New Age

Like a lot of you, as I go through my daily morning routine, I listen to the radio to keep abreast of the latest news, weather forecast, and so on.  Recently, I was totally shocked when I heard the newscaster refer to a woman who had been mugged as “elderly.” The woman was 64 years old!

So, if young people—as the newscaster is—consider 64 as elderly, what do you say about people in their 70s or 80s? I personally think that mature would be a good word for everyone 50 and older, no matter their age. Of course, I suppose those in their 90s could be called elderly, but certainly no one else.

Don’t you find that age has undergone rejuvenation in the last few decades? Today, 50 is the new 30, and 60 is the new 40, and so on. Because today’s mature people have access to better health care, improved nutrition and are aware of the benefits of keeping active, they seem to age in a new way when compared to their parents and grandparents. I remember a day when people who were retiring at 65 seemed to immediately go downhill. They rocked on the front porch, literally, and looked at the world go by instead of being a participant in life.

Because of a large gap in ages with my siblings, I have nephews and nieces who are now retiring. And I can assure you that they don’t look “elderly.” They are all engaged in a variety of activities and give little thought to the number of candles on their birthday cake. Life has so much more to offer them. And every other retiree.

But, trust me, not everyone is looking at age in a new way. That is painfully apparent whenever your year of birth is required for security reasons to access accounts and such. As you give it, you can see the clerk’s eyes move ever so slightly as he/she tries to calculate your age. When I’m in a playful mood I recite my year of birth after subtracting a century from it. It’s fun to see the clerk glance at you, not quite sure if he/she heard right but hesitant to ask for a correction. Innocently, I simply say: “Don’t you think I look good for my age?”