Old People

[S.A. Boggs]

Now that I am at the tender age of 66, I have needed to look at what "old" is. Is old when your body is old or is old when your spirit is old. I see more old young people then the opposite. Every time someone refers to "me" as a senior citizen I ask them why they qualify me as such. Other then my 3 grandchildren I'll be damned if I am grandpa to the general pubic, same thing as a sales person refers to me as "bud". When this happens my bride walks away as she knows I will respond and it won't be kindly.
Sam

[Allen]

Some of us are little boys trapped in an old man's body. Unfortunately time stands still for no one---the clock is ticking. I suppose it is our memories that keep our spirits young.

[S.A. Boggs]

I hate to see guy's just sit around waiting for the grim reaper just because they are "old". I have cheated the sucker three times and I plan on keeping on running as I need the exercise. As a Christian death has no fear because my Boss, you know the "Jewish" carpenter overcame death. Now life and the federal stupidity is another concern.
Sam

[jsaviano]

Enjoy it!

[Mark in Ottawa]

Sam. Notwithstanding that you like the exercise, be careful if you run on concrete or asphalt. I am about to get my third artificial knee, mostly as a result of 25 years of jogging on hard surfaces. On the other hand, it really is both relaxing and addictive and I do miss it. After the second knee went, I took up cycling in a modest way and that was much less hard on the knees although it can literally be a pain in the butt

[bruce]

Re: OP. Some think 70 is the new 60. Possibly. But, do see a LOT more people that have to get new knees and hips, etc., in order to get around at the new 60, because they still have 70 years of wear/tear on their bodies.

So ... how old is old? It depends. Mind set has a bit to do with it, but no amount of positive thinking will change the processes of bodily decay that are inseparable from life. Once the baby boom put far more young people into the general population. Now Millennials outnumber by far everyone including the baby boomers. There are just a lot more of them ... and those of us who are retirement age, while we are living a bit longer we are still only taking longer before we die. We cost more to keep healthy. We require more daily care. We produce less. From a cold hard dollar/cents perspective ... we are a burden on society. Stinks to be a burden. Guess it's the price everyone else pays for those of us who keep on living longer than the Social Security and pension programs expected. The wonders of medical science are to blame. Once upon a time before the last time the world went crazy, a highly industrialized modern nation used the cost of caring for normal healthy children compared to sick children to teach math problems to children in school ... and help them come to grips with the costs/burden on society of sick, weak, deformed, damaged people both young ... and old. That sort of thinking did not lead to death panels. What it led to was a lot worse.

So ... how old is old? To those who see us as in the way, we are old, we are in fact to old. We need to find a way to shuffle off this mortal coil. We're in the way. to those who love us, who need us, we are mostly older than are they, but we are not in the way. If we were not alive, they would grieve our loss far more than bean counters totaling up dollars and cents. My nephew and niece definitely lost out the day I buried their father/my brother. They grew up without a father in a world that is still incredibly difficult for any woman raising children alone. They lost far more than money not earned, etc. They lost everything that even a rich man's money cannot buy. My grandson and granddaughter would definitely loose out if I were no longer alive. They would loose all that I am trying to provide for them ... maybe not trust fund status but most certainly more than paper receipts for junk I bought for myself! They would loose out on having my wife and I share with them the wonder years, the growing years, the exploring years, the ignoring years (yes ... generation gap is nothing new ... sooner or later happens to all) and of course the I wish I could see you more years (which depending on how you handle the other years will be a desire on both your part and their part for more years to share together).

So ... how old is old? I am 61 years old as of last Monday. I am old. In fact, I am older than I've ever been. SO old that once upon a time I never conceived I could ever be SO old. To say otherwise is simply an exercise in denial. I will not try to live in denial. Life is to short to pretend. Best to face reality. Reality is that I am about to be a "senior citizen" by any estimate of the word. I will at some point retire ... probably age 68-70. I will see increasingly more young people than even today are to be seen simply because those of my once upon a time world are dying off. The future belongs to the young people. At some point they will inherit everything my generation produced ... good and bad. At present, my generation is leaving them on the hook for our borrowing $.42/dollar to finance federal spending we wanted ... but woudn't pay for. They will be on the hook for what we did and did not do. IF things don't change, they have every right to build outdoor toilets over our collective graves.

So ... how old is old? Old is what you and I are because compared to the rule of life, we come up short in years left ... we are old. If some call us grandfather ... Cool. My grandchildren call me "GDaddy!!!" I am honored by their love. If others call me grandfather ... I will not get angry. Enemies have over the years called me evil names. That is what enemies do. Some not my enemies have called me names not so polite. We live in a impolite society. I will not waste my life arguing with people whose lives are marked by poverty and emptiness. Some have called me names because of what I do as a pastor. I wear the names as a badge of honor for Christ. I stand in the shadow of such giants who also bore such names. Praise God for such names. Similar ones were used of great men and women of old, those who God used in the Old Testament era, those who God used to shape the New Testament era and the entire world in wh.ich we now live. We are surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses. May all of us live lives that will be so used of God that we will be the giants upon whose shoulders others may stand and do more. JMHO. Sincerely. bruce.

Now that I am at the tender age of 66, I have needed to look at what "old" is. Is old when your body is old or is old when your spirit is old. I see more old young people then the opposite. Every time someone refers to "me" as a senior citizen I ask them why they qualify me as such. Other then my 3 grandchildren I'll be damned if I am grandpa to the general pubic, same thing as a sales person refers to me as "bud". When this happens my bride walks away as she knows I will respond and it won't be kindly.
Sam

[Fred]

Sam, I didn't know that you were so young! I'm just three years younger than you. Mentally, I feel like I'm in my thirties. My joints ache though with arthritis and wear, so I move around slowly and calmly so I don't twist anything.
Now I know why older folks would always walk slow. Because they can avoid injury by doing so.

[Allen]

Now I know why older folks would always walk slow.

What makes them drive so slow though? I still drive like a bat out of h3ll.

[louigi]

What makes them drive so slow though? I still drive like a bat out of h3ll.

Allen,

I feel the same way and still say " I wish that old ba#$% would get out of the passing lane !! LOL

I am 67 and have glasses, dentures, and getting hearing aids on friday. Just call me the Bionic Old Man

[dave]

You guys are a bunch of kids! I'm 83 and plan on breaking my Dads record 93! His father was also in his 90's.

[Vern Humphrey]

Allen,

I feel the same way and still say " I wish that old ba#$% would get out of the passing lane !! LOL

I am 67 and have glasses, dentures, and getting hearing aids on friday. Just call me the Bionic Old Man

Be prepared for a shock when you get those hearing aids!

That's when you'll learn all those silent farts you've been letting -- weren't!

[aintright]

Be prepared for a shock when you get those hearing aids!

That's when you'll learn all those silent farts you've been letting -- weren't!

LOL , yeah , it's called "the bill"
Kenneth

[S.A. Boggs]

Sam. Notwithstanding that you like the exercise, be careful if you run on concrete or asphalt. I am about to get my third artificial knee, mostly as a result of 25 years of jogging on hard surfaces. On the other hand, it really is both relaxing and addictive and I do miss it. After the second knee went, I took up cycling in a modest way and that was much less hard on the knees although it can literally be a pain in the butt

I live in the country, gravel in the driveway is the closest I have. Because of neuropathy of my feet I have padded shoes for summer and boots for cold weather. Cold of any sort really bothers them, I am wearing my insulated ones now. With my new inserts and removal of the cataracts I haven't "seen" this good in 50 years! Imagine, just reading/computer glasses. Wolf and I will go walk [she runs] the track at the "Seniors Center" and after Church [huge side yard]. I have a theory on running, I can get into mischief that much quicker. My wife, who works at Wal-Mart, now has a much faster gait then I do.
Sam

[Merc]

I turned 74 in June. My active lifestyle includes long distance biking which my dr. loves. A new shoulder, hip and fused spine are mere bumps in the arthritis road. Discovered antique collecting when I retired early at age 55 which included military rifles a few years ago. Had a rotator cuff repaired in July which cost me much of the summer to rehab. I'm putting up a good fight and refuse to let old age creep up on me although I'm sure it is.

[Dan Shapiro]

Oddly enough. My definition of "old people" changes............as I get older. Go figure.