h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A world without Norah Batty? I never thought I would see the day but it came with today's news. Sadly Kathy Staff has passed away and another character is lost to us. Will there be any more Last of the Summer Wines I wonder? It won't be the same without her, those wrinkly stockings and broom.

Sadly, I am always learning that people I've never heard of before have died, and iy is now too late for me to get to know them.
The world has gotten much too big in the days since it was just Eve and me.

You know you're getting old when all your childhood favourites and friends start shuffling off the mortal coil

I had already lost my two favorite teachers and a classmate I was fond of, by the time I was 20. So, I've been getting old for 40 years now.

I'm not knocking it, though. My grandmother was 63 when I was born, and she was still alive when I was 29. She very clearly figured out how to survive and master old age.

This used to be a small village and everyone knew everyone else.
It was noticeable that we had a lot of very old women (always dressed in black) but not many old men.

I can't remember who said it when asked why women lived longer than men,
he replied, "that's because they're not married to women."

War was probably a bigger cause of mortality than marriage.

War, marriage; sometimes you can't tell the difference.

Many years ago, Art Linkletter had a TV show which he called "House party." There was always a segment in which he had interviews with some children. One time, he was celebrating Veterans Day, and asked one of the children if he knew what it was. The boy replied "Veterans Day is when the soldiers and sailors and marines stop fighting with each other, and go home and fight with their wives."

Fantastic!
Men don't die, women kill them. It's a known fact, at least it is among Jews.

Looks like I got divorced just in time then.
Phew.
I don't think it's a Jewish phenomena though, it's probably pretty universal.

It's just as well that I didn't get married, I guess.

If women are killing their men, they at least are doing it slooooooooowly and subtly so that no one will catch on.

Yes, I think it's a lifetime project for them, somewhat akin to slow poisoning.
They get this shiny new husband who eventually reverts to his childhood habits.
Pretty soon resentment sets in and he either gets the old heave-ho
out the door
or the kiss of Thanatos.

Is Thanatos a good kisser?

I don't know, but I am surprised at the notion of men *eventually* reverting to their childish habbits. They never drop their childish ways in the first place, as far as I can tell...

Elly - If a particular behavior works for a child, there's a chance of hanging onto it for a very long time, even when it begins to be self-defeating. I've observed the same thing in a fair number of women, too. You presumably grow up, the world changes, and you may not really notice.

Frankly, when I was a kid I admired adults and could hardly wait to grow up and become one of them. When I did grow up and saw what adults were really like, I realized that I had been deceived. How many really really mature adults are there? A lot less than I thought there would be.

But, this is the world I was given. I try to be positive-minded as much as possible. When I see someone rising to the occasion, I make a point of praising him/her. Maybe the praise will reinforce the idea of acting that well in the future. Lord knows, people get enough grief for doing the right thing....(No good deed ever goes unpunished, say the cynics.)

I think that you try to match up to expectations as you grow up;
your peers, your teachers, your parents, your employer.
Then you marry and it's your partner's, then your kids.
There comes a time in life where you reach the OFI point and decide enough is enough.
That's when you say oh f**k it and behave just as you please.

I was not sure what OFI meant, but then I realized...

It's the ruder version of growing old disgracefully.

If it's all the same with you, I'd rather grow *young*.

It's how old or young you feel that matters, I reckon. And if you keep a part of your childhood, you have the advantage, I suppose. Maybe that's why you do it?

What's OFI?