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I learned over the past 2 or 3 years that our neighborhood has two unofficial Men's Clubs for retired guys only<>
Are these unofficial groups common in other neighborhoods as well?
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Around here most every upscale McDonald's has one for coffee; no dogs.
You being so enviably virile and buff and youthful with super duper stamina is not the point.
The guys are buddies and like doing stuff together. Funny how you zero'd in on the very limited examples posted and your extraordinary abilities and ignored the larger point.
Do you hate HOAs too?
Does it occur to you that they all band together and do ALL the properties in one day or weekend as a group thereby avoiding the aggravation of each one having to do all his own crap by himself or own or rent power equipment or paint/stain, or aeration equipment or whatever and actually have fun doing it? Maybe some of them hate doing it alone or maybe some are crappy at it or used to pay people in the past. Maybe some are injured veterans or have other medical issues. Maybe they live in a hot state where the heat index is 100 degrees for most of the mid day. Maybe the guys who like ladders clean the gutters while the guys who hate/can't do ladders pick up the slack in other areas. Perhaps having a barbecue or pool party or whatever when they're finished is the payoff. Maybe the younger ones ACTUALLY do most of the physical work, but the older guys still participate, so what? My guess is the younger ones don't tell the older ones that they should still be able to do it alone. Just a hunch.
Do you have friends? Weird criticism.
Metamucil not working today? Prunes may work better for you.
Actually I was asking the age of the people because of the "things they can't do anymore" statement. It wasn't a criticism, but obviously you're touchy about something. Not Liver and Onions Day at the Senior Center?
Friends? Why, yes. That's a strange question.
Where I live most people don't do those types of chores themselves in any event. They hire an old Black guy or a Hispanic of any age. That way they can drop the phrase "My yard boy says that __________" into conversation. Those people, however, are not ones I classify as "friends".
I know when my dad retired (he is gone now ) he was a member of a domino playing group and also they played cards and bingo . My mother when she retired she liked to play cards , crochet and knit with the ladies group she belonged too . Of course they lived in a retirement community and they had all their friends around them living close by and that was good for them because they lived to a ripe old age of 90+ so I would say it is a good thing having things to do and people to talk too .
Metamucil not working today? Prunes may work better for you.
Actually I was asking the age of the people because of the "things they can't do anymore" statement. It wasn't a criticism, but obviously you're touchy about something. Not Liver and Onions Day at the Senior Center?
Friends? Why, yes. That's a strange question.
Where I live most people don't do those types of chores themselves in any event. They hire an old Black guy or a Hispanic of any age. That way they can drop the phrase "My yard boy says that __________" into conversation. Those people, however, are not ones I classify as "friends".
Your sarcasm, if meant to be amusing, is far from it, but it says much about you.
I read your post, too, and got the same impression. No, I don't need prunes. My bodily functions are working as they should. Thank you.
Your sarcasm, if meant to be amusing, is far from it, but it says much about you.
I read your post, too, and got the same impression. No, I don't need prunes. My bodily functions are working as they should. Thank you.
The thread switched from a bunch of guys doing leisure activities to one where they can't do stuff anymore so I ask a question about what ages are being discussed. I'm then attacked and become the bad guy for asking about the ages.
The reality is that, barring medical issues, there shouldn't be many things a 60 something year old "can't do" (which became the premise) that he did 30 or 40 years ago.
A question. Do you always only ever read just one sentence and then respond or does it just seem that way?
When I first came to Albuquerque I would go to a coffee shop and there would sometimes be a group of retired scientists or technician from Sandia Labs there. This was like a "Bill Nye the Science Guy" convention (only men) that lasted about an hour or so then they all broke up and did what their wives had scheduled for them that day.
I hang with a small pub crawl group of retired guys and on occasion some guy will mention his wife coming along and he is promptly told no. This is a monthly outing to visit new places in town -- we don't always know what we'll find. This is not a nightly or weekly event. We always have a wide range of discussions from politics to auto repair and beer styles or brewing...nothing that would be awkward or embarrassing around women but somehow the group just informally came to that decision. We only had one infraction when a girlfriend dropped in for an hour because she was nearby. We survived.
I play bocce with a group of local Italians and it is a large coed group, which (I hear) is somewhat unusual in bocce-playing communities. The women are very tough competitors and will often be in the money during tournaments. It all works out fine and is probably better because it is coed.
I recently drove through a small town that I used to go to for it's great used book stores. I couldn't help but note the absence of the old Elks club, the Eagles club, and the old pubs where the local older men would while away the afternoon hours. At my age (72) I think the OP's notions of group aid in doing the heavy chores is a sound idea, in my neighborhood all the oldies are forced to pay to play when it comes to home maintenance. Perhaps the OP's group is just a tad bit too socialistic for the average man to contemplate..
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveWA
Australia and Britain have a growing network of Men's Sheds which do not have an age restriction but tend to attract mostly older guys. Tend to be supported by local councils. Not sure of the others but the local one has some donated wood working gear that the blokes use to make toys for the hospital, etc. that activity is more an excuse for guys who are not good at socialising to do something productive and talk rubbish with kindred spirits.
Menz Sheds in NZ too, Men's health, community service / mentorship Great organization and service to community and members of the Menz Shed.
I hope to emulate a similar group using some shops at my TX home.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phonelady61
I know when my dad retired (he is gone now ) he was a member of a domino playing group and also they played cards and bingo . ... .
Having just participated in the interview process for 6 'new hire' mechanical engineers... there is a significant gap in practical mechanical experience from the 'new generation' Only one person had actually changed a flat tire... NO ONE had rebuilt engines / knew how to weld / build furniture / plumb a house / repair a faucet / plant an orchard. Sad, very sad...
Join a group of old codgers and share your vast knowledge with others!
Having investigated and researched Senior Coop Living, the Shops / activities for the guys are often critical to daily engagement. Standing room only at 10AM in the workshop here https://becketwood.com/
Having just participated in the interview process for 6 'new hire' mechanical engineers... there is a significant gap in practical mechanical experience from the 'new generation' Only one person had actually changed a flat tire... NO ONE had rebuilt engines / knew how to weld / build furniture / plumb a house / repair a faucet / plant an orchard. Sad, very sad...
Join a group of old codgers and share your vast knowledge with others!
So true. An entire generation (and a half) lost with only the skills of using a computer for fun.
I really don't know if it's because of so many single parent households or actual parents of children born in the 1980s who were too busy being super hip driven by wealth, or the nation turning into a throwaway society or the Great Society making life easy... or what not but it's bad.
My husband, from Greece, came here in the 1970s and knew how to do everything including sewing: hemming, flipping his shirt collars and cuffs when they wore out etc.
Necessity is the mother of MOTIVATION.
Our country could use a culture shock of necessity where their neighbors' money doesn't bail them out of everything.
The thread switched from a bunch of guys doing leisure activities to one where they can't do stuff anymore so I ask a question about what ages are being discussed. I'm then attacked and become the bad guy for asking about the ages.
The reality is that, barring medical issues, there shouldn't be many things a 60 something year old "can't do" (which became the premise) that he did 30 or 40 years ago.
A question. Do you always only ever read just one sentence and then respond or does it just seem that way?
I think the problem is you are not interpreting very well.
If and when I comment on someone else's post, it is because I have read the entire post, including yours.
I think what rattled people was how you described yourself. Perhaps if you just mentioned you are in good health and can do much of the work being talked about. In other words, you overdid complimenting yourself. Perhaps you aren't getting enough of that in your personal life?
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