LOL,,, hey wait we are talking about old guys and I just remembered, I am a old guy!

Lol. Just for the record I don’t think 61 is “waiting to die” or even really that old now-a-days. My dads 81 and looks and acts like he’s 55. My point was less about age and more about making a very stupid decision and worse dragging his daughter into it. Don’t think by any means he deserved to get piped in the head but I’m not surprised a confrontation ensued. Stevie wonder could see that coming! Some personal responsibility and common sense could have prevented that. You can’t control how others act and frankly it’s not his job. If they were bothering him and committing a crime (don’t even know if they were) he should have called the water patrol and moved along. Does it suck that a group of dipsh*ts were being loud and disturbing his nice day? Yeah. But again stupid to put yourself in a position like that. And I see it all too often. Entitled people behaving in a manner with ZERO considerations for the consequences or consideration of the fact there’s a lot of unstable people out there. You never know who you’re flipping off or blowing up at. Is being confrontational and making sure someone knows how you feel about something really worth the potential fall out? Well, Not on this case it appears.

Not in most cases, like you said too many nut jobs out there, not worth it, it usually doesn't end well.

We've all made poor choices and said things we should have kept to ourselves. We've all put ourselves in harm's way for the wrong reasons.

None, as you point out, validate or justify assault.

I'm not at all surprised, either, by the violent response from self-absorbed punks. And unless one of them invaded my current six feet of personal space, I'd have kept my mouth shut. But people do dumb things when—right or wrong— they're afraid.

For those who see 61 as particularly old, I'm 59 (and have a successful, self-sustaining 26-year-old son and 22-year-daughter, both of whom I'd dis-own if they behaved as these thin-skinned 20-somethings did) and put in 10 interesting mountain bike miles yesterday, and will again today.

You more-youthful folks are welcome to join me next time you make it to Napa and drag me around the trails. I have extra bikes if needed.

Matt, in two years you'll be over the hill....

My gal already has the hole dug in our backyard.

I agree. I’ve definitely put myself in stupid situations a time or two. and if this dude pulled out a gun and dumped the guy with the bat my point would still stand - you never know who you’re f*cking with and most of the time, it isn’t worth it. Most of the time it’s better to (as Keith pointed out above) take the higher road, shake your head and move on (and that goes for all involved - loud music and you don’t agree about someone’s “social distancing”? Move along...angry dude and his daughter telling you to turn down the music and social distance, um ok. Whatever). But it seems now days entitlement and anger rules so many. And I will say if there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout my career is this - people HATE being told what to do or that they are wrong. And most of the time it will absolutely insight rage.

this is where having the right to say or do something VS actually doing it takes common sense.. and believe me that isnt as common as it used to be

Look at this island from Google Earth and see all the Blue Tarp Homes on the island, I'm sure they have problems often.

I’m 60 and was thinking the same.

My wife has kept me in the car a number of times when my balls were thinking for my brain..


I used to be a bit of a trouble maker in my earlier days but once people started pulling guns, that was it for me.
I always said I was willing to get my ass beat for what I believed in but not killed.

Now it’s way worse.
Young people in the hood w/no regard to human life, thugs in cars that are packin’, etc, etc.

Watch the news and see what people die for.

I loved the part in Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino where the thugs confront him and he says, “you know the one guy you ****ed with that you knew you shouldn’t have?
That guy is me.”