I'm not terribly old, yet, but have discovered that both my high school and college coaches died long ago, and over half my bosses from jobs I've had since college have died.
On second thought, I guess I'm getting up there.
Anyone else without their high school or college coaches at this point?
I still exchange letters with my main college coach a couple times a year. He is in his 80s, still active and coaches a handful of athletes. My other college coach is still coaching in his 60s. My main high school club coach is still coaching and putting on events in his 60s. I'm not sure what my old high school coach is doing other than he married one of my teammates.
This is Jim Kiler wrote:
I'm not terribly old, yet, but have discovered that both my high school and college coaches died long ago, and over half my bosses from jobs I've had since college have died.
On second thought, I guess I'm getting up there.
Anyone else without their high school or college coaches at this point?
Doesn’t sound like you were very close to begin with if it happened years ago, and you’re just finding out.
At the end of the day, people die. That’s just what they do. Sounds callous, but that’s just the way it is.
How old are you?
60s is the decade when the mortal coil drops its hammer--either you get diagnosed with life-ending cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, etc. - or you make it past 75 and stay out of the woods save for small chronic stuff that leads to a slow decline.
My parents were shocked when they ended up getting invited to funeral after funeral around their retirement years. Perhaps another reason to not work one's life away.
sushi & coke wrote:
How old are you?
60s is the decade when the mortal coil drops its hammer--either you get diagnosed with life-ending cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, etc. - or you make it past 75 and stay out of the woods save for small chronic stuff that leads to a slow decline.
My parents were shocked when they ended up getting invited to funeral after funeral around their retirement years. Perhaps another reason to not work one's life away.
I come from a long line of death:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jrFU5wyd_C0Here is the bad news: You will die too.
sushi & coke wrote:
How old are you?
60s is the decade when the mortal coil drops its hammer--either you get diagnosed with life-ending cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, etc. - or you make it past 75 and stay out of the woods save for small chronic stuff that leads to a slow decline.
My parents were shocked when they ended up getting invited to funeral after funeral around their retirement years. Perhaps another reason to not work one's life away.
Just turned 55. No, I was not close with my coaches, as I live thousands of miles from where they are (were). I did run into them some time back, though, when I lived in those areas, and was running much more than I am now.
Neither coach made it to 70. The bosses I mentioned all died before 70, too. I guess I don't have much time left!
Two of my former coaches are dead...my first cross country coach in high school who was a very old man then, and then a woman who was my cross country coach my last two years of high school. She wasn't all that old when she died.
The fact that people die is why we should all do the things in life we want as soon as we can...within reason of course, but if you put it all off to later, it will be too late.
All my coaches are still alive, but my boy scout troop leader died. I didn't know it till I read his obituary, he was one of the original Green Berets, served in Korea and Vietnam, a total bad ass.
Might as well rock out if you’re gonna have morbid thoughts.
my club coach from HS is still going
sushi & coke wrote:
How old are you?
60s is the decade when the mortal coil drops its hammer--either you get diagnosed with life-ending cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, etc. - or you make it past 75 and stay out of the woods save for small chronic stuff that leads to a slow decline.
My parents were shocked when they ended up getting invited to funeral after funeral around their retirement years. Perhaps another reason to not work one's life away.
This was me. Seemingly perfectly healthy at 67 when I noticed a lump on my shoulder. My wife who is four years younger, also perfectly healthy, went in for routine surgery at age 66 and things went south was released after 18 days. I am 71 now and we are both doing well. Things may not have turned out as well if we had the lifestyle of the average American.
My coaches departed this life starting in the late 1980s, they’re all gone now. Remarkable men, all of them.
Ghost of Igloi wrote:
sushi & coke wrote:
How old are you?
60s is the decade when the mortal coil drops its hammer--either you get diagnosed with life-ending cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, etc. - or you make it past 75 and stay out of the woods save for small chronic stuff that leads to a slow decline.
My parents were shocked when they ended up getting invited to funeral after funeral around their retirement years. Perhaps another reason to not work one's life away.
This was me. Seemingly perfectly healthy at 67 when I noticed a lump on my shoulder. My wife who is four years younger, also perfectly healthy, went in for routine surgery at age 66 and things went south was released after 18 days. I am 71 now and we are both doing well. Things may not have turned out as well if we had the lifestyle of the average American.
My coaches departed this life starting in the late 1980s, they’re all gone now. Remarkable men, all of them.
I hear you, I'm pretty sure I'm clear of Standard American Diet mayhem, but the second my doctor finds something, I'm going to be a verse in the song mentioned above.
Our doctors called us amazing. Not sure if this is something they tell everyone, but we both went thru some tough stuff, and came out the other end pretty good. Not perfect of course, but darn near.
Flagpole wrote:
The fact that people die is why we should all do the things in life we want as soon as we can...within reason of course, but if you put it all off to later, it will be too late.
One could also argue that the fact that everyone is going to die means that you don’t have to do anything any time soon coz once you are dead, it doesn’t matter what you previously wanted coz you don’t exist anymore.
miso wrote:
Flagpole wrote:
The fact that people die is why we should all do the things in life we want as soon as we can...within reason of course, but if you put it all off to later, it will be too late.
One could also argue that the fact that everyone is going to die means that you don’t have to do anything any time soon coz once you are dead, it doesn’t matter what you previously wanted coz you don’t exist anymore.
Meh. Why have hopes and wants and dreams then?
My high school cross country coach died suddenly when I was a sophomore in college.
I had seen him just the day previous, as I had gone to the high school state championships to watch. I talked with him, and everything was fine.
The next evening, his wife returned home to find him dead on the couch. Sudden cardiac arrest.
It was definitely a lot for a 19 year old to digest, as he had been a very important figure in my life for the last 5 years.
It gets worse, this coaches-dying thing.
Since finding this out the other day, I dug a bit into history to see how my times and places stack up against all the runners who came after me. It seems now, though, history began with the advent of milesplit and such. No matter that the second-fastest 3200 ever ran at my high school was in the 60s, and the fastest in the 80s, history now shows that my school's record holder did this in 2010, even though his time is 17 seconds slower than I ran.
Ain't technology great?
Gucci wrote:
My high school cross country coach died suddenly when I was a sophomore in college.
I had seen him just the day previous, as I had gone to the high school state championships to watch. I talked with him, and everything was fine.
The next evening, his wife returned home to find him dead on the couch. Sudden cardiac arrest.
It was definitely a lot for a 19 year old to digest, as he had been a very important figure in my life for the last 5 years.
Pretty much the exact same thing for me. Passed by my high school at the end of the summer, and he died suddenly about 2 months later. It was a shock, and the first time I lost someone who was really close to me that wasn't a grandparent.
My HS coaches have died; my college coach is still alive.
I'm in my 60s, and recently decided to contact those in my past who were helpful to me, to thank them, This included my college coach and some former bosses and colleagues. I was, unfortunately, too late with one of my HS coaches as he passed away a couple of months before I had tried to contact him.
Moral: If you want to thank someone, don't wait until it's too late.