It's good to get back to Nature

 As you probably read, last week, Nancy and I packed up the camper and headed northeast to Arizona's White Mountains. If you're not from Arizona, we have a range of plateaus from the northeastern corner to the mid eastern border of Arizona and New Mexico. Also known as the Mogollon Rim. 

Our daughter and son in law own a nice piece of heavily forested land in a village called Nutrioso, between Springerville/Eagar and Alpine. They are planning on building a cabin there in the near future. We're going to go into partnership with them. 

Anyway, Nancy and I met up with two of our dear friends we have known for ... decades. They both love to hike, nature, and camp as much as us. So we decided to meet at the property and camp together for about five days. BUT, it began to rain the first day. And the next day, and the next day, and most of the next day. So, not being quitters, we went out and started to explore on the muddy forest service roads most of the days. One day we drove to Big Lake and just across New Mexico border into the village of Luna and to see Luna Lake. Not much there.

One of the guys struggled starting a campfire with the damp wood we each bought every evening. Needless to say, it was not easy. We'd no sooner get it going, and it would start raining again, so we all ran either under an awning or into the only camper big enough to house us all, ours. It was cozy but fun. We ended up eat most of the meals in there too. Each night someone else would make a meal for all of us.

The rain did not deter us from joking and having fun. I always said I'd never complain about getting rain while I lived in Arizona, this really got me close. 

Whether it is watching a herd of Elk migrating into the meadow we overlooked, or the bagging squirrels wanting something to eat, or the gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, Nature never gets old. And meeting up with dear friends made the rain thing just go away. Just a couple more shots of the squirrel, elk, and a beautiful sunrise. Take care, stay safe.

Do you want to live to 100?

I spoke to a gentleman the other day who said he just flew in from seeing his mother who was 100 years old. I thought, "Wow! That's great." Then I considered what it would be like to be 100. Would my family and close friends still be around? How would my health be? Would I need constant health care to make it to 101? What would my quality of life feel like? Sure, I'd probably see so many amazing changes in the world and world events, but would it be worth it?

'Centenarians' (100+) are less the 1% of the world's population today. Of the babies born today, 1 in 3 will make it to 100. That was not the case when I was born during the Baby Boom after WWII. Modern medicine has made that possible through the miracle of advanced drug therapies and testing. The acclaimed St. Jude's Research Center and Hospital says they are just around the corner from finding the cure for childhood cancer. If you are a 'Sexagenarian' (60-69 y.o.) or a 'Septuagenarian' (70-79 y.o.) your life expectancy is about 75 according to the C.D.C.. Which in the USA, we are 46th in the world for longevity. Hong Kong is number 1. Their average death age is 85. Why?

With between 82,000 and 95,000 Centenarians alive today, in the year 2060 they are projecting the USA will have nearly 590, 000 people 100+. Old population is getting older than babies than are being born.

At 75 now, for a couple more months, I believe I am in pretty shape and health. Still flexible, no medical problems and stay busy with car building, socializing and travel. Occasionally I forget where I put my coffee cup, or have to look up spelling of words, but for the most part fairly sharp. I believe that is natural for 75 year old males. I still really suck at remembering names. Sorry guys!

On the horizon, medicine is developing something a little spooky, 'Nanobots' which could be injected into a person to literally kill bad cells like cancer and other diseases. These BOTS could even change a developing baby's DNA so they would not have crippling conditions or diseases in the future. They could be capable of changing the DNA so they would become concert pianist, teachers, presidents or anything the parents would like. They may even slow or stop the aging process. That might be going too far in my mind. Sounds a little like Hitler's time.

From Einstein to Freud, all humans know they're going to die, and that dictates how they live their life. My wish is that scientists use their talents to cure diseases and just give us a better quality of life in our so-called 'Golden Years'. I think that changing the DNA for anything other than preventing sickness and diseases is NOT what the world wants or needs. I personally do not want to live to 100, unless, I can still walk around without assistance, and have a good quality of life. What do you think? How long do you want to live?  Leave me your comments.