Sleep

When I was younger, I would wake up in the middle of the night and look at the clock and say to myself “oh, no, only four more hours to sleep.”  Now, I wake and look at the clock and say “oh, no, I have to stay in bed another four hours.”  What a change in perspective!

I know older people usually don’t sleep as well as when they were young.  I remember my dad telling me that he would be awake at night and turn on radio talk shows.  He had a pillow speaker so the radio wouldn’t bother my mother.  Older friends tell me that they roam the house at night because they can’t sleep.

I go to bed around 11:00 and usually go right to sleep.  Then I wake up an hour or so later.  If I’m comfortable, I’ll relax in bed.  Or if I’m restless, I’ll get up and move to a recliner in the family room, cover myself with a blanket, and try to relax.  Usually, I’ll go to sleep within 30 to 40 minutes.  When I wake up, I go back to bed and sleep the rest of the night.

My primary care doctor told me I needed the same amount of sleep that I did when I was younger-- seven to eight hours.  I asked her about sleeping pills, but she nixed that idea.  She instructed me to not watch television within an hour of going to bed and to stop taking naps in the afternoon.  Of course, I’m ignoring her advice.

Sweet dreams.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com

Radio Controlled Airplanes

When I’m not playing golf, working in Aloma’s garden, reading, or going to a doctor, I fly radio control model airplanes.  I started flying about 15 years ago, joining a club in Statesville.  I wasn’t a natural and flew on a buddy box for a year before I could fly by myself.  But I loved it and made many friends.

When we moved to Cary, I joined a club in Holly Springs, about 30 minutes south of our home, and I fly on Saturdays or Wednesdays. The membership of the club is mostly young men that have accepted me and are always willing to help.  Of course, I’m the oldest member of the club, and I fly erratically.  Saturdays are crowded with flyers and three or four planes are in the air at the same time.  Too many for me and I get nervous.

A year ago, a couple of us retired flyers agreed to get together on Wednesdays to fly in a more relaxed setting.  Now there are ten or eleven in the group, not all showing up each Wednesday, and all very interesting men with fascinating backgrounds.  I look forward to every Wednesday, not just for the flying, but to talk with the other guys.

I bought a new plane this spring with Safe technology.  It has GPS and returns to the take-off position if it goes too far away.  If I get disoriented and take my hands off of the controls, the plane will straighten out and fly level.  I can also push a button and the plane will circle above the field until I’m ready to take back control.  I love this plane and feel comfortable flying it.

But bad things can happen to models.  A man, who had a plane identical to mine, flew it into the ground the other day and broke it apart.  Last week, I flew terribly and was lucky to bring the plane back in one piece.  This week, it flew great.  You never know.

I feel so fortunate that I can still fly and have some great people to fly with.

Seasoned Man

stevelem17@gmail.com