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Jackpine Radical (41,799 posts) Mon Oct 13, 2014, 12:07 PMToday, Oct. 13, I turn 70. (A self-indulgent retrospective)And migod, is it weird! For one thing, I've been on DU since 2001 when I was a mere child in my late 50's. I don't know how well I'm going to be able to handle this (gasp!) growing old business. It's been an interesting ride, to say the least. I was born late in the reign of King Franklin & Queen Eleanor, and was of a generation that benefited mightily from the (semi-)enlightened politics of that era. I went through school in an era when education was highly valued, as were teachers (especially when I hit high school just after Sputnik went up and Cold War fears gripped the nation). There was this thing called the National Defense Education Act whereby Congress poured money into the public schools and trusted the schools to use it properly. As far as I could tell, they did. There was no "goals & objectives" nonsense, no "race to the top," but quite a few of my classmates and I went on from our quite rural school system to earn higher degrees and professional careers. I went through 4 years of college & lost my parents in my senior year (mother at the beginning, father at the end). I was then drafted and did time as a grunt in Vietnam. The war radicalized me, and I came home to return to school and join the antiwar movement. Campaigned for McGovern, and have always been politically involved, including as a minor functionary in the county Democratic Party.. I got a PhD in psych, taught and did research in a series of non-tenure-track and often part-time academic positions until I decided to get off the treadmill, which I did by getting a clinical postdoc position for 2 years & then passing the tests for my shrink license. Since then I've worked in a psych hospital, in private outpatient clinics, as a field psychologist for Corrections, and, for the last 7 or 8 years, as a forensic psychologist in private practice. I had a coronary bypass in 1992 and was hospitalized for Congestive Heart Failure last February. Since then, I've been slowing down in my practice and re-focusing my attention on figuring out what it is I actually want to do with my remaining time. I'll check in again when I've figured out what those things are. Yeah, it's been quite a ride. And thanks for indulging me.
RebelOne (30,162 posts) Mon Oct 13, 2014, 01:02 PM5. Happy birthday to you.I'm glad there are some of other 70-year-olds here at DU. I was starting to feel lonely. I have had a bit of a longer ride than you. On January 18 of this year, I turned 75. It takes a while to adjust to growing old. But I am glad to have made it this far and hope to see at least another 10 years.
Jackpine Radical (41,799 posts) Mon Oct 13, 2014, 02:33 PM10. Actually, there seem to be a fair number of geezers around here.And thanks for the wishes.
DFW (16,212 posts) Mon Oct 13, 2014, 02:46 PM13. Happy birthday from the gray and drizzling Rheinland !I first have to make it to 70 before I can contemplate the idea. I have maybe a 50/50 chance, and about a 20% chance at 80, maybe not that much. I'm trying to cut down on work, not being overly successful. I've heard that in my profession, retirement is only official when the last nail is hammered into place in the coffin. I don't know if it'll come to that, but if I hit 90, I'm retiring, period. I knew Helen Thomas. Helen Thomas was a friend of mÃne. I'm no Helen Thomas.
King Franklin & Queen Eleanor
There was this thing called the National Defense Education Act whereby Congress poured money into the public schools and trusted the schools to use it properly. As far as I could tell, they did.
I had a coronary bypass in 1992 and was hospitalized for Congestive Heart Failure last February.
And libbies keep saying all us conservatives are old and dying off? Well you 60's era hippies are dying off too. Probably at a faster rate due to lifestyle. The bell tolls for thee, dummies.
