old bob

In his stories, as in his life, GhostRyder was primarily a soldier and his death should be commemorated like that of a warrior. "Der gute Kamerad" ("The good Comrade"), also known as "I had a comrade", is a traditional lament of the German Armed Forces. The text was written by the German poet Ludwig Uhland in 1809. In 1825, the composer Friedrich Silcher set it to music. "The Good Comrade" plays an important ceremonial role in the German Armed Forces and is an integral part of a military funeral. It is also used to some degree in the French Army, particularly in the Foreign Legion. When the song is played, soldiers are to salute, an honour otherwise reserved for national anthems only. Here is the English translation of the song : I once had a comrade, You will find no better. The drum sounded for battle, He walked at my side, In the same pace and step. A bullet came flying towards us, Is it meant for me or you? It tore (swept) him away, He now lays at my feet, As if he was a part of me. His hand reaches out to me, Meanwhile I am reloading (the rifle). "I cannot shake your hand (farewell), You must remain in eternal life (heaven), My fine (precious) comrade." I you want to listen the song : http://lalegion.de/joomla/mp3/8_ich_hatt_einen_kameraden.mp3

Congratulations on your blog! receiving a salary increase is always a pleasure. But what I like most about you, is your joy and especially your surprise. In reading your blog, I welcome your mood and your sense of reality. This reconciles me with mankind !

The older I get, the more days goes by quickly. People of my age, at least the ones I know well, are all very busy. In 1948 (65 years ago ! ) We were 148 to finish our high school and to successfully pass our exams. Today nearly a hundred disappeared. We, the "survivors", we usually meet us each autumn at a luncheon in the Geneva countryside. 3 weeks ago, we were 25 around the table and 22 bothered to send us a letter of apology, stating that they were still alive, even though they were often no more able to move. 32% of survivors, it is still a nice score! Having 85 years today has nothing to do with the old men of the same age I was watching when I was 20. Some of us are still professionally active, transmitting to employees or younger associates their experiences and knowledge. The most active of us, including myself, are solicited by long-time customers and are happy to still "respond to the demand." Others, although they are retired, work as volunteers in charity associations or participate in historical studies doing "a work of memory". Despite our age, despite some physical weaknesses, we all still want to live and to enjoy life. I wondered what is the reason of such a positive attitude. Searching on the Web (in this regard, I noticed that more than 30 of us had an email address and therefore were successfully adapted to modern means of communication) I "met" a psychoanalyst who gave me some elements of response. According to Erik Erikson’s "Eight Stages of Life" theory, the human personality is developed in a series of eight stages that take place from the time of birth and continue on throughout an individual’s complete life. He characterizes old age as a period of "Integrity vs. Despair", during which a person focuses on reflecting back on his life. Those who are unsuccessful during this phase will feel that their life has been wasted and will experience many regrets. The individual will be left with feelings of bitterness and despair. Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a sense of integrity. Successfully completing this phase means looking back with few regrets and a general feeling of satisfaction. These individuals will attain wisdom, even when confronting death. Well, I think I am one of them!

As I said in the Chapter 19, at the end of 1984 I got an unexpected proposal that made me completely change my plans. I was invited to take control of a Swiss shipping company with headquarters in Zurich, and offices in Genoa, Italy. This proposal came from Georges P., the investor who had already helped me by financing several films acquired by Ideal Film. I always had an excellent contact with my friend Georges. Our friendship went back to our childhood years during WWII... We first met in 1

I'm no more the same after getting out of the hospital yesterday. I regained my good humor and my optimism. Contrary to my fears, the examinations were very positive. The cancer has stopped growing and all vital functions run smoothly. I should not have listened to the urologists who talked to me of an extension of the cancer toward the bladder. This is often the problem when dealing with several SPs who don’t agree with each other I For years I had to deal with the medics, either as patient or as builder and manager of clinics. I should have known that medicine is not an exact science and that the social status, origin, age, character and professional position of a doctor should always be taken into account in assessing the quality and the safety of his diagnosis. Docs are like other men, nor worse, nor better. That's what I forgot! A big thank you to all those who have supported me with their comments. You were right, the trials are there to test our strength and I shouldn’t lost so quickly my self confidence ! I certainly will remember the lesson, thanks a lot... Old (and young for ever ) Bob

In a few days, I shall find myself in the hospital for a range of unpleasant examinations. It seems that my cancer wakes up and my body has difficulty to resist its attacks. This is the worst time because I should rather take care of my wife, whose health declines day by day. She needs me more and more and I'm afraid of not being able to take care of her. So we have to make other arrangements, calling for nursing staff coming home. Neither she nor I want to end up in a hospital. Our house is a haven of peace and we want to stay home until our end. We are caught by our age! Learning to age and learning so quickly is never easy. Now, I have lost much of my optimism. The world around us is going wrong. The conflicts in the Middle East and the crisis in Europe, that never ends, announce difficult times. I'm not afraid for old people like us, but how will live my children and grandchildren in the coming years? But maybe I'm wrong? My state of mind is perhaps only momentary. All the stories I read in the evening on my favorite sites to change my mind speak of hope and happy endings. Tomorrow will be another day. Hopefully the clouds shall go away. We all live in hope ...

Thanks for the hugs and chocolates. Life is funny, it's easy to forget the hard times we had both and just to remember the bad times (we had a lot, but always stood together ). She even accepted my sexuality !

As another member of the club, I salute the courage of Kitt. As Mike said so well, we all live with the hope of overcoming cancer. Knowing how to accept our fate with good humor is the key to success and - most important - always knowing that we are not alone helps a lot !

I agree 100 % all the comments above. With my "broken English" ,I can not find better words to express my pleasure to read your comments. Thank you to participate so actively to the life of GA. And please... don't stop to be "sappy"...It's so nice !

We live in a world without mercy for the weak. Everyone must choose a side in the fight for survival. We are often faced with difficult situations for ourselves or for others. Being aware is an advantage and to choose between compassion and indifference is always a conflict. Only experience can provide us with the means to solve it. You're still young and have much to learn. I'm sure the years will bring you all the answers to your questions. I experienced the same adventures and my years have given me the answers I needed. I wish you to also find them over time.

In a few days, I will celebrate my 84th birthday and my wife has just celebrated its 85th anniversary. But this is not the most important event. 62 years ago, fate brought me my greatest gift: I met the girl who became my wife. We were both young and we still are. The above photo was taken during our first meetings. Time has passed but the feelings are still the same. We went through the storms of life, overcoming many difficulties, enjoyed all the joys and sorrows of all these years. We accepted our flaws (especially mine!) and fought together against all the obstacles that have stood in our way : the death of two of our children, my financial problems, my sexuality, our health both declining. Today, we look with pride the long way we have been able to travel together. Our family grew. Our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren come to see us, all too infrequently (!) . And we get used to being alone, talking about the past and spend part of our time to classify hundreds of photos. My wife laughs at me when I tell her about my memories. She thinks I spend too much time working for the few clients that are remaining, all old friends who I do not want to let down. But I know that I still have enough time ahead of me to finish my story, even if the few readers who have followed me so far will have to wait a few weeks. The world is full of unhappy people. To all those who despair, the message I sent them is never to lose courage. Life is full of surprises. Rebounding depends only on you. My life is a good example of the opportunities that are available to all. The only point is how how catch them. Good luck to all.

I have read with great pleasure MikeL's blog 'Growing Old is Awesome' posted a few days ago. And then I went to look at his profile and I noticed that he was in his 71st year. He still has therefore some 15 years for having the same age as me, 84 years next month. I remembered how I was myself 15 years ago, in 1998. I too could have written the same blog as him, with the same title. I knew to enjoy my life without worrying about the future. I rejoiced in the morning to know that I could make the most of my day. I was happy to be able to organize my time without having to worry about my health. 15 years later, I have become a 'very old' man., My will and my spirit have remained the same, but memory and legs have increasingly more difficulty to obey to my will. So I have to take this into account. My short-term memory tends to let me down. So I got used to note everything that I should remember. My notes, sorted by date and subject, have effectively replaced this aspect of my memory. Instead, I remember much more of my distant past. Forgotten details come alive. I can still see clearly some episodes of my life and I better understand the underlying reasons for my actions. At least, I understand who I am, really. Every difficulty has its advantage ! Today, I'm happy to still have the strength to work, to meet the needs of my clients, to help them solve their problems. To be useful to others despite my age is both a joy and a duty. My work gives a sense to my life. I could not stay around doing nothing. Staying active keeps me alive. I wish all of you the same fate .

To be back in Lausanne meant, for Yvette and for me, the regaining of familiar surroundings, to again become our own master, to again have our children close to us, in one word to rebuild our world. We were lucky to find an apartment big enough in a small two-storey building, surrounded by tall trees, in an area close to the center but with many green spaces. The owner of the apartment was a member of the JCE with whom I maintained a good relationship. To house the offices of Ideal Film, I had

Today, April 6, 2013, I'm living the 30’562nd day of my life. Let us forget the first years, of which besides I have no more memories. If I try to return back enough and retrieve the little boy that I was then, the first image that I remember clearly - I was about 3 years old -, is as follows: I was sitting on a stair step in the house of my grandparents in Germany with a large hammer in my hand and I was beating aggressively on a peg to consolidate a small bench. I already showed the first signs of my instinct of future 'constructor' and 'undertaker'. I affirmed already my desire to prove my independence. In my mind, the 29'000 days that followed succeeded at a frantic pace. I refer those who are interested to the story of my life (see 'Memoirs of a child of the past century'). But back to today. Like yesterday, I still have my life ahead of me. If I can trust the statistics of life expectancy, I still have 6-8 years to live. The main thing is to know what to make of those years. The choice is wide : to love, to enjoy life, to be useful to others, to improve ma knowledge, to fight to stay healthy, to be prepared to death ? To choose becomes more and more difficult the more we advance in age, I should be able to step back, to take greater account of the long-term instead of living day by day. That's not easy... This morning, I decided to make an effort to look ahead instead of getting lost in my memories. According to my doctor, my cancer progression is slow, slow enough to let me tranquil till I die. So this is not a concern for me, since I'm going to win this race. Living is to fight again and again, for, as Rudyard Kipling said, "to become a man". I know, this author is now long forgotten, but perhaps you will remember one of his poems that have marked my youth: "If..”. Here are some excerpts: If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you. But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting. Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: ………. If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings -nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute, With sixty seconds' worth of distance run. Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And -which is more- you'll be a Man, my son ! Could you ?

I just found today the good news My best wishes for your recovery ! I know for myself the disease of which you were suffering It's a long story and to keep courage is the key to healing. My wish to you : a long healthy life with lots of happiness.

Occupied with various other activities, I stopped writing of my story last December.Now,at the beginning March, three months later, I wonder if I should go on and write the rest of my story. The answer is definitely yes. Even if my readers are few, I'm sure my pleasure to write will be shared by others. So let's go! Having - lived through the major events of the mid-20th century - the global crisis of the 30s, the rise of Nazism, the second world war, idealism and hope for a better life after

The period between Christmas and New Year is an opportunity to provide an update and move forward. I do not know how much time I have left to live. What is certain is that, despite the passing of time, I try to stay as often as possible in contact with the world around me. Many of my friends are dead, but GA has offered me the opportunity to meet new friends. Going through my old blogs, I found a text written in 2008 and I updated it. For all those who do not know me yet, here's the text. I got lazy for some time. I find it hard to write the rest of my story. For readers (not many!) who are interested in, this will allow them to wait. My birthdays : 0 = 10th of June 1929 : 11 years after the end of WWI, the war is forgotten, the world is expanding, peace among the nations thanks the "SDN, the "world leading senate" in Geneva. Everybody is enjoying freedom and getting rich, speculating at the stock market in Wall Street. Nobody is expecting the crash of the Black Friday, Arrived in Geneva 3 years ago, my father is beginning his career in the film business as a young clerk, working in a distribution company and travelling from theatre to theatre all around the country. Not very adapted to her life in a foreign country, my mother, away from her German family, is happy to have a lot of friends among the German community in town. And here I come.....the first (and last) child in a happy family. 10 = 10th of June 1939 : It’s a beautiful summer, but a lot of clouds are coming at the horizon. Every nation around us is preparing the next coming war. Here in Geneva, we are sure the great French army will defeat the hitlerian bandits. I'm playing at the beach on the lake of Geneva, with a lot of Friends from the middle and upper protestant society. I have problems with some my friends. Jew..., what does it means? I'm the same boy as my friends, I'm not different, I don’t understand why some children in the school call me dirty names, the same I heard during my holidays with my grandparents in Germany! 20 = 10th of June 1949: I just ended my last year at the "College de Calvin". Enough with latin and greek! Now I have to begin a practice period of 9 months as a future engineer, in a well known factory of the electrical industry. Waking up at five, working 9 hours a day. What a change ! I'm now a member of a Jewish socialist youth organization, anxious to follow the news of the fights in Israel, trembling about my elder friends who went to Israel to participate and regretting to not have the courage to go myself. 30 = 10th of June 1959 : Happily married, with 2 sons and a 1 year old daughter, after 2 years in a small town in the middle of the Swiss Alps, I'm beginning a new career as a consultant engineer with a professional organization of the coal und oil industry in Lausanne, a nice town at the lake of Geneva. My marriage with a girl from a strong catholic family brought me a lot of problems with my own -Jewish- family; these problems were well solved with the arriving of my children but I will never forget the experiences I made with the "fundamentalists" of both sides! 40 = 10th of June 1969 : I'm now working more than 60 hours a week, with 2 jobs : on one side expanding my own consultant company, with clients in western Europe and Maghreb, and on the other side managing with my father his own film distribution firm, with famous French actors, who become my friends, travelling a lot, and as an hobby spending 3 months a year in the Swiss Air Force as an Intelligence officer. As my youngest son says : "who is this man who comes from time to time to eat with us ?" Working too hard, running after the lost hours, giving the priority to business instead of family, I know I'm loosing the meaning of life but at present I don’t find a solution. 50 = 10th of June 1979 : 10 years later, the solution came from itself! My two main consultant companies in Paris and Geneva are bankrupt. I had to sell my house and lost a huge amount of money. Now I have time to concentrate my business life, on one side managing with my wife the film distribution company I inherited from my father, on the other working as an independent consulting engineer with a few clients who remained "faithful". We are still together as a family. My eldest son is married, with two daughters, living no far away from us. One son is working with us, managing his own film theatre, my daughter and the youngest son staying at home. Thinking back about the last 10 years, I'm sure that my financial "collapse" saved my family life. As my wife says, it was a choice: "stop expanding or divorce ". 60 = 10th of June 1989 : I'm now 60, feeling like an 50 years old man, well organized , fit, healthy and happy. Working not more than 40 hours a week, earning enough to cover my expenses and able to help my children, travelling from time to time to France, England or Germany for business and “pleasure”. My eldest son, married twice, has two daughters from his first wife and two sons from his second. The second son, also married has one son and a daughter, and the youngest has just met his partner, with whom he will live 17 years together. Unfortunately, my daughter is "seropositive" since 1984 (from a blood transfusion in Spain), but she is successfully fighting against the plague. She lives now with us, and we are helping. At my birthday, everybody is here, even the former wife of my eldest son : Philippe with his 4 children and his "wives", Gilles with his wife and his 2 children, Catherine with her friend and Nicolas with his partner, 17 persons with my wife and me. 70 = 10th of June 1999 : Back to Geneva, my home town. Feeling the same as I said ten years ago : "I'm now 70, feeling like a 60 years old man, well organized, fit, healthy and happy." Well, healthy again, because I wasn’t' 2 years ago. June 97, I was expecting a call from the hospital for a surgery to "resolve «a cancer problem. After 6 weeks of "obliged" holidays and an observation period of 2 years, these bad memories are forgotten. I'm now living with my wife (in a small flat (5 rooms) at the uppest floor of an old building in the center of Geneva, with a large terrace full of flowers and my deckchair. Still working, but only with a few old friends as clients, I'm thinking sometimes I should stop, but it keeps me alive and I'm happy to have opportunities to help people with my advices. The birthday party will be celebrated somewhere in a large place in the forest, with a cabin against the rain, because family and friends are too many to celebrate at home. My eldest son, who is now 47, organize it and is expecting about 40 people ! 80 = 10th of June 2009 : Time is passing so quickly, especially the last 10 years. Still healthy and happy. I recovered successfully from a heart attack in 2003, reducing my physical activity but still running twice a week and swimming twice a month. I'm now spending more time to help my wife with her arthritis problems, but still working about 20 hours a week, with my office at home. They were a lot of changes in the family. My daughter decided to stop her fighting against AIDS and left us peacefully in 2003. My eldest son, aged 56, died a year ago of a heart attack, probably because he smoked too much. His two eldest daughters are married and gave both birth to a daughter, who are now 12 and 8 months old. My wife is too handicapped for a large birthday party at home. Thank to Internet, we get regularly posters with photos from the grand- and great grand children. My two ‘remaining’ sons come twice a month for lunch. If I sum up my experiences, I could say that the years brought me some wisdom : - to never give up hope in the future, - to always take time to think and analyze, because each problem has more than one solution, - to always count first on myself. The others will help, but not at the first place, - to always communicate, a discussion with well-informed people is often a way to success, - friendship is a two ways matter. If you need something, you have to give first, I believe that I'm on Earth to realize a goal. Which one ? I will only know it at the end, but this faith helped me to overcome all the hard moments I had to live.

Rereading the story of my life, I realize that I got to the end of the previous chapter at a crucial timeBefore continuing the story of my adventures, it seems important to take here, as I certainly did in 1978, a moment to reflect on my state of mind after having lost almost lost everything, my fortune and most of my friends. I had a particularly strong desire for revenge . Although I knew I was primarily responsible for my failures, I also felt I had been deceived by all those who took ad

Getting old, feeling his strength diminishing, thinking more in the past than the future, seeing my friends disappear one by one ... Seeing the youth stand up to leave their seats when I boards a bus ... Seeing my hair in the mirror becoming more and more white, No longer be able to run as long and as fast as before and quickly losing my breath after few hundred meters, No longer feeling anything but tenderness at the sight of the beloved, Thinking with nostalgia of the happy times when I looked forward to future projects. A French song of the 80s, "Becoming old", sung in 1988 by Denise Grey when she was about 83 years old, comes to mind: We cling to the past Like ivy on a wall and the frozen mirrors Remind us of injuries Of time passed too quickly Laughing of our skin The heart is crumbling As the stones of a castle refrain : It is like a candle That you forget to turn off Which burn a lifetime So that we can paint On the walls of our eyes Everything we have learned Grief, tenderness Day blue, gray days This is also to get old And when like a bird We feel the departure time Wings flush with the back One off history This is not what hurts It does not even cry It's not hard to leave When you no longer want to stay At age 20, or even 40 years, one year more or less, it does not matter. But in my age (soon 84), each week matters. Since a few months, I have some problems with my short term memory. To ensure that my clients do not realize it too much, I have to take notes after each phone call and after each meeting. I prefer to send emails rather than calling and I print out all my emails to keep track of. And yet, despite my concerns, I feel young, very young, and I relive in my dreams every night episodes of my youth. I see myself as I was 20 years old, my first encounters with girls (and boys), the early days of my marriage, the birth of my first son ..... Whoever said "life is like a long quiet river" was very wrong to say, at least for me. When I will be a little less rushed, I will take the thread of my story, abandoned for almost 3 months, for my pleasure and, who knows, perhaps for yours.

I know I'm late... but it's never too late to wish you an HAPPY BIRTHDAY and my best wishes for the fulfillment of all your dreams, as a long life full of joys and contentments

The Swiss National Day is the national holiday of Switzerland, set on August 1. In 1291, the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden united to defend the peace upon the death of Emperor Rudolf I of Habsburg. Their union, one nucleus of the Old Swiss Confederacy, is recorded in the Federal Charter. If it’s true that you can judge a country’s image of itself by its National Day, then Switzerland definitely offers a relaxing sight. No military parades and no grandiose speeches on Lebensraum (living space). On August the first, the whole country gathers in public places around bonfires and listens to speeches about the independence of the country from the Austrian rulers. The first of August is celebrated solely in the municipalities. They set off fireworks, and these spectacular light shows are often ignited from the mountains and hills. I am proud to be Swiss, and on this solemn day, I wish everyone to live in a democratic country, at peace with itself and with the other countries.

Sorry, I cann't find any of these books here in Swtzerland I present to you my deepest condolences ... Our children are always our masters. Our life is such that our only destiny is to be their slaves Good luck for a lifetime as an subjected and still happy father.

My opinion is based on my own 70 years of experience, it is only my opinion, but maybe you'll be able to use it in your relationships with your mother. First, before answering your question, please carefully consider what you will tell your mother. Your problem is to live in harmony with her. No matter what you would like to say ... Do not sudden, listen rather than talking , and if you really want to talk, start by asking questions, as short as possible, and wait for her responses. Remember this about the history of the Jesuit who was asked: 'Is it true that the Jesuits always answer a question with another question?' His answer was: 'Who told you that?' And now your question : To be 100% confident in your sexuality and to be 100% gay are two totally different things. No matter what you're thinking of you today. The key of acception is, after having recognized where you are, you have agreed to be completely who you are. This often takes time. To know that we are bi or gay, different from most boys around us, is something rather easy to see. To accept it, with all the consequences that entails, is another thing, much more difficult. 100% being gay does not mean that for example you could not react physically, feeling tempted to a certain extent, to the view of a beautiful girl such a tomboy with characteristics of both sexes. Being gay 100%, it also means that you are ready to live and to reveal your sexuality. Take your time, you have your whole life ahead of you. Make your experiences and enjoy it.

A huge "Thank you" to all those who created and managed GA, to all those involved to keep it alive . The stories are the source of GA and remain an important part of GA, but this site is unique in the opportunity it gives to its members to share their joys and worries To follow and take part in forums has taught me that worldwide many of us have the same problems regardless of our origin, our age and where we live I had sometimes the feeling of being useful by my comments. Even an old guy like me is looking forward to this ninth anniversary . I wish LONG LIFE to GA....... at least for the few years I have left to live and enjoy it!

Funny question ! I in summer nude, in winter with a T-shirt, and throughout the year with my wife .