Hi Pals.
I feel a rant coming on.
I recently turned 51. I didn't say anything to anyone last year because I didn't want anyone to make a big deal about a number just because it ended in a zero.
I didn't want to get those stupid cards that made bad jokes about old people forgetting where they put stuff, and not being able to see or chew or whatever.
I'm not old.
Why is 50 considered old? Suppose I die at age 80. That means I spend 30 years being "old??" That can't be right. Somebody spends over a third of their life being old??? How can that be??
If you had a dog (ok, I know certain breeds die younger than others, but suppose you had a medium sized mutt dog) that was 7 or 8 years old, would you say it was "old??"
I know people who are my age who describe themselves as old. I don't know why. If it's at all true that "what you think about you bring about" then I don't want to think that I am bringing about negative things associated with being elderly. There are positive things associated with being elderly, but those are not what my friends are talking about when they describe themselves as "old."
I have lost a few friends, friends who died at around my age. People would say "oh, they were so young...." But....they mean these people were so young to die, not for anything else. Now how can a person be in the "old" category and at the same time be "too young to die." Pick One. I say if you're too young to die, you're not old yet.
I don't want to hear any more of those stupid "old people" jokes or get those stupid cards. Why is it any different from ethnic slurs that we all know are in poor taste? It might be "all in good fun" but I don't see where the fun is.
Oh- I'm not talking about anyone on 3FC; just people out there in general society that I'm picking up this "old people" stuff from.
I don't feel old. Yet.
End of rant; comments welcome.
Thanks,
jo