Easy things are getting difficult

[greg g]

Getting ready for our road trip to the POC meet, noticed my center brake light is out. Got the fixture out, went through my bulb collection and found a replacement. Cleaned it up a bit to assure god contacts, inserted the bulb in the fixture and tried and failed on four attempts to get the fixture properly seated in the hole.  With the pinched nerve in my neck l just have no hand strength any more which is made worse when trying to do any thing above my shoulders.  Finally got in the trunk,  pulled down the lid and was able to get it when the work was more horizontal.  Arggghhhhh!

[knuckleharley]

20 minutes ago, greg g said:

Getting ready for our road trip to the POC meet, noticed my center brake light is out. Got the fixture out, went through my bulb collection and found a replacement. Cleaned it up a bit to assure god contacts, inserted the bulb in the fixture and tried and failed on four attempts to get the fixture properly seated in the hole.  With the pinched nerve in my neck l just have no hand strength any more which is made worse when trying to do any thing above my shoulders.  Finally got in the trunk,  pulled down the lid and was able to get it when the work was more horizontal.  Arggghhhhh!

As CSGM Bill Edge,one of my friends and heroes from my army days used to say after he retired,"Getting old ain't for sissies!"

[Mark D]

Just slap this on the bumper and drive...

 

”did you see those Plymouth’s take off??!!!”

[greg g]

Send me that stick ah!  

[John Reddie]

Greg G, you're not alone. I have had neck problems dating back to the early '70's. I still love car work but it takes me waaaaay longer than it used to. Have fun.

John R

[greg g]

I know what you mean John, if l had a flat rate book it would be in days, not hours! And l am a lot less reluctant to write a check these days.

[Andydodge]

I used to be bright eyed and bushy tailed..............now all I have are bushy eye brows, ears and nose............I used to like the Beatles song "When I'm 64".......now that I am I'm not so sure...........lol..........regards from Oz..........andyd

[rallyace]

My problem is that I keep having to buy a jack that lifts the car higher than the previous jack. Tall jack stands are getting expensive too.

[Tom Skinner]

Awww, mix a Margarita or two. The pain goes away and your young again. 

Just don't drive after 2 or 3 or 4. L.O.L.

[Young Ed]

4 hours ago, greg g said:

I know what you mean John, if l had a flat rate book it would be in days, not hours! And l am a lot less reluctant to write a check these days.

got me thinking what the book showed for that. I don't see the stop light bulb mentioned specifically but the tail light is NC. The stop light assembly is .3h

[knuckleharley]

1 hour ago, rallyace said:

My problem is that I keep having to buy a jack that lifts the car higher than the previous jack. Tall jack stands are getting expensive too.

Maybe you just need shorter floors?

[greg g]

New rule!!!  The closer to the ground the repair is, the more likely l will now pay some one else to do it.

[knuckleharley]

2 minutes ago, greg g said:

New rule!!!  The closer to the ground the repair is, the more likely l will now pay some one else to do it.

I ended up buying a lift because of the arthritis in my knees. I couldn't even get down to crawl under a car unless I had something to hold on to in order to ease my way down,and had to have something to grab to get back up again.

 

If you can't position yourself where you can do the work,you need to position the work to where you can easily get at it.

[Don Coatney]

Both of my hands are numb with no feeling nor strength. I use pliers to open a catsup bottle. My knees are both shot and lung cancer makes it very hard to breath. My next step is to buy a gold chain and become a chainer. 

 

[pflaming]

I'm 80 in September.  80 is a much different number than 70 was. I'm beginning to believe I'm now a midget digit! The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!  The radiator now leaks and the tail pipe barks! 

 

My severe loss of hearing, cannot hear anything without my hearing aid, supercedes all other diminishing abilities. It causes a person to go solitary, gets privately embarrassing to be in a group and not be able to keep up with the discussion. 

 

My best to all who who are working with new normals. 

Edited July 11, 2018 by pflaming

[Don Coatney]

16 hours ago, greg g said:

Getting ready for our road trip to the POC meet, noticed my center brake light is out. Got the fixture out, went through my bulb collection and found a replacement. Cleaned it up a bit to assure god contacts, inserted the bulb in the fixture and tried and failed on four attempts to get the fixture properly seated in the hole.  With the pinched nerve in my neck l just have no hand strength any more which is made worse when trying to do any thing above my shoulders.  Finally got in the trunk,  pulled down the lid and was able to get it when the work was more horizontal.  Arggghhhhh!

 

This might or might not help.

 

 

 

 

[DrDoctor]

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Edited September 25, 2018 by DrDoctor

[DrDoctor]

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Edited September 25, 2018 by DrDoctor

[knuckleharley]

37 minutes ago, DrDoctor said:

Knuckleharley,

 

   Yet again—we have a common denominator—your quote: “As CSGM Bill Edge, one of my friends and heroes from my army days used to say after he retired, "Getting old ain't for sissies!"”.

 

   When my grandfather would complain about some ache/pain, my grandmother used to say to him something oh-so similar—“growin’ old ain’t for sissies”, to which my grandfather would reply, “yeah, but it beats the alternative”. So, as to retain my part in this play, I’d ask him, “what’s that?” and he’d say, “dirt nap!!!”

 

   Wow, does this bring back some really great memories from so very long ago. Thank you, my friend, for initiating this brief excursion down memory lane for me. Warmest regards to you . . . .

 

It's nice to know I occasionally do something good,even if it was by accident. It's a win,and I'll take it.

[knuckleharley]

32 minutes ago, DrDoctor said:

Gentlemen,

 

   I can’t express how much I’ve enjoyed the responses herein. Some of them are applicable to me, and others I’ve hear from patients thru the years. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any bromides that would alleviate the patient’s situation then, and I don’t have any now. However, I do take solace in the following fact—aging is a privilege!!! Many of my comrades have their name on a wall in Washington, D.C., and each of them is a testament to that fact, as they’ll forever be 18, 23, or 46. They don’t get to grow old. If nothing else, I owe them the respect of growing old as gracefully as I can, for their sake. Thx.

 

A BIG amen on that one! I have been to the funerals at Arlington from two MIA members of my unit in the last 10 years,and I am both proud and happy to say that both times there was a big crowd there to show them respect by seeing them off ,even if some of them weren't even born when they went MIA.

In both cases a General officer also showed up to hand the family the flag,and there was also a delegation from the 5th SFG in Kentucky that took annual leave and drove to Arlington on their own time and own dime to pay respects to a long-ago fallen member of their unit that died before most of them were even born.

[Mike36]

On 7/10/2018 at 6:35 PM, Tom Skinner said:

Awww, mix a Margarita or two. The pain goes away and your young again. 

Just don't drive after 2 or 3 or 4. L.O.L.

Don’t drive after4?  I would have to drive, after 4 I can’t walk!!!

 

[58prostreet]

First read Gregs post about doing anything above my neck,  I thought "I'm the same way". Then I realized he was talking about the height of what he was working on and not remembering why he was doing it. 

[51cambridge]

On 7/10/2018 at 11:55 PM, pflaming said:

I'm 80 in September.  80 is a much different number than 70 was. I'm beginning to believe I'm now a midget digit! The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!  The radiator now leaks and the tail pipe barks

The man that put the slant 6 drive train front to rear in my 51 did it at 72 years old. Last year at 81 he painted a 49 ford. At 80 he restored a Studebaker speedster in 13 months. He's slowing down now and selling off a few of his classics and keeping 2.

[Tom Skinner]

Awww, mix a Margarita or two. The pain goes away and your young again. 

Just don't drive after 2 or 3 or 4. L.O.L.

 

Don’t drive after 4?  I would have to drive, after 4 I can’t walk!!!

 

Mike,

I drive after 4 - all the way to the bedroom. L.O.L.

Tom

[soth122003]

Even though I just turned 58, I am not quite ready to give up doing my own work. My legs are going out, same with my eyes and I have COPD. The biggest problem I have is getting down and getting back up. All I have is the driveway to work in and my biggest gripe is forgetting a certain tool and then having to get back up to get it. The big lessons here are... After 55 concrete is not your friend, Florida humidity is a killer in the summertime and mosquitoes will always find the most annoying place to bite you while your under the car.

 

Joe

 

P.S. Change your work rest cycle. Instead of 2 hours of work and 15 minutes of rest, I do about 20 minutes of work and then I do 1 hour of research.