I had a brush with my own old age that made me laugh. I was recently arranging a SCUBA dive while on a trip in the Caribbean.

I realized that I had left my PADI certification card at home on accident. The dive master said, no problem, I will just look it up on the Internet. I gave him my name, DOB, and to my surprise, no record showed up.

Being a little concerned, I called PADI directly and asked them why my records weren't on-line. After a few minutes on the phone with the PADI rep trying different variations of my last name to no avail, she asked what year I had gotten certified. I told her 1981.

She said "Oh my. I have to go back to the microfilm records to find a certification that old. I will have to call you back."

About an hour later we got the call verifying my status.

Well youngster, I did my PADI cert in 1978, if my foggy memory serves me right. Nice to know where to look if I ever have to dredge it up....

Oh my, a record that old is probably chiseled into one of the stone tablets that they have piled up somewhere around their back office.

FYI Send them a photo copy of your card and they will update the Internet database for free.

What's a "photo copy"? Is that like a mimeograph?

That is wild exaggeration. I am positive they had just upgraded to baked clay tablets.

I think he means take a picture of the card with your smartphone then convert it to pfd with an app and e-mail it to them, isn't that what a photocopy is?

My PADI card would be dated 1978 as well. But it was left as a good-faith deposit for a diving trip in St. Croix but my ship left unexpectedly early and I completely forgot about the card for 20 years.

But on general cautionary principle I wouldn't go diving without serious refresher training. I hear one has to use their iPhone to keep track of air remaining .... or something like that.

I agree completely. I am definitely an ex-diver, due to inelastic alveoli in the lungs - doctor's orders. I have seen many diving accidents involving somewhat elderly (over 45) divers getting back into the water.

Not old enough to have a stone tab record yet, but I can definitely feel my body getting old. Brain's been writing cheques my body couldn't cash. Had a few bad crashes on my skis this winter because I thought my legs would be in position but they weren't.

Gag! I must be The Crypt Keeper then.

You know you're getting older when they no longer ask if you qualify for the senior discount...they just give it to you.

You know you're getting older when that cute young girl at work calls you 'dapper' and compares you to her father.

You know you're getting older when you realize that it's no accomplishment to be young; anyone can do it! To get from 'young' to 'old' requires hard work, brains, and a little luck.

I'm well on my way, and in my shoebox of life, I have a great wife, offspring, memories, scars, trophies, and bills to mark my passage.

I can do now, anything worthwhile that I could do then. It just takes a little longer to recover.

I figured out I was getting old. because I don't bounce as well as I used to, it takes longer to heal up, and uh, uh, I don't remember the last one.

You must be old enough to have kids if you think this is funny:

I know what you mean about that!

I hate it when my brain tells my legs to do something....and my legs do....too slowly...but by then they should be setting up for the next turn.......Ummmph!....Lets see....I don't think I broke anything....Hope nobody I know saw that!

BTW, I highly recommend Turks & Caicos to anyone looking for a new place to dive. It was over-the-top awesome.

I got my PADI in 1979, so I guess that would confirm I'm only middle-age then!

The last time I went to look for it was 8 years ago, in the Bahamas (pleasure cruise port of call) and couldn't find it. I had no idea you could call. So I spent the day snorkeling with the kids. Still had a great time, and I was amazed at how quickly my lungs and ears adjusted. Didn't much appreciate the sunburn I wound up with. Too shallow to filter out the Sun's UV and I didn't wear a shirt.

You're getting old if you recognize these guys.......

I dunno, but my wife recently told me I'm "pretty spry".

All you youngsters!!! You only think you are old! My first PADI card is 1983 - but I got that one to replace the card I was using before - it was no longer accepted. It was dated 1958.


A real antique :-)


You are only as young as you feel,

Jerry