Tag: Getting Old

Looking Down the Road

~ danbonbooks ~ Leave a comment

Ever the comedian, George Burns commented about his advancing age this way:  “When I get up in the morning I check the obituaries.  If I’m not there, I have breakfast.”

While I continue to chuckle at Burns’ many observations about getting on in years, the fact that I am about to enter my ninth decade makes we wonder … how in the hell did this happen?  And so quickly?  It seems like only a moment ago I was a kid trying to get up the nerve to climb the monkey bars behind Park School in Ossining, New York, and now, all of a sudden, I am struggling to remember why I walked into the laundry room.

Fortunately, I am in relatively good health, and I can point with some comfort to ancestors who have lived long and productive lives.  But there is no doubt that I am closer to the end than to the beginning, so the question becomes: how to make the most of the time remaining? 

One important strategy, I believe, is to avoid the family drama that colors the lives of so many … tensions … silences … withdrawal … something said 25 years ago.  Frankly, those sorts of things used to cause me distress … now they just make me tired.  Notably, and as with so many other things, my mother was correct in her prescient declaration: “I prefer to spend time with people who care about me.”

Conversely, the opportunity to grow old with my life partner of almost sixty years is a singular joy that I know is denied many.  She and I are fortunate to live in a retirement community surrounded by kind and caring folks of our age, and the close proximity of children and grandchildren comforts us in the knowledge that their love and support are always close at hand.

In 2016, country music icon Toby Keith was paired with Clint Eastwood at a celebrity golf tournament in California.  During their time together, Keith asked Eastwood how, in approaching his 88th birthday, he had such relentless energy to which Eastwood replied:  “I just get up in the morning and try to be productive.  I don’t let the old man in.” 

Inspired by Eastwood’s words, Keith, in 2018, wrote the ballad “Don’t Let The Old Man In.”  Among the thoughtful lyrics in that song are these: “Ask yourself how old you would be if you didn’t know the day you were born.”  Powerful words, especially as they urge us to consider the way in which we frame the lives we live … and the way we see ourselves … each day.

The chorus of Keith’s song concludes with meaningful guidance for those of us wondering how best to face the future:

When he rides up on his horse

And you feel that cold bitter wind

Look out your window and smile

Don’t let the old man in

Lights, Camera … Wait … What?

~ danbonbooks ~ Leave a comment

Pre-pandemic, we were regular moviegoers.  A nearby “multi-screen” theater made it easy for us to take in a couple of shows each month but with the hysteria about social distancing and assorted other hurdles, we simply stayed away.  And though things gradually returned to normal, we continued to remain home and watch Netflix.

Recently, with outdoor temps hovering above 100 degrees, we decided that a visit to the cinema (and an air conditioned theater) might be a good way to spend an afternoon.  And though no particular movie attracted us, the prospect of watching a Hollywood production in a comfortable environment was enough to draw us in.

Before taking our seats, we visited the concession stand … who, after all, can sit through a movie without munchies?  After ordering a small popcorn and a small beverage I thought my hearing aids had failed, for it sounded like the young man behind the counter said: “That will be $17.00.”   Turns out I had heard him correctly … seventeen dollars … for popcorn … and a small drink. 

Very carefully, we transported this precious cargo of snacks to our theater, and settled in to enjoy the show.  Before our movie began, though, we had to endure a forty minute string of “coming attractions,” each less appealing than the one before.  In the midst of this assault on our senses, we looked at each other and wondered: “Who writes and produces this stuff?”

Currently, a work stoppage by actors and writers has shut down Hollywood, leaving movie lovers and theater groups in a panic.  And though sympathetic to those struggling for fair wages, if the drivel we saw in those previews is the best the film industry has to offer, I would not object to their staying on strike permanently.

Clearly, we “Senior Citizens” are no longer the “target demographic” for companies marketing most products or, in the case of Hollywood, seeking to draw crowds to the movie theater.  In many cases, executives guiding those sorts of efforts seem to assume people our age have a 9PM curfew, along with a propensity for yelling at youngsters to: “Get the hell off my lawn.”

For the foreseeable future, Hollywood is just going to have to manage without us … though I doubt they are concerned about this.  In the meantime, Netflix and our DVD collections of Inspector George Gently and The Sopranos will have to suffice.

We plan to be in bed by 9PM anyway.