Living and fishing
Monday, July 27th, 2009Had a pain in the center of my chest and a fairly severe headache on the right side this evening. It was nearly identical to the pain I felt nearly four years ago, when my body first told me I had heart disease requiring triple-bypass heart surgery, which I had six weeks later. It’s probably nothing to worry about. But I’ll call my doctor tomorrow and get a few tests, just in case I’m being given the chance once again to make a preemptive strike against death.
Funny how we perceive things as we grow older. I’m 65, in good shape except for my heart disease, and I’ve got a good outlook on life with a lot of work left to do. A pain in the center of my chest, for me, is just a reality check. I’ve already had a good life, founded BHM, and have a great family. I’m on “extra” time.”
That’s compared to many measures: My father’s lifetime was 57 years; he was born in 1907. The average life expectancy of people born in the U.S. 100 years ago was about 50 years. (It’s 76 to 81, depending on gender, today.) In 1900, the world life expectancy was only about 30 years (today, it’s about 64). During the Roman Empire, Romans had an approximate life expectancy of 22 to 25 years. So I feel fortunate to have lived in the modern era. I’ve already lived three times longer than the Romans.
The wind here is expected to die down (what a pun!) Wednesday, so Silveira and I will go out on the Pacific Ocean and try to catch a ling cod, or at least a big black rock fish.
