Hide or not to hide?

[thomasortega]

Maybe... It was so many years ago that I can't remember. LOL

 

[ptcruiser51]

Mom and Dad were right

For once... "The best years of your life are your 30s, but you won't realize it until you're in your 40s" How very true for me.

I was scared to death of turning the big 3-0, but found after awhile that things in my life were pretty much OK. Job was stable and secure, I had an other half I truly loved, no money worries, good health, lots of friends.

Then unfortunately things went sour, real fast. I don't want to recount horrors of the AIDS, but I literally could have accomplished the same by tearing my address book in half. Gone, gone, gone. Three funerals in one week I can recall. Discrimination once thought wiped out reared its ugly head almost overnight.

Comes 40. How I "dodged the bullet" I'll never know. More losses. Finally, the worst sorrow of all, I lose my man to lung cancer. Ten years ago this past week.

Here I am at 57. Retired. No mates. No dates. Someone changed all the rules while I was in my LTR. Something called the "Sunshine State" stole my few surviving friends. Tail-lights down I-95, never to return.

So I put on a smile and an orange apron and sell Maytags at THD. It helps. But I never, ever thought this was how it would turn out.

Mom & Dad were right.

I've lost my youth, my looks and my waistline, but still have my health, my hair (Clairol #28), my teeth and my sense of humor, so I guess I haven't lost it all.

I'd post a photo if I knew how to do it. I don't have access to a scanner.

 

[re563]

I tell ya:

The longer this thread goes on, the more I'm glad I'm a member here.

1st: God, so many hot men, I just hope I get to meet you all at a wash in some day soon.

2ed: The conversations, just in the spirit of friendship is soooooooo over whelming to me and i'm loving every minute of it.

3rd. Everyone has there sad stories to tell, but the point of this thread is "life goes one". And what I think is that just because we're all not 20 something, we're all still hot and ready for action. Just like a fine wine, we're all getting better with age.

4th: I am pleased and very proud to call you all my fiends. and maybe hopefully more than that????

big hugs to all you hot studs.

 

[rp2813]

Charlie, there are plenty of 57-year-olds I wouldn't hesitate to leap on. One thing that can be learned from the wisdom contained in this thread is, don't sell yourself short buddy.

 

[travis]

Ummm Ralph

You're hot!

Age doesn't matter much unless you're single and making a personal ad! I am 36 and fine with it. I still look boyish unfortunately with my 27" waist.

 

[mistereric]

i'm going to choose to age because i prefer it to stagnation and death. i've already wasted enough time with being unsure, worrying about what I can't change. things have gotten better for me since I hit 30, and I'll happily admit i am 31. i hope i find a partner before i get too old and fall apart... but why worry about things that one can't help? better to concentrate on what you ~do~ have control over, and your age is not one of them.

relax. smile. find contentedness in the now, move forward and embrace who you are. life is way too short for anything else.

 

[mistereric]

oh and...

so many handsome guys here...

thomas, you can be 28 or 38 or whatever, i'd still be trying to get your attention! ;-)

 

[thomasortega]

And what if I tell you I´m 48, 58, 68 or 78?

 

[oldhouseman]

with your

body, charm and personality that certainly would not be a concern Thomas. I think you definately have a large...fan club!!

 

[thomasortega]

Thanks everybody but:

1) I think you need new glasses
2) My personality isn´t so nice as you think
3) I´m just a normal guy, with a hairy chest and a huge belly...
WOOF, WOOF, WOOF!

 

[oldhouseman]

That's the

best type Thomas, for me at least!

WOOOOFFFFF!!!!!!

 

[mistereric]

if you were 78 thomas, i'd be even more impressed! {laughs}

 

[thomasortega]

and I´d be missing my teeth and my skin would be looking like a pasion fruit.

 

[foraloysius]

"Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas"

or "Vanity, vanity, all is vanity". ;-)

Actually it doesn't matter what you do as long as you do it with dignity. That concerns age as well. Be proud of who you are and your age doesn't matter anymore. The whole world may know that I'm 48.

 

[oldhouseman]

Many older people

and couples still have passion in their life as senior citizens. I walked in on my grandparents when I was real young, about 9 or 10. They were 78 and 83 at the time. I was glad they were both hard of hearing and didn't hear me quickly leave and close the door!!!

My grandfather lived to be 95 and was very active into his late 80's. He was very forward about having discussions with me. We used to go fishing and he would joke with me "I can look at the women on the lake and you can have a look at the men". He was great. I miss him. He always told me to stay forwardlooking and active in life. And meant ACTIVE!

 

[rp2813]

Greg, you couldn't have received better advice, and not from anyone you respected more than your grandfather.

A guy like you sure would have an easy time being ACTIVE like he hoped you would. He's a role model if there ever was one!

 

[rp2813]

Oh, and more pix from the 30+ crowd please!

Hey Bubba, this means you!

 

[re563]

Ralph, Ken and Joe

WOOOFFF, WOOOFFF, WOOOFFF

 

[filter-flo_rob]

Hey all,

I am enjoying this thread so I thought I'd add my two cents into it.

Let's face it guys, "general" gay [i dislike that word!] society thinks the norm has to be young, thin, wealthy and hung like a horse -- anything less is a "bad thing." Thank heavens I am not of the "general" sort, I never was; and, it sounds like most of the guys on this group are not, either.

Since cognition, I've always been attracted to guys older than me. Lily Tomlin in one of her dialogues, Tell Miss Sweeney Goodbye, said "It's not that consider myself teacher's pet, I've just got nothing in common with a bunch of illiterate seven year olds [paraphrased]." I was never able to relate to people my age or younger.

Age means absolutely nothing to me. It never has. Chronologically I am 52. I still feel 22. The only difference I can tell is that, if you will pardon me, it may take me 20 seconds to get a full erection, and it was .02 seconds when I was 22. Really, that's the only difference.

It's not that I have particularly good or bad genes: had a cousin die of a heart attack at 28 -- arteries completely clogged (AND et well, btw); and conversely, at age 98, Granny decided to smoke only 2 cigarettes nstead of 2 packs of unfiltered cigarettes and limit herself to one martini daily. She died at 104.

Personally, I think attitude has a lot to do with it! How young do you feel? When someone mentions "aging" to you, what do you think about that? How many of your work colleagues THAT ARE YOUR AGE are on handfulls of prescription drugs; and how many of those colleagues have turned into couch potatoes, do no exercise except arm movements: fork to mouth. What cracks me up is listening to a few older people talk about younger people with all sorts of negative comments; in actuality, they're jealous of their youth. I'd better stop here now to avoid a flame war.

Heck, I just graduated from the Police Academy in May. The enclosed pix is one taken a few months ago in my Defensive Tactics uniform.

 

[filter-flo_rob]

AND ...

I joined the fire dept. in June! You're never too old to try new things!