Posted on 03/08/2008 9:43:28 AM PST by andy58-in-nh
On Turning 50
Okay, so I'm 50 years old today, and the only reason I bring it up is because, well, actually there are two reasons. The first is because for a person to have lived half a century is really an accomplishment, especially if you lived as dangerously as I chose to in my youth. I no longer do many of the things I was doing way back then, such as drinking beer and chasing women all night long, drag racing my Dad's Pontiac, and smoking enough wacky weed to deforest half of Colombia. So: thank you, dear Lord for protecting me from myself, the police, and angry husbands, and not necessarily in that order.
The other reason I bring it up in this forum is because of our cultural obsession with endless youth. When I tell people I'm turning 50, one of the most common responses I receive is something like: "Well, you know, '50' is the new 40". Gee, thanks. And of course that must mean 40 is the "new 30". The problem with this popular point of view is not simply that we're all trying to escape the fact of our growing older, but that, culturally speaking, we continue to revere youth over experience. Which is further proof to me that the 1960s is the only decade in history to have lasted over 40 years.
We are all aware that people (read: Baby Boomers) spend a fortune trying to recover the person they used to see in the mirror through whatever medical means they can afford or obtain. Liposuction and Botox. Minoxidil and Metamucil. Cialis and Viagra. Laurel and Hardy.
If you got that last one, you're at least as old as I am, and probably older. So there. See, the concern I have with aging is not that 50 is the new 40, but that 20 appears to be the new 10. Our culture so reveres youth and inexperience that childishness now runs rampant. If you don't believe me, listen to most of our politicians for a few minutes, if you can stand to. Not only do they treat us like children, they frequently sound like them as well. In their incessant demands for our attention and protection from life's little boo-boos, the average (and need I say, "Liberal") congressman sounds increasingly like a 2-year old in a supermarket aisle whose mom is too busy yakking on her cell phone to keep the little darling from screaming and ripping boxes off the shelves. And while most shoppers just make faces and cover their ears, few dare to ever confront Just-Too-Busy Mom with the suggestion that perhaps it would be a good time to impose a little, you know, discipline on the little tyke.
A healthy swat on the rump might be a good idea. In the old days, it would have been a no-brainer. But no: in these more "enlightened" times, some busybody Baby Boomer Do-gooder might call the cops, and then Mom will have to spend her valuable cell phone time explaining to a bunch of strangers why she shouldn't be charged with child abuse. So Mom continues her yakking and the cute little emerging sociopath continues to throw a fit, and we all just look away and try to get out of the place as expeditiously as possible.
So now you know: I'm 50 and I'm officially a cranky older guy who doesn't understand why things can't be the way they were when I was a kid. Except for the part about drinking and racing and chasing skirts, that is. At least I got it out of my system, which is to say, I grew up. On the other hand, I do wonder whether a lot of other folks today will ever reach anything approaching true responsibility and maturity. Of course, many have, and will. I know that FReepers recognize such people instinctively. We call them "Conservatives". Tonight, I'm going out for dinner with my family for some good Italian food and red wine (not too much, though; acid reflux, you know) and then enjoy a nice cigar in my den before snuggling with the wife.
What the heck. Life is good.
There are health sites on the Internet? Who knew?
Thanks, Pandy. I hope your medical situation has improved and that you’re back to full health soon!
Some great memories there! Thanks for the links - I see hours of mindless entertainment ahead. ;-)
Thanks, expatguy. I hope the sun will be shining in your part of the world today. It’s raining buckets here in New Hampshire.
Was actually raining here last night as well - now it is 3am here
I just turned 47. My kids are 8&10.
I’m having the time of my life. I like my colored hair and beginning chicken neck.
I dance every day. It’s all a state of mind.
I spent my money on whiskey and women and the rest I just wasted!
Happy birthday!
Happy Birfday!
Personally, I was born “Late ‘58” so I’ve got a little more time before the big Five-O.
Love the Institute!
Gave Interior Desecrations to my sister for Christmas a couple of years ago.
Have you seen the pages of the 1973 Sears catalog he’s been putting up? LOL priceless.
That's funny. I still spend my money on whiskey and women, but now the women are my wife and daughter. The whiskey is still for me, though.
Thanks, all!
Another oldie but goodie.
We humans alive now have had the opportunity for the easiest existence in the history of mankind; modern medicine, technology, leisure time, no predators to speak of... I hear so much complaining from every quarter that I feel just isn't supported by the evidence. If I'm wrong, then ignorance IS bliss.
I’m 50.
I am the luckiest man I know. Everything I lived through in my life led me to where I am now.
Very fortunate.
A good soft smooth skinned wife who takes care of herself and places the both of you and the kids above herself is the key for me. A wife in constant need of validation like so many educated middle class gals today would be grating.
Without her and my family, I would be in a very different place.
But at 50 at lot of hard things come too, like the older generation are dying and we have to care for them. That is not easy.
If I could be any age, I’d like to be 30 probably....as a man.
I think I will miss 50. Exit now looms closer.
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