# When I was 16



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I wanted to be 18

When I was 18 I wanted to be 21

When I was 21 I wanted to be 55

When I became 55 I wanted to be 65

65 sucks. All your friends are sick and dying. I lost another one; Virgil.

Big whitetails, raccoons, catfish, turtles, archery, rifles and shotguns, Canada, bamboo fly rods, gardens, fish fries and wild game feeds. Holy Cow, at one time Virgil had the Iowa state record for Bluegill and Wild Turkey. The stories I could tell. RIP &&%^#@)(

I wish I was 16 again. 

.


----------



## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

Sorry for your loss goob!


----------



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Sorry for your loss goob it does indeed suck. I quit going to my high school reunions because it was so sad to learn each 5 years to learn who we had lost since the last one. As I write this I am texting back and forth with my wife, her best friend's father who was like a father to her is in really bad shape and we're actually hoping he lasts past Christmas so the family can have a non grieving Christmas. Alas our day will come to ....


----------



## Idratherbehunting (Jul 17, 2013)

I am still south of 65, and I am not sure why I wanted to grow up so fast when I was a teenager. Some times adulting sucks. 

I'm sorry for your loss Goob.


----------



## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

Closer to 70 than 60 now, friends are gone, fishing partners --gone, hunting partners, gone or to frail to get out. Thankful I have my best friend also known as my wife. She tolorates going hunting birds with me, and she is quite the fisherwomen. Old age is not kind, your mind wants to do the things you use to do but your body says wait a minute, are you sure you can still do that? Sucks to have a beautiful Harley sitting in the shed cause your leg has lost its feeling and you seem to crash everytime you ride it. Ya I would take 16 again, probobly make some better decisions also.

My condolences Tim.


----------



## trackerputnam (Dec 21, 2014)

Brother in law passed Saturday evening. I spent Sunday holding a crying niece and nephew. Helping sister get ahold of the coming realities and so forth. But 58 feels pretty good here. Jason was 42 or so. So the alternative to 58 don't look so good.


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

It is pretty bad when you look at the Obituaries in the news paper or online to see who you know that has passed away. I just saw this morning that a daughter of a person that I used to work for just passed away at the young age of 46, way too young. 

I do remember back when I was 16 and life was so carefree. I had just bought my first vehicle a 1942 Ford MB Jeep, I managed to twist the left rear axle on it trying to drive up Rock Canyon out of Provo. Yes, at that time you could drive all the way up to the Squaw Peak Loop road if you were brave enough. 

Then I couldn't wait until I turned 21, then I had nothing age wise to look forward to until I hit 62. I am now 63 and can't wait until I hit 65, but that is another story. 

But since my birthday when I turned 55 and retired I have gone back to finding out how carefree life is again. I have done more since then than I could imaging. From my strike out grizzly hunt in British Colombia to my African Safari last year. I just need to figure out a trip that will top that safari now.


----------



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

When I was 16, life was so complicated. Balancing high school, a part time job, and friends was so much work. I couldn't wait to be an adult because things would be so much less stressful because I would have a high (to me at the time) paying job.

Now I have substantially more obligation, responsibilities, and stresses. My body hurts most days, I have heart burn most every day, and I worry all the time about making sure I am being a good husband and father. I have a mortgage, and lots of other bills. Wow, being an adult is hard.

Now I admire my 18 month old daughter and laugh about how mad she gets about being put down for a nap.

I wish someone paid for all my food, housing, and clothing, and then put me down for a nap!

I was once told that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes by. Every day that seems more and more poignant to me.

I ramble (another trait I have gained as I get older)... but my point is that I thought things were so complex at 16. Now I would be so thankful to be 16 again.

Your thoughts about getting older sure aren't very uplifting fellas!


----------



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

There is a 10 day period every year that I am on pins and needles during My dad, both grandpa's and great grandpa all passed away during this 7 day period so for a couple of days before to the day after it ends I am kinda on edge. My wife knows about it and watches over me like a hawk during it too...my birthday signals the beginning of it and it runs a week after .... freaking scary if you ask me. I figure if I can make it through those 10 days I am good for another year.


----------



## Karl (Aug 14, 2016)

I remember looking forward to 21 so that I could buy my own liquor and not need to steal it from my parents anymore. Plus go to casinos. I like poker and roulette.

Other than 21 I do not recall that I ever wanted to be a certain age that I was not. I was just glad to be a year older each year, which meant bigger than before.

Getting bigger and heavier and stronger was an advantage for football but a disadvantage for wrestling in high school. For football it meant you moved closer to the line, from DB to safety to linebacker and finally to the line. For wrestling it meant you had to move up in weight class and wrestle bigger stronger older guys.

There were other thresholds however.

At 25 I got my honorable discharge and returned to grad school at my same undergrad college. My brain seemed the sharpest that it had ever been, and this coincides with the medical theory that humans' brains do not completely mature until 25.

The kids at the college under 25 seemed like idiots to me with their frat boy and sorority girl lunacy. I taught a technical writing class as a part of my master's program. 10% of the kids in it were very bright, 10% were morons who did not belong at college, one of whom was a professor's son, and the other 80% were just average. This has always since framed my view of the population -- 10% smart, 10% morons, and 80% average.

So 25 was a major benchmark. Grad school took 2 years.

At 30 I got promoted early to manager at work, and I decided at that age -- 30 -- that I was not going to take any bullcrap from anybody at work anymore. We had 2 senior managers there who where total azzholes and so I simply told them to take their workload and shove it.

So at 30 is when I passed that threshold of no more nonsense.

At 40 I realized I could not run a mile in under 6 minutes anymore, but I could still run 5 miles in about an hour with little sweat. So that is when I noticed there was a marked decrease in physical ability -- no pun intended.

At 50 I could not pull an overnighter anymore without at some point collapsing into sleep.

At 60 it became hard to run further than a mile. But I can still pack a 55 lb backpack for a week, although every other day I needed to rest in camp to recover. So now my backpacking is hike day #1, rest day #2, hike day #3, rest day #4, hike day #5, etc.

It took 5 days to summit Mt. Whitney in Lone Pine near Las Vegas last summer. That's the toughest backpack trip in the Lower 48 and mountaineers use it to train for Denali and Everest.

So I use 55 lbs as my benchmark for packing out venison at a time, plus my gear last when the meat is all iced back at the Jeep SUV (its a Cherokee version not the classic CJ type).

I try to exercise every day except Sundays to stay in shape while I approach 70 years.

I have noticed that people who stay in shape do fine until at least 75. So that's my goal in life too.

Everyone goes through life stages of some sort. The key is to stay fit.

Staying fit keeps you younger relatively speaking.


----------



## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

We are losing our "story tellers" and it saddens me. Great grandfathers, grandfathers and fathers who experienced life outside a cubical and computer screens. I cherish being able to sit around a campfire and hear the tales from years gone by from those who lived it first hand...but those individuals are getting harder and harder to find.

Here's to Virgil :O--O:


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Virgil had a cabin with a pond in Missouri, Unionville. I shot my biggest whitetail near there. 

One spring we planted hundreds of snowberry plants to attract turkeys. And it worked!

We would cast n blast; largemouth bass, fox squirrels and wood ducks. Those were the days.

.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

*the cabin*



gdog said:


> We are losing our "story tellers" and it saddens me. Great grandfathers, grandfathers and fathers who experienced life outside a cubical and computer screens. I cherish being able to sit around a campfire and hear the tales from years gone by from those who lived it first hand...but those individuals are getting harder and harder to find.
> 
> Here's to Virgil :O--O:


This reminds me I need to finish my Bighorn Sheep hunt story, or what Mrs Goob refers to as "The Greatest Story Ever Told".

.


----------



## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Man... no way would I want to do it all over again. I would do things different for sure though.

Now, If I could stay 16 forever? Heck yes! Worked hard, felt good and had some loved ones still around that I miss. Good memories.

Life is short... seems like a blink of an eye. No guarantees for tomorrow. Love those you love like tomorrow will never come.

So thankful for everything. Even the crappy stuff that seems to somehow make us stronger.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

gdog said:


> We are losing our "story tellers" and it saddens me. Great grandfathers, grandfathers and fathers who experienced life outside a cubical and computer screens. I cherish being able to sit around a campfire and hear the tales from years gone by from those who lived it first hand...but those individuals are getting harder and harder to find.
> 
> Here's to Virgil :O--O:


It is sad losing our bridge to the older generations. We just said goodbye to grandma last week. She was just a couple months shy of her 90th birthday. She was born in Moab in 1927. A story was told at her funeral about her being fascinated with a man in Moab who had had his nose shot off by an Indians arrow (he was old by then, so this happened well before 1927 when Indian attacks were still a real occurrence). Whenever she saw him walking past her house she would always run outside to get a better look at him.

A couple years ago I was crashed into by a 90+ year old world war 2 vet over by Bangerter in West Jordan. We sat and chewed the fat for awhile while we waited for an officer to show up. I felt bad that this had happened to him and hoped it wouldn't signal any kind of beginning of the end of his independence and being able to drive himself around. My 95 Chevy Silverado was no worse for the wear, but his little Subaru didn't fare quite as well.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Sorry for the loss of your Virgil, Goob. It's good that you guys have lots of great memories to look back on!


----------



## Karl (Aug 14, 2016)

trackerputnam said:


> Brother in law passed Saturday evening. I spent Sunday holding a crying niece and nephew. Helping sister get ahold of the coming realities and so forth. But 58 feels pretty good here. Jason was 42 or so. So the alternative to 58 don't look so good.


42 is a really young age to die. My dad was 44 when he died.

Heart disease was the reason. He is the only person in our extended family to die from this so we think it was diet related and not genetic. His dietary and exercise habits were really bad.

Everyone else in our extended family tends to live into the 90's.

Sorry for your loss.


----------



## Karl (Aug 14, 2016)

colorcountrygunner said:


> It is sad losing our bridge to the older generations. We just said goodbye to grandma last week. She was just a couple months shy of her 90th birthday. She was born in Moab in 1927. A story was told at her funeral about her being fascinated with a man in Moab who had had his nose shot off by an Indians arrow (he was old by then, so this happened well before 1927 when Indian attacks were still a real occurrence). Whenever she saw him walking past her house she would always run outside to get a better look at him.
> 
> A couple years ago I was crashed into by a 90+ year old world war 2 vet over by Bangerter in West Jordan. We sat and chewed the fat for awhile while we waited for an officer to show up. I felt bad that this had happened to him and hoped it wouldn't signal any kind of beginning of the end of his independence and being able to drive himself around. My 95 Chevy Silverado was no worse for the wear, but his little Subaru didn't fare quite as well.


It would be interesting to hear more about the man with the shot-off nose and also about the accident.

As far as aging, death is a gift at some point.

Our mom is 88 now and she cannot remember anything past 5 minutes ago. She asks you all the same questions every 5 minutes.

She also cannot remember my middle sister. My youngest sister visits her weekly and I call her weekly. But our middle sister and she do not / did not get along so they do not speak. Hence our mom cannot remember her at all.

Seems like the 80's is what we would now classify as "old".

The 70's is still "young" -- it is the new 30's.

I am in my 60's now and I feel like I am still in my 20's however my endurance is about 10% of what it was in my 20's.


----------



## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Sorry to hear it, Goob. 

21 now and I'm not missing 16 yet. :mrgreen: I'd be content to stay 21 forever, I think. Although not very wise, I'm smart enough to get by, and still physically capable of doing what I want to. 

16 really wasn't all that long ago. If there's anything the last 5 years have taught me, it's that the time flies by. This realization has shaped my life over the last couple of years. When I was younger, I was an obsessive planner (which I'm told is a very, very strange trait for a teenage boy to have). I suffered through a lot in the name of preparing for the distant future. That attitude served me well, and got me right into college and on track for a good career. At the same time, though, my teen years weren't very enjoyable. High school flew by in the blink of an eye and I didn't have much to show for it besides my grades and my bank account balance. I'd do it differently if I could do it again. I should have gotten out and experienced a few more things.

Now, more and more, I try to enjoy what I have, while I still have it (which is why I went duck hunting today instead of going to work ). It's also my goal to go on the hunts I want to go on as soon as I possibly can. I still plan for the future, but I'm not going to bank on the notion that I'll be around in 20 years to finally enjoy the fruits of my labors. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? I sure don't.


----------



## Karl (Aug 14, 2016)

Clarq said:


> Sorry to hear it, Goob.
> 
> 21 now and I'm not missing 16 yet. :mrgreen: I'd be content to stay 21 forever, I think. Although not very wise, I'm smart enough to get by, and still physically capable of doing what I want to.
> 
> ...


25 is better.

Trust me.


----------



## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

I hope so. I'd like to think I'm not over the hill quite yet. ;-)


----------



## Narient (Jan 9, 2011)

Last time I looked in the mirror, I was 22 and making the dumbest decision of my life. Less than 6 months now till I hit 40. Those of you older than me are a real inspiration to a guy like me. Even when I was younger, I could sit around listening to the same story for the 5th time from guys your age and enjoy it every bit as much as the first.

Goob, I'm sorry about your loss. It's times like this that I bemoan my circumstance less. I'm reminded that worse things really do happen to better people.


----------



## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

Very sorry for your loss Goob. 
It is hard to lose good friends like that. 
We hit 60 this year. 3 of the guys I grew up with passed away in the last 4 or 5 months
We raised some hell when we were younger. . 
Really makes a person think about life, and what is important.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

trackerputnam said:


> Brother in law passed Saturday evening. I spent Sunday holding a crying niece and nephew. Helping sister get ahold of the coming realities and so forth. But 58 feels pretty good here. Jason was 42 or so. So the alternative to 58 don't look so good.


My condolences tracker.

.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

About 10 years ago Virgil came out to Evanston to fish, I think reminisce mostly. At 83 arthritis was kicking his butt. He could no longer use a bow or hold up a long arm. He could still use a fishing rod and he was on a quest to fish in all 50 states "before I die". He had an old pickup camper that had stickers of all the states he had fished at that time. Wyoming was his 40th state and his last. 

We fly fished the North Slope for a number of days, picked a few mushrooms. Fished the Bear River around town. I think the highlight of his visit was when I gave him a ride up and down the entire length of Flaming Gorge and we spent the night on the boat up in canyon, Carter Creek. He didn't fish much at all, just sat and stared at the red cliffs, followed the Ospreys some, the stars at night, always silent.

When he departed he left me two of his prize fishing possessions; a Sears and a Heddon bamboo fly rod. He said he wasn't physically able to use them anymore and he wanted me to have them. The Sears is really nice, brand new but with an eye missing. The Heddon is a nice old original Black Beauty and use it from time time.

I liked to surround myself with successful, positive people, people that done things, hoping it would rub off. He was one of them, an overachiever, smart, happy, always busy;

World War II -1943 to 1946 Burma and SE Asia
Golden Gloves champion - 135 lb
Pilot (until he crashed his plane in a hay field) 
One time Iowa Bluegill record
One time Iowa Turkey record
One of the first to hunt deer with a bow in Illinois (along with my dad)
Fished all the Canadian provinces and 40 states.
Was an accomplished chef, especially wild game.
Had a hog cooker on a trailer (so did I) 
Dad, grandfather and great-grandfather.

In the last 10 years I've only seen him a few times, funeral parlors, always at a funeral parlor.

Every day is special. Be happy. 

.


----------



## Karl (Aug 14, 2016)

wyogoob said:


> About 10 years ago Virgil came out to Evanston to fish, I think reminisce mostly. At 83 arthritis was kicking his butt. He could no longer use a bow or hold up a long arm. He could still use a fishing rod and he was on a quest to fish in all 50 states "before I die". He had an old pickup camper that had stickers of all the states he had fished at that time. Wyoming was his 40th state and his last.
> 
> We fly fished the North Slope for a number of days, picked a few mushrooms. Fished the Bear River around town. I think the highlight of his visit was when I gave him a ride up and down the entire length of Flaming Gorge and we spent the night on the boat up in canyon, Carter Creek. He didn't fish much at all, just sat and stared at the red cliffs, followed the Ospreys some, the stars at night, always silent.
> 
> ...


You are obviously now the keeper of the memory of your good friend.

As long as you can share stories about him he will be immortal.

But when you die and are gone he will be gone finally too.

Thanks for the stories.


----------



## Karl (Aug 14, 2016)

2full said:


> Very sorry for your loss Goob.
> It is hard to lose good friends like that.
> We hit 60 this year. 3 of the guys I grew up with passed away in the last 4 or 5 months
> We raised some hell when we were younger. .
> Really makes a person think about life, and what is important.


60 is the new 25. It is a very young age to die.

Usually happens from accidents.

My first buddy from high school died in a motorcycle wreck right after high school.

The next few died from suicide. The issue was bad parents.

Then cancer claimed a few more. Prostate cancer has claimed a couple of these and lung cancer others. A good friend is battling prostate cancer now.

Ultimately we are all dead men, but in the 80's or 90's is much more acceptable overall. By then I think most people are ready for the next world and tired of the aches and pains of old age.

As Proximo said in Gladiator, we cannot choose when, we can only choose how we face our deaths.


----------



## bow_dude (Aug 20, 2009)

I have a lot of memories of specific dates in my life... mile stones if you like. I have a lot of older friends and many that are younger. All are cherished friendships. At 62, 63 in February, I still have a lot to live for and do. I have slowed down... a lot... can't do what I used to do, but as in everything, I simply adjust and move on. A wise doctor once told me that the secret to longevity is eating right, (diet) exercising and being involved in others lives.


----------



## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

For me the peak was 35. Could still hang on the rim, was playing a ton of softball, hunting, etc. 
My family was old enough to be fun and young enough to still be fun as well. 
Had a very good job, making very good money. 
It's not that things have gone downhill at all. Just changed. 
Now I have grandkids to hang out with. Have my cabin and little place. 
I have slowed down some, but enjoy it more. 

As Joe Walsh says in his song: 
life's been good to me so far.......


----------



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

2full,

But age can be challenging. To quote Joe Walsh some more "lost my license, now I don't drive."

But then again, he did have accountants pay for it all....


----------



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Karl said:


> As Proximo said in Gladiator, we cannot choose when, we can only choose how we face our deaths.


Shadows and dust Karl, shadows and dust.


----------



## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

But he lost his driving privileges cause his Mazzaroti does 185..........


----------



## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

First off my condolences to all who have recently lost loved ones. It is all too close to home.

Second, reading through the posts brought back lots of memories and thought of loosing loved ones and good memories of them. I started to write about it but it got long so to keep it short and on topic.


When I was 16 Nixon was trying to end the Draft and the Viet Nam war. By the time I graduated he had succeeded but I joined anyway and was in military school when Saigon fell.

I had been dating my current wife for about a month. We have been married now for over 42 years.

I was driving a 1955 Studebaker Commander Regal Coupe (that I still have and need to restore) Oh the stories that that car could tell.:shock:

I was riding my dirt bike every spare minute that I had.

I was out shooting, hunting and fishing every minute that I was not riding my motorcycle or with my future wife.


----------



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Thanks Bowgy, my wife lost her "2nd dad" on Christmas eve so it's been a little different. Her real father passed away when she had just turned 18 and this guy was her best friends dad who kinda acted like her 2nd dad. She knew him much longer than her real father. It was a blessing that he passed though because the last year of his life was not the kind of life I would have wanted to live....life catches up with some people at 89 years.


----------

