This may be one of the best writing prompts for old people, like me. Looking back between 1970 and 1990, there were many things that held my interest back then that I either no longer do or have little or no interest in now. I am not sure that I have outgrown them. Maybe they outgrew me. Here are my more current activities or hobbies. I still play golf, watch golf, listen to music, all kinds, watch the Pirates, watch the Steelers, write, watch college football, cook, exercise daily, and have many posts on X, my handle is Reuther70, if you want to see how deranged I am. I still love to watch movies. Now to what I use to do but not anymore.
Jogging. I have a bum ankle from an occupational injury and now I walk. It is probably the only thing I do not do anymore that I really do miss. Walking is ok but naturally takes up more time to cover the same distance. I had to give up jogging about 9 years ago.
Gardening. Wow, this was a big one from 1976 until around 1995. I took it up again in the early 2000’s but not to the degree I had done it before. For those 20 years I was into it. I had three plots, one 17×18, another 10×17, and a smaller lettuce and herb plot, 10×10. This was totally a vegetable garden, and I grew almost everything. I grew all the “normal” stuff” plus melons, horseradish, corn, potatoes, spinach, and things I can’t even think of now. My only true failure was peanuts. I could not get those little buggers out of the ground. What ended my gardening hobby. One hundred plus rounds of golf per year while working 45 to 50 hour weeks. I was a stud in my 50’s.
The Boston Celtics. As much as I loved the Pirates and Steelers, from 1962 until 1988 no sports team got me as excited as they did. John Havlicek was born in my home town of Martins Ferry, Ohio and grew up in the adjoining town of Bridgeport. Once he joined the Celtics I was an immediate fan. Those years were so exciting and once Bill Russel retired, Havlicek got what I called two Havlicek NBA Titles in the early to mid 70’s. Larry Bird came in the 80’s, and another great decade followed. Then the game changed, the Celtics hit some hard times and even though they have been contenders through much of the 2000’s with one title, I only follow them peripherally now, rarely watching them even in the playoffs.
Watching Commercial TV Series. The Last TV series I watched on commercial TV was NYPD Blue. It went off the air in 2005. Even with the DVR I really have no interest in commercial TV. Maybe I did outgrow that.
Listening to the Radio. Thanks to streaming and podcasts I never listen to the radio, and I mean never. Even when I hear someone else listening to the radio, I walk quickly away. There is just something about radio that makes me regurgitate right away. Even Pepcid does not help with this reflux.
So, there’s the list. There is probably more but I really don’t remember. I do not miss any of it except the jogging. Nice writing prompt for a change. Yesterday, what’s your favorite candy? Dark Chocolate. I haven’t outgrown that one and never will. I turned this into a 2 prompt day.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 