11936 Definition of Optimism

Hi Jc

His fame has already spread far and wide as he is on our website. When I took the pics. his OH was so impressed that she requested prints for all the figli and nipoti.

That's what I would call "positive thinking"! That means that he intends to keep on working for another 10 years at least.

Here are some of my neighbours. As you can see they (together with a fourth that you cant see) are the [I]goodies[/I], they are just reading, chatting and telling jokes. But they are - L to R 95, 86, 88, and add that 4th one at 94 and they reach a total of 363 years.

Then, down at the bottom of the table are the [I]youngsters[/I] who, as usual, are playing cards, and (believe me) '[I]they cheat[/I]'!!!!! :yes: The youngest there is 69 and the oldest 81... totalling another 297 years. So, if you add my age (I'm 'the baby') on to theirs then there is a total of 728 years experience and knowledge sitting around that table.

Their lives are pretty hard, several of them [U][I]still[/I][/U] keep animals and all, but 1, still grow all their own vegetables. But like most of us here, I too have generous, kindly neighbours. I find it impossible to be a pessimist while I'm in thier company!

[quote=Carole B;113855] But like most of us here, I too have generous, kindly neighbours. I find it impossible to be a pessimist while I'm in thier company![/quote]

Absolutely, me too. I must take a picture of the ladies who sit on the wall in our village for they're a great bunch.
Your dear old Alfredo (Forum Nonno), Aretina, reminds me so much of a couple around here, one of whom refused any offers of help last autumn despite his gnarled arthritic fingers that weren't that dissimilar from the gnarled old trees he was picking! Took him twice as long as you'd have expected but he managed the lot singlehandedly.
And I remember another morning seeing a woman I only know by sight but I know her daughter pretty well, and her great grandchildren. Daughter is 64 so Mum must be early/ mid-80s yet there she was on a bitterly cold afternoon striding up the lane carrying a simply massive panier of freshly picked olives. I couldn't believe my eyes. Could you imagine seeing someone of that age quite so physically active in England?

A lot of people in England are very active now up in their 90's. I live in a retirement area and it amazes me what people do now that my grandma wouldn't have. My next door neighbour 94 in May and she does all her own cooking, cleaning, gardening which is twice the size of mine and far better kept, plays bridge, walks everywhere. All of her friends are the same and all in their 90's (I think the oldest is 98). Another neighbour has got himself a new girlfriend but he's only young 93! he also does everything himself and drives like a bat out of hell.
No, they don't pick olives but a lot do have large gardens, grow veg, have allotments etc. Old people are just as active here as in Italy.

My paternal grandmother died when she was in her early 60's. She had a very pampered life, never worked, had servants to do everything she needed. Yes, she had 8 children of whom 7 survived childhood, but she had people to look after them, even wetnursing. All the exercise she did was to walk about 200m every day to attend mass. When my grandfather died, she started developing some heart trouble that I would diagnose nowadays as "angina". The family decided that she could no longer walk to attend mass, so a priest will come to celebrate it at home in a chapel that was organised for this purpose. She died within a short time. I think that they killed her with kindness or loved her to death.

:smile:Hi Borrini

This wasn't meant to be a competition over which country's OAPs were more active just an innocent thread to lighten the 'general conversation' section after what has been a 'heavy' week and a week which follows a period of strain on the forum

Best wishes

As the question was asked 'Could you imagine anyone in England...?' I thought I would give a perspective of life for a lot of old people in England now that maybe people living in Italy were unaware of.
I am not interested in 'competing' but as this is an open forum I gave my view - is there a problem with that?

Moved to [url=http://www.italiauncovered.co.uk]Italia Uncovered[/url]

[quote=Aretina;113934]:smile:Hi Borrini

This wasn't meant to be a competition over which country's OAPs were more active just an innocent thread to lighten the 'general conversation' section after what has been a 'heavy' week and a week which follows a period of strain on the forum

Best wishes[/quote]

I totally agree with you here Aretina... If we do get a little bit over enthusiastic or on
edge [U][I]now[/I][/U], how much more pleasant it is to do so over subjects that MATTER! [IMG]http://fc89.deviantart.com/fs34/f/2008/301/2/9/Distance_by_Red_Bananas.gif[/IMG]

That constant tension that many of us could not really avoid has, over the last week or so, seemed to have lessened quite considerably and - I might add - pleasantly!

Far too often we have all become 'fractious' and even bad tempered :madd: over the [I]constant[/I] flood of postings on petty, and often totally irrelevant matters. Such behaviour is, I'm certain, born more often out of a frustration over the scarcity of intelligent, clever or mature threads...

[IMG]http://fc55.deviantart.com/fs27/f/2008/104/0/5/I_Hug_Magic_Wolf__3_by_kora_wolf.gif[/IMG]

[quote=juliancoll;113939]Sigh.. and there I was thinking sweetness and light had broken out all over the forum. I really don't think we will be able to cope with the massive adjustment - so best we pick fights on a regular basis to relieve all the pent up tension. :bigergrin:[/quote]

Handbags at dawn JC?

[IMG]http://www.clipartof.com/images/thumbnail/756.gif[/IMG]

:sad:How sad, that the original innocent post has been turned into something else.

So, how about posting your own Definition of Optimism.

I give up! Pessimism here I come............. I've got my running shoes on...:winki:

My neighbor has a similar ancient, home-made, rickety ladder. He's in his late 70's but climbs up to the top of the ladder, with a heavy mop roller full of whitewash on a long extension handle, and holds it as high as his arm can extend above his head to whitewash the upper front of his house. Pretty amazing strength, flexibility and balance for his age. When I offer to help he shrugs it off.

Hope I'm in that good of shape if I live that long.

If you keep active both body and mind, you will naturally be an optimist. If you sit down and let time go by without a purpose, you will naturally become a pesimist. You are as young, or as old, as you feel.

[quote=Aretina;113943]:sad:How sad, that the original innocent post has been turned into something else.

So, how about posting your own Definition of Optimism.

I give up! Pessimism here I come............. I've got my running shoes on...:winki:[/quote]

No I don't think it [I]has [/I]changed, what has happened (in my opinion), is that the banter, not only on this thread,, but elsewhere too, has in fact changed 'tone'. You got it right the first time Aretina... there is a definite optimism in the air, and there does seem to now be room for a bit of banter to creep in too...

But I'm glad you put your 'wink' at the end -after you had put your running shoes on! :smile:

Aretina. My post no 7 was perfectly in line with the thread - not disimilar to Carole's. You have thrown your toys out of the pram - not me. I don't like being accused of spoiling your thread. My post was completely pleasant and reasonable especially in reply to Violetta (who thanked me).
I realise there has been 'tensions' on this forum lately. From most of what I have read there has been a lot of bullying to one member from a group of people. Please don't start on me! :no:

How very very sad, my original point was about optimism... that was also one the points of my second post. Maybe optimism is a short lived experience.

[quote=Noma;113949]My neighbor has a similar ancient, home-made, rickety ladder. He's in his late 70's but climbs up to the top of the ladder, with a heavy mop roller full of whitewash on a long extension handle, and holds it as high as his arm can extend above his head to whitewash the upper front of his house. Pretty amazing strength, flexibility and balance for his age. When I offer to help he shrugs it off.

Hope I'm in that good of shape if I live that long.[/quote]
Forgot to add, he had a stint installed in an artery a few years ago, and an angioplasty last year. Doesn't seem to be slowing him down much though- not all optimism must be short-lived!:smile:

I don't know why you consider my post was not optomistic!! It was full of optomism - or don't you consider that anythng in England can be so? I think you are being rather silly about the whole thing. My post was in reply to Violetta's of which 2 thank you's were added. :spinny:

...is opening your gelateria now.

This is not as obvious as it may first appear.

I suspect long term weather forecasts are taken, rainfall readings analysed and the decreasing sales of anoraks are taken into account.

In my first year in Italy, the local gelataria was opening about nowish. The second year, way way later. Third year, around Easter and this year OPEN LAST SUNDAY.

This is further confirmation that spring has arrived and in it’s own right good reason to be optimistic.

That would be right if you do not suffer from "spring depression" or "seasonal depression". But let's be optimistic!!!! Where is my Prozac????????

youngest there is 69 and the oldest 81... totalling another 297 years. So, if you add my age (I'm 'the baby') on to theirs then there is a total of 728 years experience and knowledge sitting around that table.

Lisa11

Optimism is....

Planning a day out based around the cash which you are going to withdraw from the Bancomat:laughs:

Lovely thread Aretina, please pass on warm regards to Alfredo from one of his kindred spirits in Lunigiana :smile:

[quote=Lisa11;114024]youngest there is 69 and the oldest 81... totalling another 297 years. So, if you add my age (I'm 'the baby') on to theirs then there is a total of 728 years experience and knowledge sitting around that table.

Lisa11[/quote]

Sorry, am I confusing you? :smile:

Never mind
You need to take the whole thing to make sense of my 'rambling'...

The [I]'goodies'[/I] are - L to R 95, 86, 88, and add that 4th one at 94 and they reach a total of 363 years.

And the [I]'youngsters'[/I] , the youngest there is 69 and the oldest 81... totalling another 297 years.

[B]So - add 363 to 297 plus my age then you get 728![/B]

Easy when you know how!:winki:

[quote=juliancoll;114046]Aha! Now we know how old you are Carole![/quote]

Aha to you too... :tongue:

Never been a secret - just that no one has ever asked!

Ooo-er...that's torn it! [IMG]http://www.jeffpylenz.com/INCREDIMAIL%20VOL.2/HOTLETTERS/peep.gif[/IMG]

Hi Carole

I'm not too far behind you but I always think its not the mileage on the clock that matters but mental outlook.:smile::smile::smile: I have the most amazing friends here, some well into their 80's and nothing stops them, they have heaps more energy etc. than we do.

Jules - you announced your birthday back a short while. Care to tell us your age me duck? I have you down as a thrusting, fit 35 year old. Or is that just optimism on my part. You're only ever as old as the man you feel.:bigergrin:

[quote]I have you down as a thrusting, fit 35 year old[/quote]
She may be thrusting.....

Moved to [url=http://www.italiauncovered.co.uk]Italia Uncovered[/url]

The name is lamer than you imagine- I was trying to spell Nome and fat-fingered the keyboard. Doh!

[quote=Noma;114103]The name is lamer than you imagine- I was trying to spell Nome and fat-fingered the keyboard. Doh![/quote]

Drat.
I was convinced it was an anagram of [B]'MOAN'[/B] :reallyembarrassed:

Oh well - gotta get things wrong sometimes! :smile:

[quote=Carole B;114105]Drat.
I was convinced it was an anagram of [B]'MOAN'[/B] [/quote]
Speaking of holier than thou [URL="http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/italy-magazine-forums-announcements-queries/11894-moderator-decisions-bias.html#post113450"]http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/italy-magazine-forums-announcements-queries/11894-moderator-decisions-bias.html#post113450[/URL]

[quote=Noma;114117]Speaking of holier than thou [URL]http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/italy-magazine-forums-announcements-queries/11894-moderator-decisions-bias.html#post113450[/URL][/quote]

Clever ploy that to try and wrong foot me... though you [I]did[/I] miss the smiley I used > :reallyembarrassed:.

But yes - you're right, that post you linked to, [U][I]was[/I][/U] a good 'moan' even if I say so myself!

Thanks for the clever, and for acknowledging- "But yes - you're right, that post you linked to, was a good 'moan' even if I say so myself!"

Moved to [url=http://www.italiauncovered.co.uk]Italia Uncovered[/url]

Alas, though I wish jc were my doppelgänger, it cannot be. I do admire her sense of humour though; if it appears I'm imitating her, please fault me and not jc.

Moved to [url=http://www.italiauncovered.co.uk]Italia Uncovered[/url]

Like the sound of that Sire. Now if I could just figure out how to change my username....

[quote=Noma;114177]Like the sound of that Sire. Now if I could just figure out how to change my username....[/quote]

There once was a member called Turtle who managed to do it, but then she had friends who knew their way around the system:bigergrin:

I was only joking- Sire would be a bit too grand. Noma is what the fickle finger of fate typed, so I'll stay with it.

His fame has already spread far and wide as he is on our website. When I took the pics. his OH was so impressed that she requested prints for all the figli and nipoti. __________________

Lisa11

Hi again Lisa11

It would be great if you could add something to the discussion:yes:
Best wishes:winki:

I believe someone said Lisa is a spambot (not sure what that means, but sounds obscene).

Doesn't matter now..she's been terminated. (Evil chuckle smiley emoticon thing)

Hi Noma

Yes, realised this was probably so but after the last week or so wanted to err on the side of complete correctness and courtesy.:smile::smile::smile:

I’m always optimistic when I come to Italy mag. In the past it has been a triumph of optimism over experience but recently there has been just the glimmer of hope..:winki::smile:

[quote=Nielo;114248]I’m always optimistic when I come to Italy mag. In the past it has been a triumph of optimism over experience but recently there has been just the glimmer of hope..:winki::smile:[/quote]
Agreed- it does seem much nicer this week. Crossing my toes it will last.

Hi, positive thinking is good in humans!!! positive thinkers make their surroundings happy!

[quote=Nielo;114248]I’m always optimistic when I come to Italy mag. In the past it has been a triumph of optimism over experience but recently there has been just the glimmer of hope..:winki::smile:[/quote]

Glimmer of hope could be the light of the train which is coming at yer through the tunnel :bigergrin: Optimism would say not.

[quote=Noma;114262]Agreed- it does seem much nicer this week. Crossing my toes it will last.[/quote]

This thread has been uplifting in places, and yes it does seem a better place to hang out this week. :smile: Let's see what happens -last time I posted a non specific "reference" like that it got deleted. It feels like the forum has grown and moved on. Fingers, legs, dogs, everything crossed here - here, where it has not been snowing and I'm sunburned.:laughs: and optimistic that I'll tan not peel.