As I write this it is May 18th, and the news is on the TV. On the screen are three people celebrating their birthdays, one of which is Reggie Jackson, the hitter of home runs and the stirrer of drinks on the NY Yankees. Today Reggie is 65 years old. One of the commentators on the TV says: “Reggie Jackson, 65 today! HE LOOKS GOOD FOR HIS AGE!”I’m offended!
How is he supposed to look? Reggie is younger than me, so obviously I look like hell.
I am reminded that as I get older I change, due to the aging process, we all change and we all will look older. Getting older is a sign of intelligence and craftiness, meaning we were smart enough to last this long. Yes we drive slower than others younger, we eat earlier, go to bed earlier and probably arise earlier than those younger. We also hurt more, don’t sleep as much during the night and sleep too much during the day. We are the older generation, we do all these things, and we do them well.
Then one day we die, and they lay us out in our pine box with brass handles, gather around us and say: “Gee, he looks good!” Gee, does he? “He looks like himself!” Who is he suppose to look like? I was wondering if I could get a proxy for me? You know a look a-like. Someone who wants to go, maybe a lot of bills and no money, someone who when he goes to meet his maker can get away with it.
How come when we see a 2-year old, we say: “He looks tall for two”, but we NEVER say he looks good for his age? What we look like has no bearing on how we feel or how long we will live. Remember Jack LaLanne, looked terrific until the day he died at the age of 96, and I bet he even looked like himself in his pine box, but the fact remains, he is dead! Maybe he should have taken better care of himself.
What it all means is its in your genes, how long you will live, and how long you will look like you are living.
3 comments:
This is so true and so funny. I love it when I get..." You're in your 40's right?" And I respond with 'I wish' and then tell them my age. They then further respond with "Ohhhh....wow...." with a look that says I should have one foot in the grave by now. lol
To paraphrase Dr. Phil, "So, how is that working for you?"
Joe, with me they would probably say, "Look, her mouth is shut and her hands aren't moving"!! When someone asks my age, I say guess. Then when it's younger than what I am, I just say you're good!! Never said they were right or wrong!! Just good!! the one thing I really dislike is when they call me mamm.
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