again.

When I find out someone was a combat vet I almost always make a point of thanking them. Especially Vietnam vets. The way they were treated upon their return home was shameful. I hope you didn't experience much of that. Guys who had risked their lives for their country were called names, spat upon, etc. They didn't start the war. They were just the people sent to fight it. So, thank you.