Longevity

In 1973, I was reading and writing for The Libertarian Connection and, as it happened, my wife at the time got her hair caught in a printing press. She was OK but the ER doctor recommended that she take a course of multiple vitamins. And that tied in with the Life Extension themes in the LC. (See Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw in Wikipedia.) A few years later and with the new, current, and present wife, everything was natural, organic, locally sourced, and good for both you and the planet. We belonged to food co-ops in every town we moved to and even served on a board. You can live well by choice though living long may not be amenable to human action.

I always like the aphorism attributed wrongly to Thomas Edison: “All I ask of my body is that it carry my brain around.” I quoted that to a colleague and she replied by asking me how long it would do that if I do not exercise. 

Social Security Administration

I have always been a walker, but not much more. Then, I joined the Texas State Guard and ramped up my physical fitness. Being assigned to the National Guard put me above a gym and we were paid to use it. So, that helped. When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in July of 2022, the oncologist gave me 80 pages of background from Wolters Kluwer. I thought that I had six months to two years to live. (How do you make God laugh?) But I responded well. (Stem Cell Collection.) And here I am. The oncologist said that I could live to be 80 or beyond. So, there was no gain there, just holding the line.

Long before that, maybe 15 years ago, I found an actuarial table that gave me an expiration date of June 18, 2032. Fifteen years ago, that seemed far away. This week, I ran the numbers again. The government is still betting on an early out for me. 

However, Northwest Mutual gave me better odds, assuming I do not take up smoking, drinking, illegal drugs, and driving without a seatbelt—and that I continue to walk at least 30 minutes a day. 

Yesterday, it being cold and rainy, I drove most of the day, patrolling garages but this week, walking became a new kind of bank account. 

I always liked science; I just was never exceptional at the practice; I had to take Physics 1 and Calculus 1 three times each to get A grades in them. To edit for the American Astronomical Society Historical Astronomy Division, I took an online class in astrophysics. It was not required but I thought that it was important to understand the content that I was reading. Most of my practice in astronomy is mere stargazing with 4-inch refractors from city and suburban skies. 

On the other hand, my microscopes never get even that much use, athough I bought a new one after my diagnosis. Biology just never grabbed me. I had microscopes as a kid and enjoyed the views. However, in college, I took physics three times and biology never. 

Today, I have textbooks on microbiology and histology, sadly underused and not marked up and dog-eared. That being as it was, a new year brings new resolutions. From the UT library, I checked out two books on genetics and bought two more from Half Price Books, including “For Dummies.” It is not that I expect to gain any special understanding of aging but rather the value in mental exercise associated with a new body of knowledge.

 

PREVIOUSLY ON NECESSARY FACTS

Biohackers 

Epigenetics 

Epigenetics and Evolution 

Austin Biobash 2013