Super Agers! Anything to do Special to be One?

    Somehow I have become connected with frequent commentary about super agers.  Perhaps it is because I was invited to respond to a survey that would predict my continuing longevity based on a multiple of factors.  Some of it is genetic, some is life style, some is attitude and some is a matter of socialization.  What is most important?  More or less the bottom line seems to be keeping  active physically, mentally and socially.  I suspect being a geezer skier meets social and physical needs! But what about mental acuity? Researchers seem to think certain mental exercises stimulate brain cells and neurological connections that will contribute to wellbeing and probably to a positive attitude.  

    As a personal note, I find welcoming each day as a gift one day at a time and having activities that I look forward to serves me the best.  Frankly, I am puzzler nut.   Each day I look forward to solving crossword puzzles, working to genius on the Spelling Bee puzzle of the New York Times,  and solving the Connections puzzle.  Also as an AARP member, I have access to several more crossword puzzles.  All in all it is a full day of puzzling.  Yes, I do have socialization! Volunteering brings many rewards from that angle.  Finally, I must say I enjoy multitasking.  An hour on the recumbent bike goes by rapidly as I read the New York Times and various daily newsletters.  Time to close this blog!  Haven't finished all my puzzles!  My best wishes for a long life for all of you readers.  May you become and remain a super ager.

Ironies: Major and Minor

     I was reminded today that life is full of ironies, both major and minor.  While enjoying my mid morning coffee, the doorbell rang and expecting our handyman who has been repairing some dry wall I yelled "Come on in?"  To my surprise it wasn't him.   As the door bell ringer came in, Nancy, my wife, greet her!   In her hands was a gift.  She is a parishioner at one of Nancy's pulpit gigs and has been very supportive of Nancy while recovering from her fractured wrist.  Casseroles and whatever unexpectedly arriving at or door over the last several months.   That is no irony.  But what she delivered today struct me as ironical.  One thing was a mature zucchini!  This being in the context that we have a vegetable garden producing a plethora of zucchinis!   In fact, today we had put aside four of them to take to my Living History Museum fellow volunteer guides.  We graciously received her gift with thanks while hoping she would not see the largesse we had set aside in plain sight further in our home. She is a joyful upbeat person and we in no way wanted to dampen her joy in giving.

    One would hope that ironies could be as minor as the one above.   In contrast, on this same day as I  guided an "elderly couple" through the the Living History Museum barn and agricultural component who exhibited significant impairment of their mobility.   In our chat, they revealed they were in their mid 70's.   The shocking irony to me was here I was a post 90 year old assisting these people.   I feel incredibly fortunate that I have maintained my mobility this long.   Clearly, there is no formula for predicting what each day will bring.   Each day can bring any number of ironical situations.   Perhaps the best we can do about that is to get a good laugh out of it and move on.

Bindings!

     Skiers are well aware of bindings as a device to keep them attached to their skis and to release the boots at critical times in falls.   I have had the thought that bindings are metaphors for other kinds of bindings in our lives.  Just as ski bindings are designed to keep us attached for most of  the time, they are also made to release at critical times.

    Thinking in the above terms in relation to personal bindings of our lives, the message is that most of the time we want to remain in relationships that nurture us and engender mutual benefits and respect.   However, there also seem to be times when the relationship can falter and be non productive for both parties. There is a certain fall from grace that demands a separation for a while.   However, just like getting up from a fall, recovering our skis, dusting ourselves off and resuming our run that is probably a good thing to do in a broken relationship.  Again carrying this farther, if you have broken a leg in the ski accident there will be an interlude to recover.   Such is it is for our human relationships. So there is work to be done in healing in the case of physical injury and also healing in emotional relationships.  Something for all of us to think about.

    Just a little clarification of what led me to the above thoughts.  My dear pastor wife Nancy preached a sermon yesterday on the subject of prayer. It was a masterful exposition of the elements of prayer grounded in the Lords Prayer which is a fundamental Christian tenet.  What really shook me to the core, was her leading the congregation to take a moment to pray for someone that would spring to mind for whatever reason.  What shook me, was the desire to pray for a grandchild that I am estranged from. We are living in separate worlds.  His is so foreign to me that I am stricken both with anger and grief.  However, Nancy's pastoral exercise revealed to me that I must find a way to forgive, forget and heal even if my estranged grandchild and I can't reconcile. Release and reconnect is the goal. Think about those things the next time your ski binding release.  And if you are not a skier, maybe a good thing to think about in a metaphorical sense.

Trickle Down Economic: Does It Work?

    Last night on the game show Jeopardy the final jeopardy answer was Trickle Down Economic Theory.  It stimulated my thinking about wealth inequality in the United States.   As far as I can tell this theory is supported by many politicians has not worked.   As the wealthy one percent has gotten wealthier from tax relief, the result has impoverished the bottom ten percent of wage earners.   If this theory is not working, why are we continuing to foster this policy?   In fact, this approach has significantly increased US debt by trillions.   At the same time more of the lower income individuals have not reaped the benefit of national domestic product growth.  Today I did a bit of research to understand the complexities of this issue.

    First I was led to Googling to get a some inkling what it is all about. However, my memory was jogged to recall the days when I would have lunches at the Cornell University Statler Hotel Faculty Club with the famed behavioral economist Robert H. Frank.  (Google him if you want his full story.  He is now retired to emeritus status living in Florida). Then I reached down to my bookshelf and pulled out my autographed copy of his 2011 book The Darwin Economy.   After skimming the preface and a few salient chapters that elucidate elements of taxation benefits versus costs, I find no justification for extensive tax cuts that move wealth upward. In fact it does not result in investment that gives support to the economic middle and lower class of United States. It would seem that greed has no bounds and seeking to outdo our fellow human beings is a bugaboo to the development of a just and civil society.  That's my screed for now.  However, I will try to put my outrage aside and seek a better understanding of how we as Americans have arrived at this state.  

If I Were a Rich Person?

    I have been pondering the last day or so, how I would behave if I had amassed a billionaire fortune. Would I really want more?  Would I be dominated by greed?   Would I do ostentatious things? Would I be generously charitable? I would hope that the answer to last question would be a resounding yes!  

    As I read about the billionaire class, I find that overwhelmingly there seems to be competition to see who can amass the the greatest wealth and who can put on the most elaborate display of how they can spend multi millions on pleasures to feed their egos. On top of that they seem to be impervious to developing empathy for the poor and downtrodden where they could be generous to give them a hand up out of their distress.   What am I missing?   It is inconceivable to me that a human being with any kind of moral compass, can't see the need to share the wealth. I think that the billionaire could share at least a tenth of their income with those in need and for good works without making a dent in their desire for an ostentatious life style.

    Now that I have pointed a finger at them, I am reminded when you point your index finger at someone or something, three fingers are pointing back at you.  Greed rears its ugly head wherever you are on the wealth spectrum.  I am reminded that especially as Christians we are to give sacrificially regardless of our station in life.  However, we are flawed human beings so we don't always live up to that ideal.  Today I reviewed the lyrics of the song "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on The Roof. I had forgotten many of them.  I had thought that in Tevye's dream of being rich he would think of some generous allocation of the wealth he dreamed he would have. However, that is not the case.  His dream of riches centered on how much he would be honored and how much ostentation he could create.  What a bummer to realize that was his desire.  

    I conclude with the desire to shed my disgust with the greed of the one percenters, and to live up to being generous in my own station in life.  

    

Observations on the Ranges of Human Types

    Today I was a volunteer docent  at my local museum. My duties primarily involve greeting and guiding visitors to the four different venues. I consider myself to be sufficiently versed in the collections to do an adequate job in some sections and a more expert job in others. However you could say I have a range of expertise more suited to some sections than others.  Regarding ranges, I find it fascinating to observe the ranges of characteristics of our visitors.

    First, today was a study in the range of ages of visitors.   Our youngest visitor was a four year old who was extremely bright and inquisitive.  He was a delight to interact with.  On the range of responsiveness, he was extraordinary.   Moving along on the range of age we also had visitors of young adult to middle age to more senior and perhaps even as ancient as I am. In each category there was also a range of responsiveness to our overtures to assist the with their visits.   Some were satisfied to simply walk around on their own without hearing any of the background stories we as guides can deliver.  Others, accept limited historical introductions.  A few were interested in more extensive information that we can deliver. Such it is to be interacting with the general public. At the end of the day, our guide group gathers to debrief our range of experiences with the guests.  The debrief often leads to amazement that there are so many different behaviors of the human species.

    Finally, I am continuing to think about the ranges of human types of authors of poets and prose.   More to come in a few days.

     

On Writing and Competing Passions

     One can have a multitude of passions!  I have been reflecting on that lately.  I am now inclined to pursue more writing after being somewhat lax about my efforts to put my thoughts into this blog and other writing opportunities.  

    In following one's passions it often is necessary to get some training to be good enough to have excellence in your efforts.  In skiing I took lessons many years ago which helped me to be more accomplished in the sport.  Probably didn't take enough since I never reached the pinnacle of performance that I would like,

    Regarding writing, I have been reviewing my journey to become at least a competent writer.   However every writer should be connected to an editor.  I am delighted to have a wonderful wife as editor.  She is an excellent writer and  even taught English at one time. She edits my scribblings and makes them much better than my raw product.

   My real journey to becoming a "writer" started with my Freshman year at Syracuse University in 1952.  My writing was so poor that I was assigned to a remedial writing class for Liberal Arts Majors.   Even though I moved on to Cornell University to an Engineering Major, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. The skills I picked up in that remedial class have served me well over the 72 years that have followed.  From the Freshman year at SU, I moved on to completing three degrees in engineering culminating in a Ph.D.  And remarkably, for a naive farm boy of the 1950's I was blessed with a long academic career at Cornell University.  All of this ties into developing  a smoldering passion for excellence in writing.   Writing both my Master's and Ph.D.'s theses forced me develop clarity in communication of complex subjects.   That clarity rewarded me later in my professional career with multiple research paper awards from my engineering professional society.  

    After retirement, I have enjoyed writing projects primarily connected with history.  Every once in a while, my curiosity about something has thrown me into the joy of exposition of past events that correlate with my intellectual interest in technology,  agriculture and reflections on sociological changes. Although I am mostly writing for my own satisfaction, I am  pleased to observe that some of my readers are entertained. 

    My readers, if you are not into writing, I suggest you give it a try. It can be lots of fun exploring prose and poetry to stimulate the mind and relieve stress.  Meanwhile, I think I have rambled enough, but hope this provides some insight to the possible existence of passion for writing regardless of what level of skill you attain.    

Reflections on Geezer Issues

     I just finished some landscaping maintenance chores.  At this time in my geezer life I am needing to pace myself more than usual. I suspect that all of us over 90 find that necessary whether we are skiers or not skiers. Therefore, perhaps in this blogging I may have to reflect more on issues other than those related to skiing and the ski community. So, if you have been one of my followers at some time the last 15 or so years, you are going to see a variety of subjects coming up in my postings.

    One thing that has come to mind is the possibility of attempting to write a novella by creating a fictional rendition of  my experiences as a volunteer at our Living History Museum of Central New York. As the oldest docent at the museum,  I am a personification of living history. When guiding people and describing the origins of historical items I can speak with authority as one who has lived in those eras.   For example, I have personal experience with rationing of sugar and coffee during 
World War II.  This is relevant to aspects of military history items in one section of the museum. This leads me to thinking of possible weaknesses of geezer behavior with all of that stored experience.  One weakness is going on at length with too much verbiage. This creates a glazed look in the eyes of visitors. I have been training myself to avoid that.  

    I closing today, I am pleased to report having a new experience with weekly Zoom sessions with some Cornell University friends that I have not had the opportunity to interact with until lately. They all qualify as geezers by age, but likely would not be be comfortable being identified by the geezer term.   Believe it or not the oldest member of the group is 101!   Fortunately, I find interacting with this group well within in my comfort zone.  (I did spend 40 years as a Professor.) These are gentleman who are brilliantly sharp and provide another stimulation in my later life.   I conclude that at any age there will be more joys and wonderful surprises.  May that be it the same for you readers.  Enjoy life to the fullest is a great mantra as far as I can tell.  Cheers!

Construction Hazards - Driving Challenges

    I consider myself a pretty competent driver even in my more senior years.  Just as I also rate myself a relatively competent skier as I move into my 90's.  However, today I was challenged to deal with aggressive drivers and a plethora of highway construction as we delivered an e-bike to Syracuse to be put on sale.   GPS mostly guided us quite well with only a few issues.   However, because of the complexity of lane changes and bottle necks of construction it was a high stress trip.  

    The real kicker for this delivery was the road closure access to the bike sales company when we arrived at our destination.  We were able to park relatively close, but I ended up schlepping the bike up a steep hill to the entry door of the shop.  Thankfully, I am fit enough to negotiate that terrain.   Grateful to the shop owner for helping me make it up the final 20 feet or so!  

    So, whatever we do, we aren't guaranteed to have an easy go of it.  On the ski slopes we have some of those days too.  In spite of that, there are plenty of good days to make up for it.  Happy summer everyone!    

When To Call It Quits?

     I have a circle of "geezer" skier friends that are either active on the slopes or retired from the ski scene.  The other day at a closing event for a church Nancy and I were married in, I chanced upon a couple who had terminated their skiing activity a few years ago.  The closing event for the church was emotional, moving and underlined that events occur that require us as individuals and as  institutions to move on.   These changes can come  both involuntarily and voluntarily.

    In my conversation with my friends, I learned that they certainly would like to be on the slopes, but they had jointly decided that the risk at their age was inappropriate.  As she said, a fall and a broken hip would be devastating to coping with the rest of her life.   His comment was more to the feeling of danger by crowds, boarders and out of control people on the slopes.  Out of this conversation, I was led to ponder the question.   "When to call it quits?"   Even though we may be dedicated, skillful and avid skiers, there may be a time to consider terminating skiing.  That does not necessarily mean we give up on an active life.   We can very well healthily pursue other activities, albeit more sedate in nature.  My friends have made that adaptation and now concentrate on their golf game!   That's not my cup of tea, but I am sure walking, spinning on my recumbent bike and other pursuits can be a substitute for me.  Not only that, we have and ping-pong table in the basement where my wife is sure to beat me at that game when she recovers from her broken wrist.

    So, in conclusion, there will be the day when skiing will abandoned.   I hope I will know when that day is and make a voluntary decision, rathe than having it pushed on my by an unexpected event on the slopes.  However, as I stepped out to the fresh air of a recent July morning, it is just great to be alive!  

Adjustment to New Realities

    An unusual spring and summer this year.   As a seriously senior geezer skier, I always try to stay in both a mental and physical condition for the upcoming ski season in November.  Passing  90 means that gets more difficult.   Normally I would be playing some tennis with my wife and spending time on my e-bike throughout the countryside.  However, my wife's broken wrist in April has altered my usual activities.  In some ways that has been a surprising blessing.  As a couple we are spending much more time together as I have become her right hand since she is right handed.  Yes, I can even smile about that, especially after her pain has subsided and she is on the mend.   Returning to thoughts about conditioning, I am fortunate to have time and space to spin my recumbent bike for an hour each day as I read the New York Times and other newsletters and such.   Let me conclude this physical part with wishing all geezers the good fortune to have time to remain fit for the enjoyable days we have on the slopes.

    Now for a note on the mental conditioning!   I am deeply disturbed that our country has become ruined by the hands of a want to be dictator president.  Yesterday, by fiat he launched military strikes in the middle East that may well draw us into an extended war that will waste our blood and wealth.   This rips at my very soul!   Meanwhile, millions of our citizens are losing their support for health and food.  Not only that, by reducing USAID to a mere shadow of itself, we have lost a mega amount of soft diplomacy throughout the world.  Thus bankrupting the good will of so many nations.  I read a quote recently as follows. "Loss of empathy leads to barbarism."  So from all this, I find myself searching for comfort and means to assuage the damage being wreaked in my America.  

    To my readers, I recognize that some of you may well have another view of what is happening in the United States and even may well consider me an enemy.   In spite of those views, I have continued to wrestle with the Christian teaching of loving your enemies.   Therefore, while I might strongly believe your opposite view is destructive, I will still consider you to be a human being and wish you a good life.   And I would expect you would have a part of you that would wish me well too.

    

Twists, Turns and Surprises

     As a geezer skier known to be passionate about my skiing, I often get questioned about what I occupy myself with during the off season.   Many of them know I play tennis, enjoy e-biking and volunteer as a docent as our local museum.  However I now must say various twists and turns of fate along with surprises have modified my answer for a while.   

    Recently I received notification of the Empire State Senior games coming up in June with an invitation to participate in the tennis tournament.  Unfortunately there are two reasons that I will not even attempt it this year.  My wife is my tennis partner and a week or so ago she has broken her wrist and will likely be out of commission regarding tennis for some time.  In addition, in my age bracket for the senior games at 90 to 94, there are no other likely contenders in the singles area.   Thus I would have to play the youngsters to even get a match.  Alas, as you age there are twists in the world that change your participation.  

    Since I am the prime care help for my wife as she heals,  it is probably true that I should not risk e-biking with the potential for a crash.   So that leaves me with museum volunteering as my prime off season diversion.   That brings me a lot of satisfaction.  I have a captive audience to tell stories at the tractor and agricultural museum component as one has has lived that life.  Also as an agricultural engineer academic, I did research on agricultural tractor stability and roll over protective structures.  Growing up on a farm also gave me first hand knowledge of agriculture of as early as the late 1930's.  And so it goes with the geezer life.

    Who knows what the next surprise will be?  Meanwhile I will do my best to be ready for the next ski season.   And believe it or not, my local ski area where I have skied since the late 1960's has comped me with a free season pass!

Best wishes to all who have read my blog over so many years.  Enjoy your lives to the fullest whatever age you are.  One can only hope during our earthly sojourn that we have been a positive contributor to humankind!

Withdrawal! Anticipating the Next Season

     The ski season has wrapped up for me as I now approach my ninetieth birthday in April.  I has been a great year for me enjoying the slopes with renewed vigor after my previous seasons more abbreviated participation.  Sixty eight days is not a bad number and approaches the 77 day average for 25 years after my retirement.  

    Now I am in the mode of adjusting my daily routine from mornings on the slopes during the week to engaging in chores that have been put off.   I can also pick-on my fellow volunteers at the local museum and maybe I can also pick up on my Red Cross work as a Blood Ambassador at local blood drives.  

    April 12,  I will be celebrating my April 11 birthday at a part with a vast array of friends and family from many walks of life which of course includes an array of ski companions over many years.   What a wonderful honor and diversion to fill the void of weekly ski days.  As I contemplate what the future will bring, I was inspired to write a reflection on being ninety in the form of a free verse poem herein included.  I trust you will allow this poetic reflection as okay for this blog.

Courtesy on the Slopes

     I guess as one who has been on the slopes for over 60 years I have seen all kinds of behaviors of skiers in relation to their fellow skiers.   As I am now approaching my 90th birthday in a few weeks, I am keenly aware of how the behavior of other skiers on the slopes affect my comfort and safety.   Obviously I need to be a responsible skier too and hope that I am.

    Along this line of thinking I along with my friend Tim, often make observations of behavior that give us concern for our safety and, or our comfort.  We thus develop some pet peeves.   Here are a few of them.

1.  Stopping in the middle of the slope either singly or in groups and obstructing the passage of other skiers when one can stop on the side of the trail and provide clear sailing for the uphill skiers.

2.  Failure to give adequate space in passing us from the uphill side and startling you out of your rhythm.  I recognize there are times when the uphill skier may not have a choice, but often that is not so.

3.  Obstruction of the flow to the lift often happens without much thought of the other skiers.  A common courtesy would be to step out of the way for others while you have a confab with your companions.

Overall, I guess the above three points cover my major complaints.  I hope I don't come across as a curmudgeon.  However, I do want to avoid any mishaps on the slopes as much as possible since as a quite senior skier even though I have had many years on the slopes, I still have the fire of continuing into my 90's. 

Readers, I invite you to comment with your pet peeves about slope behaviors that annoy you.  Meanwhile, I wish all safe skiing as a novice to Geezerhood.

Contrasts and Other Commentary!

     Amazing how the day on the slopes can change from one day to the next.  My geezer plus group at Greek Peak yesterday was skiing in a bit of rain. Temperature wasn't too bad, but it was a short day getting soaked by late morning.  However, the skiing conditions were quite good with frozen granular providing good edging.  For this old guy, however, the visibility was a bit challenging to read the surface.  

    What a contrast today!  Bright sunshine greeted us this morning and remained for the entire morning with only a few clouds scudding by.  One would expect that this would provide premiere delight in our skiing. However, it was not so for many of us. I will confess to doing a lot of skidding today on the hard groomed corduroy surface.  It was to the last run of the morning when things softened up enough that I was able to put down nice grooves in the slope.  A wonderful way to end a day for me when I was feeling out of sorts with my skiing ability.

    A bonus for this day from yesterday was the appearance of two of our long time geezer skiers for a day of fun and coffee with the rest of us. Gene Wexell who has challenges with vision was happy to join us.  He is basically ahead of me a bit on the age thing since he is past 90 by a bit, and I will reach that milestone in April, 2025.  We also welcome our good friend Dick Botoff, for his first day back this season,  delighted to see his return.   My endnote is that it was great to have an expanded geezer skier group on the slopes today and to toast the memory of our recently passed founder Pat Ryan, of the Tough Old Geezer Skiers of Greek Peak Resort at our day end coffee time.

Know When to Hold Them

    As a very senior geezer skier I am still learning to give in to my limitations.  Perhaps that is true for all skiers, but is especially important in the latter years.   This has become apparent to me in the last few days.  A few days ago upon returning from the hill I hit a patch of ice while walking in my ski boots and took an unexpected tumble!   Fortunately it was on my butt with some padding but gave me quite a jolt and a pretty good contusion on my left hand.  I guess anyone can fall on ice, but I think for me it was a momentary lapse of concentration on the conditions of the footing in the area.   

     Regrettably the fall caused  a whiplash injury to my neck.  The last few days I have been making a recovery from strained muscles in the neck and am now anxious to get back to the slopes. That leads me to ponder whether I should hold off for another day or head back to the slopes tomorrow. The decision will be made tomorrow when I get up and my neck with a few rotations and stretching.   

    I am guessing pro athletes often have the same kind of decisions to make.  Are they fit enough after an injury to pursue their craft? For those of use who are recreational athletes,  erring on the cautious side is the better part of intelligence.  What about that my readers? Do any of you have any moments when you have to decide to hold back?

Reflections on Transitions in the Geezer Skier Community

    I started this blog in December of 2009; at least 15 years ago!  At that time our Tough Old Geezer Skier group at Greek Peak in Virgil New York had been self identified for several years.  Founder Pat Ryan had labelled many of us as such.  Even giving us badges to wear with our name and the Geezer designation.  Many of us have continued to wear such badges with pride as the years go by.  I have lost a few, but have replaced them almost immediately to keep the tradition going.

    Sadly, our founder Pat Ryan recently passed away.  We deeply mourn his passing and miss his presence on the slopes. Pat was an exemplary person, a fine skier and model of integrity that we will not forget.

    In the ensuing years following our founding, there have been many changes.  Membership was always quite open and in the early years there may have been 30 or so that would identify with our group.  Some ardently, and others casually.  We even would have an annual season ending meeting for lunch with gag awards and invited spouses.   Basically we were more or less young geezers in late sixties and early seventies.  As time has passed many of the original group have either given up skiing or have passed away.   Fortunately there has been an infusion of a few new geezers.  It will be a challenge from now on to recruit replacements  for the inevitable departure of some of our more senior members.  To the best of my knowledge I am the most senior geezer skier at Greek Peak regularly on the slopes each week.  Gene who is a bit older is less frequent due to health issue.  

    A word about my geezer skier experience currently.  I now recognize I do not have the stamina I once had as I approach my 90th birthday this April.  Essentially on an every day basis I am skiing with "youngsters".  My definition of youngsters is now anyone in their seventies and younger.   Many of my companion skiers are  now in their sixties.   My companions now seem to think they need to take care of me!  Of course, I tolerate that, but in some ways I feel like I may be holding them back by my somewhat slower pace!    However, my wife does appreciate that my friend Tim Russell has taken on the role as my guardian angel!  In this vein, I must say that many of the Greek Peak ski community have both admired me for still being out and are keeping an eye on me.

    As I rest up on the weekends, I find it recharges my batteries for the coming week and it gives me a chance to reflect on how lucky I am to be pursuing downhill skiing in my most senior years.  I look forward to passing the torch of leadership of our group to the next generation when the time comes.  A shout out to the the geezers who might be reading this blog!  Keep on moving and enjoying every day we are blessed with!

Community of Characters

     Skiing at one area for many years brings you into contact with a host of characters to observe.   Some of them will become your friends. If you were writing a play or a story, you would have to have real examples of individuals of all sorts.  In fact you might not even be able to imagine them without actually observing them.  

    One thing about the characters that is shared by all at my Greek Peak Ski Area friends in Virgil, New York is a passion for skiing.   The long-timers desire to be on the slopes as much as possible, depending on their physical condition, their economic situation and the demand of family and jobs. 

    In the case of my closer community at the Peak, we have made all kinds of observations about skiers behavior.  Many of these regulars have nicknames that are universally known or in some cases, if they are somewhat derogatory, are unknown to them.  For the most part, we are a forgiving bunch when we observe behaviors we think inappropriate.   

   Observations of behavior include comments on skiing style.  Bombing the hill seems to be desired by a few of these characters and we know when to avoid what we think is perilous behavior. While we skiers are mostly tolerant of snow boarders, we do have some anxiety about what we consider to be their blindside while boarding!

    Among the special subsets of community are the Geezer Skiers. We pretty much know all of the geezer skiers and most of the staff as well as the management, who appreciate our loyalty to the area.  Recently some of us were honored for our loyalty with plaques placed on the back of the Visions Express chairs recognizing our decades at the Greek Peak Ski area.  Beyond the current Geezer Skier characters we hope that there will be people at the area who will still appreciate those who are deceased and/or now reluctantly retired from the slopes.

    Meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy observing the character of this skier community and meeting and chatting with the skiers from all over Central New York to learn their stories and get some insights into their character. 

    As a final observation, I am uplifted by the recognition of character as such an important element of human existence recently highlighted in the service for President Jimmy Carter. Regardless of your political leanings, one has to appreciate the exemplary life of that man of such sterling character.  

Rhythyms: Musing on New Year's Day 2025

     Another year has rolled by.  In a few months, I will be experiencing my 90th birthday. I am amazed that I have enjoyed so many years of living on this earth and have experienced the ebbs and flows of seasonal changes, life changes and many adaptations to changing situations.  As I wrote the check for our town and county tax bill today I was thinking of how this is a reminder that there is the inevitability of taxes and of course the accompanying thought of death too. Unfortunately the latter has become much more common among my contemporaries. The population of the Tough Old Geezer Skier Community that we founded at Greek Peak 10 or so years ago has dwindled too much. Thankfully some of us are still carrying the Geezer Skier banner, even if it is not a frequently on the hill as we used to be. Obviously, we have a legacy to uphold and perhaps our present duty is to keep the geezer tradition continuing by recruiting a new generation.  Part of the rhythm of things.

    In the cosmic sense, rhythm is a vast wave of centuries and eons. However in the shorter time frames the rhythm can be simply a day's activities with a comfortable routine.  With the ski season upon us, I am happily establishing the rhythm of my ski day for the max pleasure and preservation of this old body. Arising at reasonable hour is a good start to the day. A breakfast and a few exercises, followed by a shower and gathering my gear, gets me on the way to the slopes for riding the lift near the opening hour.  

     Although I have had many years on the slopes, each new day brings the necessity of establishing my rhythm for handling the conditions for the day. Settling into the groove brings the finest satisfaction. Depending on the conditions of both my body and the slopes, the day will have its ups and downs. (Pun intended) Of course a significant part of the day is the social interaction with lift attendants and fellow skiers. 

    In conclusion, I now wonder what this new year will bring into my life and interactions, particularly with the geezer ski community and the younger ski community as well.  Whatever the case, I hope that all geezers will approach the new year with optimism and a goal of enjoying life's many surprises as much as possible.