Getting Old Ain’t for Sissies

Today’s Topic is Falling and Fall Prevention

My lifelong friend, Milt Strader, said as we got older, “We’re only one fall away from a nursing home.”

Only a few years ago, a fall and a broken hip pretty much signaled the end of your life. Now with advances in surgery techniques and smaller surgical instruments and implants, doctors can often repair a broken hip; however, as we age, falls are one of our worst enemies.

Here are a few thoughts on falling.

Make sure your medications don’t have side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, or disorientation that might contribute to a fall.

Assess your walking ability. If your feet are often numb or if you’re short of breath, be sure to take care with every step to avoid falling. If you can, keep moving with walking or cycling or any moving activity to keep you as strong and flexible as possible.

Keep chairs, electrical cords, and anything else that could cause you to fall as you walk around your house or apartment.

Below is a link to the Mayo Clinic website page with tips and information on falling and fall prevention.

Fall prevention: Simple tips to prevent falls – Mayo Clinic

Which Song Was The First Rock and Roll Song?

Many writers and scholars believe the first rock and roll song was Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats. (Of course, it’s about a car. See a 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 below.)

“Rocket 88” was recorded in Memphis in March 1951. The recording was credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, who were actually Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm. The single made it to #1 on the Billboard R&B charts.

The identity of the original songwriter has always been in dispute, some folk claiming it was Jackie Brenston, who played saxophone in the Kings of Rhythm, while others believe Ike Turner wrote the song. Another legend, possible apocryphal, that the unique sound was the result of a dropped bass amplifier that broke the woofer and cone. Ike Turner then stuffed newspapers and paper sacks into the amplifier, thereby creating a very different sound

Interestingly, the Kings of Rhythm rehearsed in a hotel in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the very city where Robert Johnson “went down to the crossroads” and sold his soul to the devil in exchange for skills and talent playing the guitar.

Below is the original recording of Rocket 88.

Postscript: Years ago, I worked with a Black guy from the swamps of Louisiana who lived his whole life in a small rural town deep in the canebrake. He never wore shoes, except for church, and saw only a few White people until he was 18 and was drafted into the Army. He told me he always listened to radio stations late at night when he could get a signal, and the stations were rhythm and blues and soul. When he went into the Army, he said how difficult it was to adjust to being around White folks, especially so many White guys around his age. He said, “Terry, we be listening to songs about women and sex, and you White boys be singing about your CARS!”

Getting Old Ain’t For Sissies.

— Bette Davis

What’s the worst part about getting older? Renegade hairs growing where no hairs ever grew before? Getting shorter? Diminishing eyesight and hearing? Maybe.

But those aches and pains can get a person down. Waking up in the morning with a sore back or a sore shoulder or sore feet is the most universal sign of aging. What can you do about it?

Take aspirin or Advil or Tylenol. Get a massage. Use heat and ice alternatively. Maybe acupuncture. In my state (Colorado), a person can buy CBD oil derived from the marijuana plant. But if you decide to go that way, be VERY careful. Use the internet to your advantage. Learn all you can, especially about how much active THC is in the oil. Read the lab reports and be sure the report was generated by a reputable third-party laboratory. Some oils have metals and other harmful ingredients so be aware. And know that your liver has to metabolize CBD and THC, so if you drink alcohol you’re adding even more stress to your liver. And if you can, get your liver enzymes checked at least once a year, it’s a simple blood test.

The Topic Today Is Nutrition and Malnutrition

Malnutrition can be a real problem as we grow older, and we can’t take anything for granted. Just because you did OK when you were younger, you need to understand how much you need to eat to stay healthy.

Malnutrition Can Lead To:

 

• A weakened immune system, increasing the risk of infections
• Difficulty with wound healing
• You’re already fighting weakness and sarcopenia (muscle loss) and malnutrition makes it worse
• Falls and fractures
• A higher risk of hospitalization

Below is a link to an extremely informative article about nutrition for older people. It’s from The Mayo Clinic so it’s totally reliable.

Remembering A Time In 70s Music

Below is a link to a four-minute video with Ray Wiley Hubbard and Jerry Jeff Walker, also Cowboy Bob Livingstone. Ray Wiley Hubbard wrote “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother,” and in the video he talks about his experience before writing the song. He is a very funny raconteur and this will crack you up

Below is a link to the song “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother,” sung by Jerry Jeff Walker on his album “Viva Terlingua.”

Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother, Jerry Jeff Walker. – YouTube

Today’s Topic is Anger and Why It Can Kill You

Anger buildup can cause your neck and head muscles to tense up, delivering a so-called tension headache, Anger modifies your ability to focus and you become impaired and probably destined to make mistakes in judgment. Normally you would assess the consequences of your actions, but anger inhibits you from accurately processing events and information. Your prejudices are amplified, witness the recent events resulting from anger and prejudices that have left almost 600 people arrested and charged with insurrection on January 6. Now almost every arrested person says anger played a huge part in their actions and they regret letting the anger and prejudices overcome them.

Anger can actually elevate your blood pressure and increase your body’s stress and anxiety levels. A Harvard Medical School study discovered that men carrying around the most anger are three times more likely to have a heart attack.

Remembering a Fun Novelty Song

Does Your Chewing Gum Lose its Flavor (On the Bedpost
Over Night?) Lonnie Donegan

Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)” is a novelty song by Lonnie Donegan, and the most popular “skiffle” song is the US. Released as a single in 1959, i5 was Donegan’s greatest chart success in the US, reaching number five on the Billboard charts in 1961. Skiffle and Lonnie Donegan were great music influences on the Beatles among many other famous UK musicians of the 1960s. The term skiffle originated in the UK in the 1930s, but became a universal term for music played by young folk who didn’t have enough money for expensive instruments.

Memories of a Book

All The King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren is the story of Willie Stark, a southern politician clearly modeled on Louisiana’s Huey Long. The book won the Pulitzer Price and the subsequent movie with Broderick Crawford won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Remembering: All Beatles All The Time

My personal favorite Beatles song, written by Lennon and McCartney but mostly Lennon, is Help! Here is a live version manifesting the Beatles at the top of their performing game. Both guitars, bass, and Ringo’s drumming are in synch, as are all four Beatles. I’ve always liked the song for the back-and-forth harmony singing, not exactly call-and-response but perfect nevertheless.

Today’s Topic is Compliance

Do you do everything your doctors tell you to do?

I’ve had chronic and severe atopic dermatitis (eczema) and have followed doctor instructions since I was first diagnosed at age 14. My dermatologist told me her biggest problem with patients is non-compliance.

Patients instructed to stop taking hot showers ignore the instruction and continue to take hot showers and their dermatitis doesn’t get better.

Patients instructed to use dermatitis-safe moisturizers “forget” or “don’t like” putting moisturizers on their skin wonder why their condition isn’t any better.

Away from dermatitis, I have an acquaintance who presented at a surgery center for a colonoscopy, and was turned away because he didn’t follow instructions to drink the fluids to clean out his system. No matter how unpleasant the preparation is, if you don’t comply, you can’t have the procedure.

And yet again, an acquaintance broke his forearm and presented at the hospital to have surgery to repair the break. When asked, “When did you last eat?” (His instructions were no food or drink after 8pm the night before surgery.) He replied, “Well, I had breakfast an hour ago.” So he was turned away and had to reschedule, meaning he had to continue to have his arm in its original cast.

Trust your doctors. Ask a million questions. Make sure you know everything you need to know. And comply with instructions.

Remembering A Great Song from a Great Album By a Great Band

Robin Trower was the original guitarist for Procol Harum (A Whiter Shade of Pale) and went on to create a power trio with James Dewar on bass and lead vocals and Reg Isidore on drums (later Bill Lordan). The album Bridge of Sighs reached #7 on the charts and Long Misty Days reached #24. Both albums yielded singles that became concert mainstays and the band enjoyed a long string of performances in large venues in both the US and the United Kingdom.

I was driving in a 1959 Rambler heading west on East Colfax in Denver when I first heard Long Misty Days on the old KFML-FM and it knocked me out. Here is a live cut from Illinois in 1976.

Remembering a Totally Fun Novelty Song

Today’s novelty song is Alley Oop by the Hollywood Argyles, a group that didn’t exist, hit radio and the charts in 1957. Alley Oop was a caveman portrayed in the old newspaper comic strips. This is goofy song that is a whole bag of fun, with its odd pronunciations and crazy music.

Below is the Alley Oop Wikipedia page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alley_Oop_(song)

Today’s Book is an Example of American Research, Reportage, and Journalism

And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts was an extremely important book in its time, a chronicle of the AIDS epidemic and the machinations and politics surrounding the illness. Over time, AIDS has become less of an issue owing to medical and pharmaceutical advances, but the book remains an important snapshot of late-1980s America. Randy Shilts died prematurely at age 42, but not after he won many awards for And the Band Played On.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the_Band_Played_On

The Topic Today is, “Why Do We Lose Height As We Age?”

This is exceptionally sad. Some studies show we begin shrinking as early as our 30s. Well, hell.

Men might gradually lose an inch between the ages of 30 to 70, and women can lose two inches. After80, we most likely lose another inch.

But Why?

Cartilage between our joints becomes increasingly worn out and osteoporosis causes the spinal column to become shorter. We often can lose lean muscle mass but gain fat. This is “sarcopenia,” which I’ve discussed before.

Sarcopenia, a decrease in muscle mass, leads to weakness and frailty and almost always a decrease in height. Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and subsequently fracture, which can also lead to a decrease in height.

Even worse, if we shrink too much, one to two inches in a year, we’re at significant rise for spinal and hip fractures and perhaps a higher risk of heart disease.

Ways to Ward Off Shrinking, Sarcopenia, Fractures, and Worse

Slouching and bad posture are contributors along with no physical activity, smoking, excessive alcohol use, too much caffeine, yo-yo dieting, and poor eating/nutrition. Taking steroids, whether corticosteroids or anabolic steroids, also places a person at higher rick.

We know this already, and our doctors tell us endlessly, we need to eat foods rich in calcium and vitamin D (dairy, fruits, and vegetables) , and find some light weightlifting exercises to perform every day.

Remembering a Great Song From Our Misspent Youth

“Walk Away, Renee” originally by The Left Banke

And a few years later, a great cover by The Four Tops

Remembering a Book

Three books, actually. “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” and “The Honourable Schoolboy” and “Smiley’s People” by John Le Carré. This trilogy stars George Smiley, short, overweight, and bespectacled, a master spy totally unlike 007. Le Carré shows in impressive detail the inner and outer workings of a real-life Cold War spy service. Long, but very well worth readingl

The Topic Today is Hydration, Drinking Water to Stay Healthy

Older folk don’t feel thirst as strongly as other adults, and total body water decreases with age. An adult over 60 years old has less water to lose before becoming dehydrated, and a typical older adult has age-related conditions that can exacerbate dehydration quickly, including obesity, swallowing disorders from a stroke, being bedridden, chronic diarrhea or vomiting, and others. Studies show dehydration can lead to an increase in falls and longer stays in rehabilitation.

Some hydration tips from several sources.

• Drink small amounts of fluids throughout the day instead of trying to drink large amounts all at once.
• As we’ve all learned, four to five 8-ounce glasses of water per day can keep you hydrated and help ward off heart disease,
• Coffee, alcohol, and high-protein drinks have a diuretic effect leading to loss of body water.

Recommending a Compelling and Meaningful Book

“Paradigms Lost” by William Sonn, a skilled and talented writer and a researcher without peer. The book traces the printed word in the context of history.

Here is the book’s description from Amazon.

“Four times in western history: in the 1400s, the early 1800s, the 1880s, and again in the mid-20th century, we learned to duplicate and disseminate the printed word more cheaply. And each time strange events followed.

For with each of these changes in the gritty production of glamorous content, expensive and secret bodies of knowledge abruptly became cheap and easy to spread. Once-rare and sometimes disorienting impressions rained down on once-sheltered folks. New and otherwise inexpert hands mixed them into whole new breeds of information, myth, logic, and viewpoints. There were fantastic scientific advances, mass migrations, bold social experiments, financial upheavals, and much bloodshed. In the harrowing decades that followed, powerful new kinds of governments, businesses, and groups came to elbow aside old ones. In all of these periods, there were great, creaking shifts in politics, wealth, religions, and even the way we learn, think, and see. And in the last decade, the costs of producing and distributing printed knowledge have fallen a fifth time, far and fast and almost to free.

“ParadigmsLost” traces the history of the accidents, inventions, forces, eccentrics, and geniuses who accelerated information in the past, examines what happened each time they succeeded, and provides some background for what, if the past is any guide, may be coming.

Novelty Song of The Week

In July 1956, “Stranded in the Jungle” by The Cadets reached #15 on the retail sales chart and #3 on the Rhythm and Blues Chart. The bass-man spoken verses are delivered by Will “Dub” Jones, who went oto sing bass on most of the Coasters hits. Prentice Moreland delivers the famous line, “Great Kooga Mooga! Lemme outta here!” Sometimes the line is heard as “Great Googa Mooga,”

Douglas “Jocko” Henderson was a pioneering radio disk jockey who created a line of rhyming patter for his program, including “Great Googa Mooga,” which appeared as “Great Googly Moogly” from blues masters Willie Dixon and Howlin’ Wolf. (And the phrase appears frequently in the tv show “Phineas and Ferb.”

Everything in Our Life Experience Can Be Found in a Seinfeld Episode

In the Seinfeld episode, “The Barber,” Jerry continues get his hair cut be the barber Enzo, even though Jerry  doesn’t like the results. Why? Because he’s been going to Enzo for 12 years and he doesn’t want “to hurt his feelings.”

How many of us have continued using someone only to keep from hurt feelings?

The Topic This Time is Sleep

I always heard conventional wisdom stating that people require less sleep as they get older; however, now we know our sleep requirement remains 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. I find I need to get an extra hour of sleep since I retired. My doctor tells me he sees sleep patterns of older people in his practice all over the place, some need more, some need less.

When I was in high school, I suffered from raging insomnia to the point I took Sominex, an old timey over-the-counter sleep medicine. Of course, no 16-year-old kid was supposed to take Sominex so I stopped after two nights. Michael Jackson and Prince had terrible problems with insomnia, and they both self-medicated to help themselves sleep. The great guitar player, Mike Bloomfield, suffered his whole life from chronic insomnia, and he self-medicated as well. And all three died way before their time/

For information on sleep and how we change as we age, here is a link to the National Institutes of Health website

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/good-nights-sleep

Remembering a Show-Stopping Performance

Phil Ochs, singer/songwriter and a troubled soul, hanged himself at age 35. In Memoriam, friends and family organized The Phil Ochs Tribute Concert, which occurred May 28, 1976, at The Felt Forum in New York City. The concert was broadcast live on PBS.

Featured performers included Bob Gibson, Patrick Sky, Danny Kalb, Eric Anderson, Tim Hardin, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Tom Rush, and many more folk legends.

BUT, the performer who stole the show was Melanie Safka (Candles in the Rain, Brand New Key). She sang Phil’s song, “Miranda.” She was accompanied by David Doran and Jay Woolfe. Here is Melanie bringing down the house with her performance, check out the audience reaction at the end.

Remembering the Novelty Song of the Week

The Ballad of Walter Wart by the Thorndike Pickledish Choir. I first heard this record on KOMA, 50,000 watts out of Oklahoma City, at midnight driving like mad through a nasty wind-driven snowstorm in Idaho on my way from Seattle to Denver for Christmas. The song was written and performed by a disk jockey named Robert O. Smith. I wrote him in 1982 expressing how much I enjoyed the record and he very kindly sent me the 45.

How Old Are We, Really?

• President John Kennedy was murdered 58 years ago.
• The Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan 57 years ago
• 1980 was 41 years ago.
• 1990 was 31 years ago.
• And now we’re 21 years into the New Millennium.

The Topic Today is Joint Replacement.

Baby Boomers across the country are receiving new hips and knees. The technology is now quite advanced but nowhere close to being foolproof.

Hips

Posterior hip replacement is old and outdated. Posterior replacement means cutting into muscle from behind the hip, and the patient has to recover not just from the hip replacement but from the trauma to the muscles while they heal from being surgically cut.

Be sure to have anterior hip replacement because that surgery has a quicker recovery time and significantly less surgical trauma.

Knees

Knee replacement remains much more difficult than hip replacement. Before you have surgery, use the Internet to review your doctor’s website and discuss EVERYTHING that can go wrong.

If you have a history of allergies, you might consider allergy testing for the metal and adhesives used in the surgery.

Ask how long your knee will be swollen. Many patients don’t understand how long the swelling will last.

Ask if any osteoarthritis in your back or your hips will affect your knee recovery. This is extremely important. You may end up with a knee that’s painful and swollen long after your surgery and physical therapy.

As with any joint surgery, be sure to follow the post-surgery instructions assiduously. Many people stop physical therapy too soon and end up with worse problems than activity discomfort.

Remembering a Novelty Song

Murry Kellum was a country and western guitar player who recorded Long Tall Texan in 1963, Henry Strzelecki, who wrote the song, was an elite bass player in Nashville. The song was covered by the Beach Boys, Lyle Lovett, and others.

Remembering a Book

The Choirboys by Joseph Wambaugh is at the top of any true-to-life police procedure “novel.” The book is dramatic and funny all at the same time, well worth reading. In 1995, the novel was selected by the Mystery Writers of America as Number 93 of The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time. In 1977, the book was made into a movie starring Charles Durning and other fine actors; however, the movie didn’t stack up to the excellence of the book and was a distinct failure.

Remembering a Great Band at the Top of Their Game

This is the Gin Blossoms live at Farm Aid 1984 performing their signature song, “Allison Road.’ Everything is here: fine lyrics (“she fills up her sails with my wasted breath”), great singing and harmony singing, chiming guitars, and a solid rhythm section.

Today the Topic is “Sarcopenia”

Most adult humans achieve peak muscle mass sometime during their early 40s. After that point, a gradual deterioration begins, and the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass that accompanies aging is called sarcopenia. Sarcopenia can impair muscle performance, physical function, and metabolism. The declines in physical function and mobility associated with sarcopenia often contribute to falls, loss of independence, nursing home, and even death.

Exercise is the most powerful method to diminish muscle loss, but aging muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments mean restricted exercise for most seniors. Walking and weight training with light weights and increased repetitions are most effective. My college gymnastics coach continues weight training with light weights deep into his 80s. But remember, no amount of aerobic exercise and weight training can halt the advance of sarcopenia, only reduce its severity and keep aging as much in check as possible, given your genetic makeup and your physical health.

No one can lift enough heavy weights often enough to stave off sarcopenia indefinitely.

Just for Laughs: Monty Python, Michael Palin, and The Lumberjack Song

Here is Rick Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band on the Mike Douglas Show, 1969, playing “Believe What You Say,” one of Nelson’s hits from 1958, reaching #4 on the Billboard Charts.

The Stone Canyon Band is Allen Kemp on lead guitar, Randy Meisner on bass guitar, Pat Shanahan on drums, and Tom Brumley on steel guitar. The song was written by Dorsey and Johnny Burnette.

A New Feature: Forward Into the Past, The Novelty Song of the Week, “Transfusion” by Nervous Norvous.