[
... mumble ... grumble ... Rumble ... grump ... ] Hey, you kids!
Git offa my lawn!!
Eh? What?? Yeah, I'm a GOF. What's it to ya? Or, ... well, ... at least, I
was one ... oncet upon a time ... ....
Time was ... it started as a amp technician's thread, talkin' all tecnical, tubes 'n' wires 'n' stuff. But that was back in the olde days, before my time, an' beyond my expertise. By the time I came along it was just a bunch of crusty ol' cusses complainin' 'bout the aches & pains of gettin' olde, so I fit right in by then.
But it wasn't all grumpin' & complainin' all the time. No, sir, by cracky! In fact, there was a whole lotsa commiseratin' and encouragement goin' out to those who were havin' some really bad medical times.

Heartfelt personal empathy was occasionally mixed with righteous indignation at certain situations. And, of course, the inevitable politics nearly closed it down more'n oncet. If you didn't see it, you can only
imagine the grumpiness!



But, fortunately, that was usually only temporary and oncet resulted in a move to the "Off Topic" forum, though some TB memberships didn't survive that move.
And, just between us grumps, there was quite a bit of appreciation and thankfulness for life in general and the great outdoors in particular goin' on there! Fond rememberances of giggin' 'n' livin' in days past.

Some here will remember
@alaskaleftybass in particular, a right jolly olde young'un, who would often "call roll" of the GOFs just to stir up the conversation and interject his own love and gratitude for music, his beautiful Alaskan home & work and his lovely wife (not necessarily in that order). Then one day we heard he had passed, ... suddenly, ... and without warning.

Not so long after that, the thread was closed and it has now joined our other bittersweet memories.
So, YES, I say
proudly. I
was a grumpy olde f

rt. An' if I sometimes seem to
still be one, ... well, ... just chalk it up as a tribute to my fellow GOFs, ... wherever they may be now, ... they know who they are, ... and who we
were ... ...
Mmmm, ... uh, ... Huh? Wazzat?!? Now, I'm not tellin' you kids again!
Stay offa my lawn!! [
... grump ... Rumble... grumble ... mumble ... ]
.