Pat had had circulation problems for years. He had been the DoD fire chief for the Pensacola area, and his weight went up after he retired. He did everything to the levels he was used to in the FD, and I was the same way since I retired from running a military test lab. We emailed daily, and I hadn't heard ftom him for a few days when one of his sister's friends joined a Facebook site we both used just so he could tell Pat's friends that he'd passed on.
I learned ambulance electronics from the Global Emergency Vehicles Company shop manager years ago, so Pat and I would often bounce ideas off each other
Unfortunately, as we age, things that used to be easy get harder, things that didn't weigh a lot suddenly get heavier, and short walks get longer. That's life -- we learn to adjust and adapt. Unfortunately, I've never had "light weight" hobbies/interests - restoring steam locomotives and Army trucks, plus my machine shop all mean I wear steel toe boots instead of sandals. I have a 1000# lift that I use to load heavy things into a truck, I have a gantry crane with an air-operated hoist in my shop, and I have a monorail hoist to load material into my machines. My electrician neighbor comes to me when he needs something modified, and I go to him for electrical needs. My neighbors have a 15 year old son -- he's always willing to lend me a hand, especially when he sees a $10 bill in my hand.
