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August 08, 2010

92 years of change



My father turned 92 on August 5th.

Think about what's happened with computer technology in the past 40 years and especially in the past 25 years and try to get your head around what it must be like for someone who has been on the planet since 1918 and their ability to process all that has changed?
The first World War ended on November 11th, a mere 3 months after he was born.

He grew up in New Westminster. Milk and bread were apparently delivered by horse and buggy directly to people's homes.  There were street cars.
 
His birth predates the first successful flight by the Wright brothers in 1903. 

It was years before television.  When he went to Europe as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, the troops didn't fly because there were no commercial airlines. They took a ship. They wrote letters.

Is it any wonder, given the changes, that it does seem like he acts as if he's seen it all. Maybe, for him,  he's just seen enough.

Recently, he had a fall while out on one of his legendary long walks. He was in the hospital for about 2 weeks as a result of bleeds in his brain. Now, he doesn't seem to know what year it is. He says it doesn't matter.

And, you know. I get that. It doesn't really matter what year it is. It's just a number.

Here's an article on a few "secrets" to aging well.

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