Do this.
(No. 25) Squats make life easier, at any age, plus four old blokes keep rolling. By Stephen P. Williams
(If you feel like sharing light in these dark and trying times, click on that little heart above, will ya?)
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But first, this: Stop to ponder why we narrowed our presidential candidates down to three men in their 70s, and then to just two, with the inevitable result of an old geezer at the helm in January 2021.
Squatting for life

Squatting like a Sasquatch. Photo by Sean Pollock on Unsplash
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The act of squatting can make the aging body move better, faster and with greater balance. Squatting is said to boost testosterone production in older men, and make it easier for anyone to have a bowel movement. Yet squatting is a posture that most people in Europe, the US and elsewhere among the rich find primitive and unbecoming. It’s a class marker that wealthy people use to separate the good (their fellow class) from the not so good (the peasants, the poor, the “unsuccessful”). The joke might be on those with high standing.
I remember joining a group of Indigenous Amazonian men for a quick snack one afternoon at the edge of a fast river. We’d been on a very long hike, and I, at least, was exhausted. Each took his metal plate of farofa and vegetables and squatted restfully above the dirt to eat. Envious, I tried to squat myself and nearly fell over.
“You people never have the muscles,” one of my hosts said, laughing.
And that’s true. Most of the world is well-able to squat comfortably for long periods of time. Those of us who mostly sit in chairs suffer. A study of 8,000 people over age 45 published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found a connection between higher death rates and higher rates of sitting. Clearly, we should all squat at the office and around the dinner table and in the bathroom if we want to feel better and live longer. Yet all of our systems, furniture and activities are created around the idea of chairs, couches and stools. Aside from a few actions, such as getting in and out of a low car, and standing up from a chair, we don’t do squat. And most of us don’t want to.
Yet squatting is one of the healthiest exercises we can do. I try to do three sets of ten squats every time I exercise, and I never, ever look forward to them. Not sure why, since they are so simple, and require no gym, no trainer, no special squatting outfit or shoes. Squats work on the feet, ankles, knees, hip flexors, glutes, quads, hamstrings — the whole lower powerhouse. They also trigger the core. In short, they build all the muscles that keep you standing and well balanced — valuable traits as you age. Here’s how to get started.
Basic Squat
Video by Bowflex
You can keep your feet shoulder-width apart, for a tougher workout. Or lighten it up slightly by spreading your feet wider. Try to do three sets of ten — work yourself up to this amount over days or weeks, if necessary. If standing squats are too hard, begin your squat by sitting in a chair and then stand up without pushing on the chair with your hands. Once it’s easy, up your reps. Stop and adjust if anything hurts.
Liven up your squat
Video by Mayo Clinic
Deepen your squat
Video by Mayo Clinic
Power up your squat
Video by Mayo Clinic
If you’d like more info, this Quartz article is a great resource. C’mon, cop a squat and have a read.
Now that winter is leaving, we can listen to this
The Simon and Garfunkle song, A Hazy Shade of Winter, has the most devastating lyrics about aging, made more beautiful by the fact that Paul Simon was so young when he wrote the song (25).
A Hazy Shade of Winter
Time, time time, see what's become of me
While I looked around for my possibilities
I was so hard to please
Don't look around
The leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter
Hear the Salvation Army band
Down by the riverside's, there's bound to be a better ride
Than what you've got planned
Carry your cup in your hand
And look around
Leaves are brown, now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter
Hang on to your hopes, my friend
That's an easy thing to say
But if your hopes should pass away
Simply pretend that you can build them again
Look around
The grass is high
The fields are ripe
It's the springtime of my life
Seasons change with the scenery
Weaving time in a tapestry
Won't you stop and remember me
At any convenient time?
Funny how my memory skips while looking over manuscripts
Of unpublished rhyme
Drinking my vodka and lime
I look around
Leaves are brown, now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter
Look around
Leaves are brown
There's a patch of snow on the ground
Look around
Leaves are brown
There's a patch of snow on the ground
Look around
Leaves are brown
There's a patch of snow on the ground
Source: LyricFind
Songwriter: Paul Simon
A Hazy Shade of Winter lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Here’s the original:
And a wonderful cover:
In case you haven’t had enough, here are the top 7 covers of A Hazy Shade of Winter.
Coronavirus and Aging Roundup
The language of the pandemic.
A look at slang words and phrases from around the world that speak to the situation of COVID-19. Learning slang keeps us connected across the generations.
Excerpt from 1843 Magazine:

Click to read the full story.
Take a break from shelter in place
Most shelter in place rules allow people to go outside for exercise. Turns out that regular exercise can help the body cope with symptoms brought on by COVID-19. Exercise also helps you feel and look younger. Win win.
Old dogs, new tricks, still gathering no moss
These guys must be in their hundreds by now, and look how well they used Zoom yesterday during Lady Gaga’s online fundraiser for the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 response. Thank you, Rolling Stones.
Are you a man or a mouse, and does it matter?
Inverse Magazine reports that a study published in Nature Metabolism found a link between aerobic exercise and reversed cell degeneration. Who wouldn’t want to reverse age-related cell degeneration? Still, since the study was done on mice who ran between 5 and 10 miles every night, let’s take it as a possibility rather than a fact. By my made-up calculations, one mice mile equals 10 human miles.