January/February 2025. The Tropics. Great place to spend some winter…even if you’re from a too-sunny/warm climate already. Palm trees, blue skies and lots of ocean, mangoes, genocide museums, skyscrapers, lots of rice, chickens in the yard, islands—so many islands, history of American colonization and bombs, ancient temples: blackened by time and quietly accepting a world of visitors into their lush jungle home. At a Big Event. With your Favorite People.

So, there I was. And this post is kinda ‘all about me.’ Sorry. But this way I won’t have to talk about old-age At All next year! So, my two-month sojourn beginning with pageantry and ending with the solemn realization I had weathered some kind of transition to a next stage of life (which, as the saying goes—is better than the alternative).

I’ve already written and offered up several photo albums of the first six weeks of my splendid Asian winter, and am about to add one or two final ones. It’ll be fun…you’ll see.

With these posts, I’m wrapping an April ‘24 – May ‘25 blog-book, as well as, I hope, moving on to a new fine-and-dandy phase of the remaining “golden” years of this life. To be spent in my rapidly metamorphosing-to-fascist country, which promises to be a fascinating finale to life.

The next four paragraphs are about traveling while old—because it influences everything else on the trip…and, indeed, the rest of my life. If old age is not of particular interest to you right now (it wasn’t interesting to me until I was about 75), you may skip the next three paragraphs.

Here goes: I had a major health episode the first week in the Philippines, the week of the absolutely gorgeous wedding festivities. It wasn’t life-threatening; I attended many of the activities, and didn’t embarrass myself or, hopefully, anyone else. It began almost upon arrival and was connected to long-term gastro issues…which had never been quite this debilitating before. While emanating from my mid-section and effecting every part of my body, again, I was never in dire physical danger—mentally, well that’s a different story.

It is where and when I lost confidence in my ability to handle almost any situation that might ever arise. In my numerous homes, jobs, and travels, this may be the first time I absolutely did not know what to do and lost the capacity to figure it out. There are many reasons for that, none really understandable, except that I suddenly believed myself Old and Incapable. A mental health crisis which, had it all ended there, I wouldn’t mention now. I will describe it as transitioning from old to old-old to what use to be called: older-than-sin, older-than-the-hills, older-than-god…in other words ‘about done for’ as my dad would have said.

I have a friend, even older than me, who just gets on with her life as briskly as possible every day; busy, engaged, never whining or even mentioning there’s a problem with this time of life.  She is obviously a saint.

For me it is a big challenge, but, with Tasia as my guru, my attitude will surely improve. Starting with reading and reading and reading—which has always been a life-affirming and enriching pastime; blogging (posting-as-therapy among other purposes!); chatting with my docs and going off all medications (not that I had that many) for a while; eating more and better with the hope that good food, gummies, and new plants (almost as important for mental health as a wall of books) will cure what ails me. Oh yeah, to top it all off, back to the gym (harder to do with arthritis and no pain meds though). Most of all, I’m trying to separate the Old-Frail-Me part of this mental slump from the perfectly natural anxiety, dread, and disgust over the United States of America’s present Political Regime.

There, I said it. I debated opening my pretty and final Asian travel posts with a personal whine. Since I intend to travel more and whine more through the remaining “winters of [my] life”—a much more appropriate phrase than “golden years”—I decided to get this story-rant over with now. It’s all uphill from here…. Right? No? Be quiet.