Has anyone heard from PDPlot?

[NutmegCT]

He used to be active on the forum, but his last post was last year in November.

Any news?

Tom M.

 

[Basil]

Just sent him an email.

 

[Basil]

Just heard back from Paul. He's still around but had been dealing with some health issues back in November and is currently busy with work and such. Having a BIG birthday this year! Said he'll try to check in to catch up when he has some time.

 

[AngliaGT]

I hate it when twerk gets in the way.

 

[pdplot]

I'm still here among the living. Will be facing my 90th b'day in November. Where did the time go? Wife and I had Covid but not bad. I lost my younger brother from Charlottesville last Fall and my sister in law last month. That's the worst part about old age. One of my best friends is on a walker and the other has Parkinson's - but still plays golf and walks every day. Didn't get to Florida this year for the first time in 16 years. No rentals available in the Venice area where we've been spending 4 months every winter. Luckily, we had only one measurable snowfall and that was gone in 3 days. Glad to see most of the BCF gang is still around.

 

[mikephillips]

From watching my great aunts get old many years ago, I think one of the worst parts is outliving all your peers and friends. When both of them left in their 90s the services were family only as everyone they'd known for decades was gone or incapable of getting out.

 

[NutmegCT]

One way to deal with that is by knowing younger people, and working with them as long as possible. I think I've got twice as many "young" friends (under the age of 40) as I have older friends.

 

[mikephillips]

Hard to do with the shift to WFH over the last 3 years or so. But it has meant I've met the kids down the street. One, about 5 and learning to ride a bike without training wheels. And last weekend came rolling up the drive asking if he could draw pictures on it, he had a bucket of chalks. Sure, why not. His mom worries he's bothering me and other neighbors, but with no grandkids of my own getting to occasionally talk to and interact is fun. And mom is always near.

 

[pdplot]

That's why we went to Florida and joined a golf club. Endless supply of new people. Only two friends left up here in CT. and some clients and casual acquaintances.

 

[NutmegCT]

And working with younger folks includes volunteering!

 

[DrEntropy]

Turns out I'm the neighborhood "bicycle repair shop." Kids show up with all sorts of bike issues, so I fix 'em. Kinda fun, actually.

 

[Gliderman8]

Turns out I'm the neighborhood "bicycle repair shop." Kids show up with all sorts of bike issues, so I fix 'em. Kinda fun, actually.

That’s nice but do the kids buy ya a beer to say “thanks”?

 

[mikephillips]

You could also look at having a good relationship with the neighborhood kids as maybe keeping away mischief too. Those little ones when teens may decide to pass you by if they're our TPing or such since you've helped them out when they were little.

 

[DrEntropy]

Funny how you can tell how they're being raised, too. The polite ones, "Excuse me sir..." and the "HEY! MISTER!" types. The rudeness addressed immediately with a suggestion of "please and thank you" if they would want to have their problem addressed. It changed attitudes almost instantly. And there's no drop-off service. I explain they will be there to watch and learn, or go someplace else.

 

[mikephillips]

And they can learn by example, I've never had to raise my voice to a neighborhood kid and they tend to be as polite to me as I am to them. Age polite that is since the little ones may not be 'please" and "Thank you" quite so much yet. But I'm also not a "get off my lawn" type. As long as they're not breaking something or causing havoc I tend to look the other way when interacting with them. I'll explain what I'm doing with one of the cars if someone shows interest.

Only had one incident in the 30 some years I've been here. Came out one morning, trees filled with toilet paper. Seems a group of HS cheerleaders go confused in the dark between my place and the boy next door's house. His dad got a good laugh out of it though...