Category: Old age

Sixty-seven years may sound like a really long time, but it isn't.

The purpose of life is to undergo change continuously, and then to accept that such an amazing transition is what it is all about.

Today is the day to celebrate. In other words, I am officially two-thirds of a century old.

That means that as of today I passed the 66.666666666666... line and now live in the last third of my life (assuming of course that I manage to live 100 years).

I don't think that there are that many people who are aware of this spectacular milestone

Those who manage to live this long are more than likely to miss out on remembering this amazing accomplishment.

I on the other hand feel very thankful that I can enjoy this day knowing that yet another important milestone in my live has been achieved.

So you wonder, how do I know this?

I know this thanks to good old ChatGPT.

Here follows the question I asked, the response I received and the code snippet analysis.

Question:

I was born on October 11, 1957. When will I be exactly 66 2/3 years old?

Answer:

You will be exactly 66 2/3 years old on June 11, 2024. ​

Analysis:

from datetime import datetime, timedelta

# User's birthdate
birthdate = datetime(1957, 10, 11)

# 66 2/3 years in days
years = 66 + 2/3
days_in_year = 365.25  # accounting for leap years on average
days = years * days_in_year

# Calculate the date when the user will be 66 2/3 years old
target_date = birthdate + timedelta(days=days)
target_date

Result:

datetime.datetime(2024, 6, 11, 0, 0)

Whenever we visit my elderly relative in the care home, and the weather being suitable enough, we take her downstairs to have a nice cup of coffee out on the patio which has a pleasant view of the garden. She enjoys the sounds of birds and the beautifully colored flowers and plants.

There are a number of older folk living there with various levels of one or the other ailment. A large majority have to be pushed around in wheelchairs, and sometimes you see someone walking along slowly using a wheeled walker.

On this occasion, there was an older man scuffling along the garden path which is made of gravel and is circular in shape. The path takes you along the perimeter of the garden with a total length of some thirty meters.

For whatever reason, this older man kept moving faster and faster. As he picked up sufficient pace, his legs seems to go out of control, propelling him at a pretty significant running speed. Indeed, his body had acquired youthful energy, and he was jogging along like someone half of his age.

At first I just thought that he was exercising extra hard, after being cooped up all day inside of his room. But it soon became apparent that he could not keep up with his quickly shuffling legs, and he launched himself onto the patio about to hit a table. Fortunately there was another person sitting there and she caught him by the arm just in time. Whew, that was a close one. His right right arm was bleeding slightly due to his brushing violently along the bushes during the final lap.

I learned later that this behavior is a common syndrome of people suffering from Parkinson's disease. The trembling of extremities sometimes gets triggered and turns into more violent synchronized motions. In the case of the old man, his shaking legs went into turbo mode and sped him along like a unmanned projectile. Getting faster and faster until disaster was ready to strike.

Let's not forget to be thankful for our good health now. Appreciate life to its utmost while you can.