Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for February 21, 2024

Reminds me of a conversation I had with my Aunt. She was mad at my Uncle because of all the “junk” he was eating. “How old is he?” “89.” “Let him eat whatever the he** he wants.” BTW he was one of the Battling Bas****s of Bataan.

Women will never understand men. To be fair, men have no hope of ever understanding women.

At this point the guys are mostly dead or in nursing homes

Lots of things you don’t.

From the National Institute on Aging. "Social isolation, loneliness in older people pose health risks ". Let him socialize. He’ll stick around longer.

My Mother didn’t die from cholesterol or heart disease. She died from Alzheimers. She was 92.

Why is it that once we get old(over 70) some kids treat treat their parents as if the parent is about 6yo and they are the parents-several of my friends tell me that one or 2 of their kids are treating them like they are little kids unable to make decisions for ourselves-so I know its not just my wife and I being treated this way

There is no doubt about it: socialization is critical to health in our older years, as long as the kids stay off our lawn!

I’ve lived in walkable neighborhoods for the better part of 15 years now…not just in the USA, but in a handful of foreign countries (as a digital nomad) as well. Quality of life, mental well-being, and physical fitness goes way up when you can walk to get your errands done, get your grocery shopping completed, and meet up with friends for an evening out.

OK, I must have missed a couple of the subtler nuances here somewhere. Why is “Pop’s” wish to move back to town considered “hush-hush” as mentioned in the strip a couple of days ago? It sounds like he’s trying to hide from someone. And…. I don’t recall him moving out of town after her retired…why did he move out of town, and where did he move to??

My Dad fought in the Pacific in WWII. We went to an airshow in the early 2000s. He wore a WWII Veteran hat which people recognized and stopped him to thank him for his service. After a few hours he asked me, “What are they all thanking me for?” I explained it to him and he shrugged and said,“We were just doing out job”

I like that about the small towns in upstate New York. The whole town is two or three blocks long and everything is there. And they have real character, unlike a suburban strip mall. In some ways it’s very similar to city life, but smaller.

say, shouldn’t coffee shops have a “happy hour” too?

Ah! His chains and the bars of his cage are now plain to see!

Quality of life…

I had a cat who had cancer and lived with it for 3 years, by taking medicine. He also loved sour cream an onion potato chips. I took him to the vet for his pill every Thursday. On his last day on earth, I took him to the vet, and all the staff gave him some of those potato chips. One snotty rich lady said “Those are not good for them. You should know that” as she glared at the vet…who owned the business for 40 years. He replied “At this point in time, it really does not matter”. As the cat died, the rest of the staff cried. He had been a patient there for 17 years, the “Dean of the Old Folks Club”

I’m blessed to be able to get together with a small group of men from church and have coffee once a week.

Over Easy would be such a good name for a cafe

He hasn’t long for this world, let him be, dearie.

Thank him for his service.

Walking and socialization are both important for aging well. A few beers won’t kill him. I think he’s over 21.

Those things are there also and they apply equally to girls. Being an adult with freedom to choose. Choose wisely………

Different ideas of NEED.

Connection.

If he hasn’t been there in a while, he might want to drive through, perhaps stay a night or two – things may have changed “some forever, not for better”.

I grew up in a small neighborhood, literally surrounded by farms. After many years, I went back to show my kids where I had all my adventures. All the farms had been sold, and zero lot line suburbia filled it all in: no creek with turtles and otters, no woods with deer, racoon, and wildcats, no hills to sled down in the winter, and the only big trees were the ones we had 25 years earlier.

I could be wrong but my sense is that his daughter doesn’t care if he drinks coffee in the morning and beer in the afternoon. It’s that she thinks he’s going to be hanging around and getting in the way.

My parents died when I was relatively young and I was free to pursue whatever it was I was pursuing without having to look after them. Now that people live much longer but not with complete youthful health, the dynamic has changed.

That which he doesn’t need is the coffee.

Actually, he needs the guys.

I remember reading about the oldest living woman saying she wanted a beer for her 120th birthday, and her doctor was like, “Let her have it FFS”

I have a small group of friends that I meet with for 5 days a week to shoot pool with at the “clubhouse” and at 82 years of age, I consider myself extremely lucky to be gifted with their company.

Realize this off the topic off of the strip – What is the fascination with beer and giving it to old people? When I was first old enough to drink I tried a beer – it is a terribly disgusting thing to drink, as has been ever other of the few alcoholic drinks I tried in my youth.

If I make it to 80 i plan on drinking a few whenever I want.