by Carl McMillen
My “good friend” out at the VA Medical Center recently said, “Well, McMillen, now that you’re sixty, there’s no need to ask your age - you qualify for carbon dating!” Yes folks, a Major Life Event has struck and I’m now getting payback for telling other seniors “Old age is relative!”, “We’re not getting older, we’re getting better!” and “You’re only as old as you feel!” Or my favorite, “You look wonderful for your age – almost life-like!”
A Pew Research Center survey seemed to confirm the familiar saying that you’re never too old to feel young. In fact, no matter what their chronological age, most people said they aren’t “old” and that they feel younger than their birthday count. The Pew survey found a few other interesting results when they asked people, “What age is old?”
- More than half of those under 30 thought people are old before age 60.
- Middle-aged respondents said “old” is closer to age 70.
- People who are 60 and older reported that people aren’t old until they reach 75.
The Pew study also reported that seven-in-ten respondents said there were benefits to getting older, like enjoying more time with their family, more time for hobbies, more financial security, and more respect. What? Just who the heck were these people interviewing?
Another good friend offered a few observations “just in case you’re feeling a little older today”:
- The people starting college this fall were born in 1991.
- The CD was introduced two years before they were born.
- Two years after they were born, Nolan Ryan retired from the Texas Rangers.
- They’ve always had an answering machine and cable.
- They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
- They never heard; “Where’s the beef?”, “I’d walk a mile for a Camel”, or “de plane Boss, de plane”.
- They don’t have a clue how to use a typewriter.
As a certified senior…
- I can now call any young lady at Wal-Mart “Sweetie” or “Honey” and they just smile because I look harmless,
- no one questions why that device I wear on my hip only handles phone calls, and a blackberry is something I find in a pie,
- if you see me bending over a very long time tying my shoes, it’s okay – I’m just thinking of something else to do while I’m down there.
- it’s getting to where I have short-term memory loss.
- also, it’s getting to where I have short-term memory loss.
