I found this in the old Obituaries thread in the T4T forum from 2012. As I discussed the death of Davy Jones at age 66 from what sounded like an old man's disease which elicits more sympathy from me than does wrecking one's body with drugs, booze, or extreme obesity.
Addendum, as one might expect after four years
Update: I have lost 20 of those pounds.
I have also lost lots of old relatives, too. I wonder if I am getting obsolete.
....Maybe I need to develop the knack for code-switching when referring to time. Introducing the past to people who might learn from it isn't all bad. That is the most benign way to preserve the past. Preserving old neuroses, bigotry, sentimentality, and corrupt institutions is hurtful, and such does more to hurt the young and ultimately alienate them from the old than even difference.
pbrower2a Wrote:I have plenty of euphemisms for my age -- as in "It's a young 56" that I can justify because I don't have diabetes or liver problems -- and I still have good knees. I'd like to lose about as many pounds as I have years, and I would rather be around people who act and think young. A gout attack can remind me of how old I am and compel me to use handicap parking. Without gout, I can do some hiking and swimming. I'd rather be where I can do both.
But I know how old I am when I expose how much a Boomer I am through my knowledge, my memories (I can remember John F. Kennedy!), and my tastes in music (classical -- and I miss the large selections of CDs of classical music that used to be accessible) and especially movies. I expose my age when I find that the mass culture no longer fits me. I also know that advertisers have little use for me unless it is for items and experiences for the elderly.
But just as 16 and 16 and is short of adulthood even for someone mature for the age, 56 is 56 and is clearly no longer young even if one is intellectually alert and in generally good health. Could I be a good influence upon teenagers? Almost certainly. But don't expect me to be so much a pal as a mentor. If I should ever marry a woman with children I might share A Clockwork Orange with her but keep it under lock and key because it is an R-rated movie... and Meet Me in St. Louis with her and the kids.
Addendum, as one might expect after four years
Update: I have lost 20 of those pounds.
I have also lost lots of old relatives, too. I wonder if I am getting obsolete.
....Maybe I need to develop the knack for code-switching when referring to time. Introducing the past to people who might learn from it isn't all bad. That is the most benign way to preserve the past. Preserving old neuroses, bigotry, sentimentality, and corrupt institutions is hurtful, and such does more to hurt the young and ultimately alienate them from the old than even difference.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.