Turning 35, or Starting the Back 9

[Blarg]

Cheer up, you could be dead tomorrow!

[KotOD]

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1. I reserve the right to change my mind. When I was in my 20's I knew it all. Either I forgot most of it or I wasn't as sharp as I thought I was, because now I'm ovwhelmed by just how much I don't know. Maybe it's an effect of finding myself on life's "down" escalator, but my desire to absorb new information is insatiable.

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This is both awesomely and awfully male. I went through the same thing. Those people older than me were "old guys" and didn't understand and didn't know. They couldn't understand the differences between my life and their lives. Then, sometime in my mid-20s, I realized that I was going through everything that my dad and grandfather and random assorted elders told me I would.

It was about that time that I started actually listening to those "old guys" and realized how many times I had to say "you were right". Even if I didn't say it then, I could wait some period of time and trot it out. Now, I listen intently when they speak to me, and put up with hearing the same story for the fourth time. For years I debated baseball with my grandfather, and for years I thought he was crazy. Then I figured out that he had watched 75 years of baseball and knew a helluva lot more than me, even if I knew the stats and games and players better than he. Now, I freely tell anyone that will listen that Carl Hubbell was, indeed, the greatest pitcher ever.

My pap passed last year, and though I wasn't sad for his passing -- he lived for a glorious 88 years -- I desperately miss the times when we got together and he would regale me with stories of the last 80 years. Now my dad has taken up the mantle of storyteller and wise old sage. It's amazing how much stuff old guys know.

Hanging out the "old guys" and realizing how much more they knew than I did taught me one overriding lesson that I adhere to until now:

Listen. Listen constantly. Don't interrupt with your silly comparative story. Don't cut those that are wiser off in mid-sentence to get in a punch line. Listen to them and freaking learn. They know so much more than you.

[KotOD]

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Goddammit what a depressing thread title. I turned 34.5 today. So I have six months left before I make the turn. Thanks, KT. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

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[censored] dude - I absolutely crush the back nine. The front nine is always a mess of overswinging and nerves and heroic shot-taking. My [censored] comes together on 10. The swing is a pendulum, the path to the hole is obvious and steady and my big ego had nothing to do with the club that comes out of the bag. When I hit 13, I'm up and down in two from anywhere inside of 100 and [censored] owning the world.

My back nine of life starts very shortly, and I can't [censored] wait.

I'm going out two under.

[katyseagull]

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We settled on a smallish mom&pop place in a rural town. The food was simple and plentiful (the corned beef was difficult to contain between slices of rye) and the conversation was nice. Mom was having some computer trouble at home, so I offered to lend a hand. We shared a pot of tea with her husband when we got back (he was playing golf earlier in the day). Mom presented me with a hardbound copy of Peterson's Field Guide as a gift.

Dinner with the Warden at our local haunt was delicious. A couple of cocktails on a school night, a Celtics win (they're playing impressive basketball), and a viewing of the fun Top Fuzz flick capped off a good day.

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I like the way you describe things Kilgore. It's a good read. I'm glad you had a nice birthday and I wish you many more to come.

[SoloAJ]

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Listen. Listen constantly. Don't interrupt with your silly comparative story. Don't cut those that are wiser off in mid-sentence to get in a punch line. Listen to them and freaking learn. They know so much more than you.

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This strikes a big nerve in me KotOD. I love love love listening to my elders speak and trying to soak up some knowledge from their vast experience. However, I get the feeling I probably unconsciously pop punchlines or compare in my little stories when it isn't necessary.

I'm really glad you mentioned that, because I think it's something I'd like to try to improve on, as I hadn't considered it from the angle you're referencing.