While a lot of us are “risking” our lives playing golf during those golden sunset years, my wife is under strict orders to strangle me if I were ever tempted to sit in a golf cart with a cooler of Bud. As a matter of fact, almost every retired man living on my street has a set of clubs ready to go. Being more of an adrenaline junky, I am trying to stretch out a few more years underwater. This year actually marks my 5oth year since getting certified. I began my career commercial diving and have many thousands of hours. So this is not an activity that one would star when your first Social Security check arrives.
The fossil in the picture above is me. The orange cylindrical object is a Farallon MK IV scooter. This was made back in the days (1974) when such things were made out of heavy aluminum rather than the junky plastic models made for diving these days. This model is the recreational version originally designed for use by the Navy Seals. Supposedly it can go to 500 ft. depth. But this diver is no longer going to try that. Of course, these days, the scooter is considered a relic … similar to the diver holding it. But they both are still functional … barely. Here are some thoughts about why this is so:
Things you can control
How long you are still functional and can engage in this sort of activity is mostly up to you.
For example, majority of factors that cause cardiovascular disease are things that we can control:
Lack of Exercise or physical activity
Unhealthy Diet
High Blood Pressure
High sugar/high carb intake
Smoking
Diabetes
Overweight
Cholesterol
Although we have had the COVID interruption, swimming laps is probably the best exercise for your whole body. It is low-impact, and you can do this at your own pace. The only negative is the chlorine fumes.
Food is another factor completely within our control. I have found that eating less, preferably only two meals a day, as little as possible, taking vitamins and supplements, and avoiding alcohol and tobacco entirely must be taken seriously. Controlling your intake controls your weight and your cardiovascular health.
Bad genes and bad luck are of course out of our control. But I try and focus on dealing with the things that I can impact, and not worrying about the rest. I plan to spend the next – at least – 10 years diving and taking photos like these below. Being in the center of a swarming school of sardines can be exciting, as long as you don’t encounter any feeding sharks.
This Eagle Ray photo is somewhat blued. That is the result of being over 20 feet away from this fish. The depth and distance cause the loss of color for the camera.
So the lesson I am trying to impart is that life doesn’t end at 70 in a golf cart … if you take care of yourself.