"G.W. Ross" wrote in
:

After 70 it is all downhill

Pfffft. Tell that to my father, an avid bicyclist.

Dad's going to be 81 in September. He bicycled 70 miles on his 70th birthday, and decided
last summer he was going to try for "80 on 80".

He actually managed 83 miles -- with four friends in their 30s accompanying him in 20-mile
relays. They were more worn out at the end of the day than he was.

--many of your
childhood friends gone. Not sure I want to toddle around in a nursing
home waiting to die when I reach the max life span. I'd rather be
wasting away in Margaritaville.

That's what my wife's parents are doing -- just wasting away and waiting to die. But they're
doing it in the back bedroom of our house, not in Margaritaville, because their health is
ruined. They did not take care of themselves when they were able to (poor diet, and no
exercise whatsoever), and as a result, they now are no longer able to. They could easily
*afford* Margaritaville, but they are too infirm to make the trip or to enjoy either the trip or the
destination.

Observing the differences between my parents and my wife's parents has certainly
rearranged my thinking about investing for retirement: if you don't invest in your *health*
while you still have the ability to do so, your financial investments don't mean a damn thing.