I turn 61 Wednesday.

It seemed like an age where I could look forward to retirement, doing some volunteer work, playing with the grandkids, traveling and savoring the fruits of a lifetime of labor.

Yet, I find myself angry, worried and bitter.

I am mad at myself for becoming fat, out of shape and old. Outdoor activities that I used to enjoy are now difficult or even impossible. It’s so easy to let yourself go and allow the aches and pains of aging to become a constant worry.

As I approach retirement age, I worry that there will be no Social Security, no Medicare, and no military benefits and that I will have to continue laboring until I die.

I’ve proudly worked for newspapers for my entire adult life, starting in high school. Now an industry that, for all its faults, does a wonderful job keeping our politicians honest and simply trying to tell the truth is in financial jeopardy in a new, digital age. I embrace the new technology personally, but wonder where all the bloggers and commentators and websites will find the information to comment upon if there are no real journalists doing the daily legwork needed in a free society.

I’m angry at Utah politicians for more than a few reasons.

Why do Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Sen. Mike Lee think selling off thousands of acres of public lands in Utah for a mere pittance is such a great idea? Don’t they know that recreating in these open spaces is one of the few affordable forms of affordable recreation we have left? We might not be able to afford to go to Europe or even Disneyland, but we can camp, picnic, hike or ride our ATV in Utah.

For that matter, why can’t wilderness lovers, wildlife lovers, hunters, anglers, skiers and off-highway vehicle enthusiasts quit fighting among themselves and realize that the threats of privatizing our public lands by Congress are much more frightening than losing a wilderness fight or having a few roads closed? How does having no place to hunt or fish and roads closed by private landowners sound? Why is there no mass anger?

Why does our congressional delegation refuse to fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund from oil drilling royalties as it was designed so our cities, counties and state can have a few dollars to develop parks, trails and public recreation centers? Are they so far out of touch with the common family that they don’t realize that, for many, affordable or free access to these areas is all we have to do in our spare time?

Why do many of our legislators think it’s OK to bond and tax for a couple of billion dollars to build a potentially useless pipeline to bring water from Lake Powell to St. George, yet won’t fund basic recreation needs?

For that matter, where do our politicians get off ignoring the consensus of most climatologists that the Earth is getting warmer and, unless we do something about it soon, the future of our children and grandchildren will be at risk? We make it simply too easy for them to be bought off by lobbyists who think we can blindly go on forever polluting our planet without paying the price.

I am angry at bought-off politicians, a fixed system that is destroying the middle class, apathetic voters, and the fact I feel so helpless to change any of this.

I’ve been an optimist most of my life, a person who looks for the good in bad situations. I love a good, honest political discussion with someone I disagree with. I consider myself happy.

Yet, as I turn 61 Wednesday, I am becoming increasingly angry, fearful and bitter over what greed, shortsighted decisions and selfishness is doing to not only our country but the world.

wharton@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribtomwharton