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What time is it when the fat lady sings?
A friend of mine recently brought up the topic of age. That
same day my daughter asked me just how old I was.
I told her, then asked her why she needed to know.
She replied, “Well just in case something happens to you, I
know how old you are.”
Ooookay… now that was disturbing. Why was she thinking
something was going to happen to me? Did I
look like something was going to happen to me? Paranoia set in….
I may be “x” number of years but I am in good health and
certainly don’t look “x” number of years. So why was I so touchy? All my life
I’d proudly touted my age like a medal of honor for hours put in and experience
earned. And then I hit my forties. And suddenly I began to notice a subtle
shift in attitude by others. The first time the grocery store clerk called me
Ma’am, I looked over my shoulder, for surely she didn’t mean me. And then there
was the kid who held the door for me on the way out. Surely he didn’t think I
was feeble. Then there was the time, recently, I went to a community party and
the women were talking about maternity leave, and day care and the latest GI
Joe toy and I realized that I didn’t have a clue anymore about any of these.
So just what constitutes aging? Is it just a matter of
biology? Or is it a complex set of circumstances…physical, emotional and
experiential? Is age really just a number?..The latter touted by people half my
age who wouldn’t know what an age spot was if Mother Nature planted one
right in the middle of their baby dumpling cheeks….
I think age may come in stages—the body feels it first, then
the psyche and finally the soul. Then again I know seniors that have more joie
de vivre than all of Generations X & Y put together. Perhaps it is simply a
delicate dance between body, heart and soul. If any one of these is damaged the
equation becomes imbalanced.
Satchell Paige once asked, “How old would you be if you didn’t
know how old you are?”… I’d like to think I’d be perpetually 38 or as I describe
myself , “Old enough to know better but young enough to still get into trouble.”…
Or perhaps, as the way I tried to describe myself to my kids once
--I’m just a kid like you but one who’s been around a bit longer.
Or perhaps what matters most is attitude…Society’s attitude
as well as the individual’s…For every person truly does have value regardless
of age and /or infirmity…Shouldn’t that attitude include respect for experience
and knowledge accumulated--something that for the most part must be acquired
over time? And yet for the first time ever in the history of mankind technological
advances have completely skewed our tried and true traditions and beliefs about
the process of aging and have pulled the proverbial rug out from under the feet
of a whole generation of Baby Boomers.
We were the generation that was gonna change the world,
and for the better I might add. And now at a time when we should be reaping
the benefits of that change, including honor and acclaim for time put in,
technology has left us behind and we are
finding ourselves forced to compete with people half our age for jobs,
entertainment, and respect, to name a few of our challenges.
And a terrifying fear of becoming obsolete has
overrun pride in our true accomplishments and wealth of experiences
—thus creating the uber youth culture of modern times,
where plastic surgery and hair replacement abound.
Maybe it is time for us Baby Boomers to take back our
rightful place in society. We do after all pay most of the country’s bills. Perhaps
it is self-respect that needs the face lift. We may be technologically
challenged but we are mentally, spiritually and experientially very much up
to life’s challenges and the task of aging, and aging well. And technology,
will not hold a crying child or help a teen to learn the ins and outs
of adolescence. Nor will it teach children sound values,
among them RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY. Nor will it hold
your hand or wrap its arms around you when you’re hurting.
And give you time proven advice on how to make things better.
When you sum it all up, I think it all comes down to this
one thing, “YOU ARE ONLY AS OLD AS YOU FEEL!”
And that includes your attitude about yourself and about life in
general. So the next time someone asks you how old you are throw it back
at them with this one word… “TIMELESS”…. Then proceed
to be true to yourself and all that you hold dear. And never, EVER
apologize for being older or getting older…Because the alternative ain’t so great…
And as for what time it is when the fat lady sings?...
Well, it’s time to get a bigger auditorium…Because that lady got "back"
and a set o’pipes that ain’t goin’ anywhere, anytime soon!...
And nor, for that matter, is her audience! ...
Your L'il Missy,
Pegasus
A friend of mine recently brought up the topic of age. That
same day my daughter asked me just how old I was.
I told her, then asked her why she needed to know.
She replied, “Well just in case something happens to you, I
know how old you are.”
Ooookay… now that was disturbing. Why was she thinking
something was going to happen to me? Did I
look like something was going to happen to me? Paranoia set in….
I may be “x” number of years but I am in good health and
certainly don’t look “x” number of years. So why was I so touchy? All my life
I’d proudly touted my age like a medal of honor for hours put in and experience
earned. And then I hit my forties. And suddenly I began to notice a subtle
shift in attitude by others. The first time the grocery store clerk called me
Ma’am, I looked over my shoulder, for surely she didn’t mean me. And then there
was the kid who held the door for me on the way out. Surely he didn’t think I
was feeble. Then there was the time, recently, I went to a community party and
the women were talking about maternity leave, and day care and the latest GI
Joe toy and I realized that I didn’t have a clue anymore about any of these.
So just what constitutes aging? Is it just a matter of
biology? Or is it a complex set of circumstances…physical, emotional and
experiential? Is age really just a number?..The latter touted by people half my
age who wouldn’t know what an age spot was if Mother Nature planted one
right in the middle of their baby dumpling cheeks….
I think age may come in stages—the body feels it first, then
the psyche and finally the soul. Then again I know seniors that have more joie
de vivre than all of Generations X & Y put together. Perhaps it is simply a
delicate dance between body, heart and soul. If any one of these is damaged the
equation becomes imbalanced.
Satchell Paige once asked, “How old would you be if you didn’t
know how old you are?”… I’d like to think I’d be perpetually 38 or as I describe
myself , “Old enough to know better but young enough to still get into trouble.”…
Or perhaps, as the way I tried to describe myself to my kids once
--I’m just a kid like you but one who’s been around a bit longer.
Or perhaps what matters most is attitude…Society’s attitude
as well as the individual’s…For every person truly does have value regardless
of age and /or infirmity…Shouldn’t that attitude include respect for experience
and knowledge accumulated--something that for the most part must be acquired
over time? And yet for the first time ever in the history of mankind technological
advances have completely skewed our tried and true traditions and beliefs about
the process of aging and have pulled the proverbial rug out from under the feet
of a whole generation of Baby Boomers.
We were the generation that was gonna change the world,
and for the better I might add. And now at a time when we should be reaping
the benefits of that change, including honor and acclaim for time put in,
technology has left us behind and we are
finding ourselves forced to compete with people half our age for jobs,
entertainment, and respect, to name a few of our challenges.
And a terrifying fear of becoming obsolete has
overrun pride in our true accomplishments and wealth of experiences
—thus creating the uber youth culture of modern times,
where plastic surgery and hair replacement abound.
Maybe it is time for us Baby Boomers to take back our
rightful place in society. We do after all pay most of the country’s bills. Perhaps
it is self-respect that needs the face lift. We may be technologically
challenged but we are mentally, spiritually and experientially very much up
to life’s challenges and the task of aging, and aging well. And technology,
will not hold a crying child or help a teen to learn the ins and outs
of adolescence. Nor will it teach children sound values,
among them RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY. Nor will it hold
your hand or wrap its arms around you when you’re hurting.
And give you time proven advice on how to make things better.
When you sum it all up, I think it all comes down to this
one thing, “YOU ARE ONLY AS OLD AS YOU FEEL!”
And that includes your attitude about yourself and about life in
general. So the next time someone asks you how old you are throw it back
at them with this one word… “TIMELESS”…. Then proceed
to be true to yourself and all that you hold dear. And never, EVER
apologize for being older or getting older…Because the alternative ain’t so great…
And as for what time it is when the fat lady sings?...
Well, it’s time to get a bigger auditorium…Because that lady got "back"
and a set o’pipes that ain’t goin’ anywhere, anytime soon!...
And nor, for that matter, is her audience! ...
Your L'il Missy,
Pegasus
Last edited by pegasus on Thu Nov 12, 2009 7:43 am; edited 6 times in total
