That's because it is normal. People die young all the time. CTE is a serious problem. But these guys know it. The money is too much to resist. And given that choice.....at that age.....I'd be surprised if we, at that age, wouldn't do the same thing......take the money.
I'm 67. When I was 19, 20, 21, etc. all I wanted was to drink up life. I don't mean liquor, I mean life. I played sports....hard. I chased women....hard. I used 'substances'.....hard. I did everything hard. And that continued into my 30's. At a young age, a full life to 50 was much more attractive, enticing and acceptable than a dull life to 75. And as any wise old man might say, your outlook changes as you age. A renegotiation. Now a dull life to 75 - 80 seems like a decent deal. Still don't want to live to be 90, drooling in my lap and not knowing my kid's names or faces. The way I look at it now, I'm playing with house money. Lucky me.
Amen brother!
I’m 75, still practicing, and hoping to keep working till 80.
(That’s when Wright did his best stuff).
But I am definitely slower, and aware of it, so we’ll see.
Point is, as you said, rust never sleeps, and it doesn’t need to be dull till 80.
I take my ‘05 Road Glide out for a 50-100 mile ride on the weekends, weather permitting, drink Guinness every day, and swim 2000 meters every other day.
Even have an occasional heater couple times a month . Also just spent two years on radiation/hormone treatment for stage III prostate cancer, which looks like I beat.
To your point however, I watched my dad play golf till his mid to late eighties, then do a slow nose dive to 99.
Like you, I don’t want and am not going to do that. Existing aint living.
Have a fantastic 30 year old associate who should be licensed this year who’s been with me through undergrad, masters and now internship - 7 years - and she is a superstar!
75 year old experience and hopefully wisdom pairs well with 30 year old knowledge and certian computer skills in dealing with electronic interfacing with multiple governmental agencies, all of whom are assholes, and her fellow millennials.
This wasn’t supposed to go this long, but you know us old guys.. just never shut up. Won’t be 90 either, accidentally or on purpose.
Again, not into existing - paraphrasing Yoda: live or do not live, there is no exist.