Thursday, June 04, 2009

The Decline of Western Civilzation and Me

James O. Born

I hate to say that I was born before President Kennedy was elected. Not much before but Ante Camelot. By any measure, like most Americans, I have had an easy life physically. Any injuries I've incurred were doing things I chose to do and sometimes not well.

I didn't realize that after this photo circa 1965 it was all downhill physically.

I have recently suffered my first serious job related injury and even it is not too bad. I tore my rotator cuff on my right shoulder during a training excercise. The real issue. The cause of this post. The phrase that has pissed me off is, "At your age . . ." If another healthcare professional starts a sentence off with that phrase again they will learn that I can draw and fire between nine and seventeen bullets (depending on which gun I'm carrying) at my freaking age.

I was 45 in the photo to the right. It was an undercover where the suspect believed i was also arrested. If I had to do it now I would have to be cuffed in the front because of my shoulder.

To add insult to injury I've noticed that recent photos of me have been taken with poor quality cameras that distort features. I was always called "Young Looking" even into my early forties. I never had injuries. I ran marathons at 200 pounds and my knees never even clicked. Now. Never mind.

The two karate photos show me at twenty five and forty. By the way that is legendary Shotokan practicioner Mas Nakayama on the left and Kickboxing champion Bill Wallace on the left.

Then I looked up a few actors also born in 1960. By chance, both British. Both looking much younger than me. Both with a better chance than me of having sex with my wife.

What the hell. Jackie, do all you Brits look so good as you age? If so I'm on board with socialized medicine.

But it could be worse. I could have gone from this

to this

Dammit. He still looks pretty good.

On another topic, just a couple ophotos from my book launch last Friday at Murder On The Beach Bookstore in Delray Beach Florida. Good time was had by all and, perhaps because of age, I was dragging all day Saturday.

I'm away for a week in lovely Costa Rica, diving, rafting, surfing and trying not to think about the aging process.

My friend Stacey Cochran will be guest blogging.

How are you aging? Taking it well, or whinning like me?


  1. Try adding menapause to the list of complaints of aging. But, considering the alternative to aging, I think we'll be okay.
    Bitching does help, though.

  2. James O, I'll answer your question about aging later this afternoon. My fingers feel a bit arthritic first thing in the morning.

    My memory's not so good lately. Was I at your launch party?

  3. James O. Born6/04/2009 6:27 AM

    YOu don't have to post anonymously. I know menopause is hard.


  4. So sorry to hear you're injured. The risk of being active.

    I'm impressed you met Nakayama.


  5. We're the same age? I thought you were WAY older than me...

  6. If I could get out of the Barcalounger without hitting the eject handle, I'd whip your karate-trained ass.

    Except, I, too, have a torn rotator cuff. Complete tear. If yours is only a sissy partial tear, there's a chance it will heal without surgery.

    Have I told you about my back...?

  7. oh dear, the big five-o approaching, huh? that's a tough one.

    hope your shoulder heals faster than might be expected at yo........


  8. Fighting aging kicking and screaming--or at least, lifting weights, running, biking, and sanchin-ryu karate, all washed down with pizza and... no, wait, I had a salad for lunch today! Besides, I'm a youngster compared to y'all, a mere 45. But I've sure noticed how much harder (almost) everything gets over the age of about, oh, 35.

  9. Well, there's a lot to be said for socialized medicine - I'm all for it - but I'm not sure that it makes you look younger. I bet Hugh didn't look quite so chipper when he was caught in the back of a car with Destiny the girl of the night, and with his knickers down!

    As for the arthritis, it has come to this: I was putting some horse liniment on my mare's injured hind leg last week (yep, she did it again) and realized that my arthritic writer's fingers felt a whole lot better. I reckon it says "not for human use" on the bottle because it's cheaper than the human stuff. In any case, now the horse gets a swipe of the liniment gel and so do my hands. Probably works well for knees, in fact, I can recommend a company called "Back On Track" - they make all sorts of things for horses who hurt, and also a line of products for creaky humans. I wear their wrist bands when I'm writing, and they also do a knee support - it's very light, and it's made with a sort of cellulose added to it, so it warms the area and encourages healing.

    Speaking of warming, personally, I'm warming to the idea of botox.

  10. Jim! You're still young. You and my hubby are the same age. I turn 45 this month... We're still running hither and thither all over the globe. Don't hit the poor doctor, he doesn't know any better...

    Hope your rotator cuff gets better without painful surgery. Keep writing...