What to Wear? - Not a Question For This Old Fart

When I was a young fellar, I was very aware of my attire; what I was wearing.  Even as I aged a bit and the kids grew into adulthood and I crept up into my 50s, I was still quite aware of what I was wearing.  Everybody wants to look decent in the office and when you go to meetings, etc.  It's just part of the work deal.

Then about 10 years ago I decided to retire and see what life was like in the outside world with no Monday thru Friday demands on my life beyond existing and having some fun doing odds n ends here and there.  During the 10 years since retiring, I seem to have gotten to the point where I don't think much about what I wear.

I wear the same clothes every day.  In winter, like now, it's jeans, a long-tail pocket T shirt, a long sleeve flannel shirt and pair of white athletic socks and a pair of walking shoes.  I only purchase clothes that will work with what I already have.  My pocket T shirts are primarily black or gray and fit with any color flannel shirt.  The jeans are kind of a stone washed deal, kinda light blue in color.  They tend to be a classic fit like I've worn since my youth.  I ain't much on 'relaxed' fit/baggy jeans.

In summer I hang the flannel shirts in the closet along with the jeans.  My outer summer wear is a pocket T shirt and cargo shorts with many pockets.  Shoes and socks are same as winter.  I have a couple of cotton, canvas light weight long sleeve shirts I wear in summer over the pocket T at times.

So I can almost close my eyes and pick things out of the closet and know they'll look OK together.  I don't really care what others think as long as I'm comfortable and don't have to give any thot to my attire.  I can mix and match almost everything and I'll look the same.

The only thing that really changes in my appearance is whether I lose the urge to shave and grow my beard for a couple of months.  I just shaved last Saturday, so look considerably different than the scruffy look I had a week ago.  :-)

JD, here in the Big Town of Savage and definitely not wondering what to wear tomorrow, April Fool's Day.

PS - I had Plumber's Butt under control when it counted at Salomon's Island in '04.

PPS - Here's a foto of Gene Monay and myself having some lunch at Gunnings back in 1999 when I was still working and he's enjoying retirement.  Believe Gene is having the fried soft crab sandwich and I'm having a rib steak sandwich.  Notice the casual attire.  :-)

Beater GMC Safari - Gone to a better place

2003 GMC Safari

Somewhere, someplace, someone is getting some use out of the ol' Beater Van. As I mentioned in an earlier post about the van, I originally purchased it as an AWD winter vehicle that could be used for toting large boxes and also people at times.

Back in March I decided that 4 winter seasons was enough use of the ol' van to make the purchase worthwhile; one was the terrible snow winter we had a couple of years ago. So I figured I'd just sell the thing.

At my age I don't really enjoy dealing with folks to sell things. I'd rather just have the stuff go away and maybe bring me a few bucks. No one came forward to purchase the ol' beater van at a give-away price, so I decided to give it to my grandson, who's 19 years old and in college. I figured that he could use a little extra money anyway.

He's quite a bit more aggressive selling stuff than I am. I think he uses Craigslist for much of his stuff. He had the ol' beater van for about 10 days and sold it for twice what I was hoping to get for it. What more can a grandfather ask. The ol' beater van is gone and grandson has a bit more spending money.

JD, van-less here in the BToS

Senior Texting Codes - From an Email

The neatest things show up in emails...when we have time to read them. I ain't a texting kinda guy (yet), but as an old fart I can relate.

P&P (Peruse & Ponder)
JD



Since more and more Seniors are texting and tweeting, there appears to be a need for an STC (Senior Texting Code)

ATD: At The Doctor's
BFF: Best Friend Farted
BTW: Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT: Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM: Covered By Medicare
CUATSC: See You At The Senior Center
DWI: Driving While Incontinent
FWB: Friend With Beta Blockers
FWIW: Forgot Where I Was
FYI: Found Your Insulin
GGPBL: Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low!
GHA: Got Heartburn Again
HGBM: Had Good Bowel Movement
IMHO: Is My Hearing Aid On?
LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL: Living On Lipitor
LWO: Lawrence Welk's On
OMMR: On My Massage Recliner
OMSG: Oh My! Sorry, Gas.
ROFL…CGU: Rolling On The Floor Laughing...Can't Get Up
SGGP: Sorry, Gotta Go Poop
TTYL: Talk To You Louder
WAITT: Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA: Wet The Furniture Again
WTP: Where's The Prunes?
WWNO: Walker Wheels Need Oil

Beater GMC Safari Goes Binary

I was heading to Costco the other day and the ol' beater van went binary on me. I looked down at the odometer and it read '101101'; first thing I thot of was binary encoding. To an old fart like me that learned to program computers back in the late 50s; it looked just right.

The '03 GMC Safari has AWD and I plan to keep 'er around till the spring thaw comes, then I'll probably sell it to someone who needs some basic, box hauling capability. It got me thru last winter's 36" snow here in the BToS with no problems; of course I stayed on plowed roads and didn't head for the boonies. She was great.

It had no problem bringing the new Toro mower home when I bought it at Home Depot last month. Nope it's just a handy little box that gets decent mileage and goes thru the snow and; she has an 'old fart' attitude spurred by going binary.

JD

Dewey - Jim - Dewey -- Name Changes with Time

The following quote was taken from a PS to a post I published in September 2009. Occasionally, I recall some neat stuff that's happened in my life and enjoy sharing it here on "Thots from the BToS".

JD

"September 14, 1959. That is the date that as a recent high school graduate I went to work for NSA at Ft. Meade as a trainee computer operator. Today is the 50 year anniversary of the only real job I ever had. I worked there until January 2004; 44+ years, when I retired. Here's a short story of one of my more vivid recollections of beginning work there.

At birth I was given the name James Dewey; James from my father and Dewey from my uncle John's middle name. My dad was called Jim or some called him Big Jim as he was a pretty good size fella back in those days at 6' 1" and around 210 lbs. They didn't want to call me Jim or Little Jim, so I was 'Dewey'.
When I was a kid I would see these three little ducks, named Huey, Dewey and Louie that were in Donald Duck cartoons. I never warmed to the idea that I had the same name as a cartoon duck. It irritated me quite a bit, but I couldn't do a thing about it. When I was in 11th grade I made an attempt to change to James. I started by signing a test paper in US History class as James rather than Dewey. The teacher, a member of the 'Odd Fellows' stood in front of the class handing out papers and read off the name on my paper, then asked, "Who is this James fella?" Needless to say I was intimidated and embarrassed, and that was the end of my name change while still in high school.

The first day I met my supervisor at NSA. He was holding my personnel information in his hand and after scanning the name he said, "I see your name is James, what do they call you, Jim?" I shook his hand before he could say anything else and said, "Yes sir, they certainly do!" Needless to say, that's the day I became Jim, not Dewey, just Jim. That was a wonderful day for me.

So basically I led a double life. At the super secret agency here in central Maryland, I was Jim while folks outside knew me as Dewey. Since retiring 5 years ago, and with the specter of those damn ducks no longer relevant, I've gone back to the name Dewey for most folks I know. I use the moniker JD for most folks that knew me from work. As you may have noted, I use JD for this blog; BToS JD (JD from the Big Town of Savage).

Things usually work themselves out if you give 'em time. :-)"

Cell Phone for Seniors

I received this image in an email yesterday. While it makes no logical sense to have a cell phone of this design, it does reflect the attitude of many of today's seniors toward modern devices that are coming along at a pace that's considerably faster than most of us old folks want to devote time to keep up with.

Thots for Wednesday,
JD

PS - I seldom use the cell phone that I have. Usually it's turned off in my pocket and available for my emergencies, not for others to contact me. Seldom is anything so urgent that I need to answer a telephone while on the road.

Old Folks Humor from an email

I received this in an email from Cousin Judy and couldn't resist sharing.

I was thinking about how a status symbol of today is those cell phones that everyone has clipped onto their belt or purse. I can't afford one. So, I'm wearing my garage door opener. I also made a cover for my hearing aid and now I have what they call blue teeth, I think.

You know, I spent a fortune on deodorant before I realized that people didn't like me anyway.

I was thinking that women should put pictures of missing husbands on beer cans!

I was thinking about old age and decided that old age is 'when you still have something on the ball, but you are just too tired to bounce it.'

I thought about making a fitness movie for folks my age, and call it 'Pumping Rust'.

I've gotten that dreaded furniture disease. That's when your chest is falling into your drawers!

When people see a cat's litter box, they always say, 'Oh, have you got a cat?' Just once I want to say, 'No, it's for company!'

Employment application blanks always ask who is to be notified in case of an emergency. I think you should write, 'A Good Doctor'!

I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older. Then, it dawned on me. They were cramming for their finals.

As for me, I'm just hoping God grades on the curve.

So there you have it,
JD