Facebook informs me it’s my birthday (April 29). Allegedly, I am now 75 years old, which is of course impossible. There has no doubt been some clerical error, and I’m having my lawyers –Dewey, Cheatem & Howe—look into this. Seems like yesterday I was really cute, had hair on top of my head and grew it out down to my butt. Appropriate as I was playing a bit stoned in a Bad Company cover band (though Free is better),
However I do notice signs that perhaps I have aged a bit. Parts of my body I never knew I had sometimes ache. About 2PM I nap. I’ve had cancer (prostate, now cancer free), and I hardly know anyone my (alleged) age who doesn’t have or had cancer—though you certainly don’t have to be old to get cancer. I have every issue of Rolling Stone (who knew Jann Wenner was that big a jerk) from the first one to about a year ago when I realized I had no idea who the half-naked woman on the cover was, nor who any of the musical artists featured in the magazine were.
But OK, let’s say I am (allegedly) 75. So what? Well, I guess first of all I’ve only about 40 more years to live (always optimistic). It means I grow weary of people whining on-line they’re turning 50, boo-hoo (but, note, this does not apply to women, as the latest missive on Jane’s Calamity makes clear,
It means I probably know more than you, if you’re not about my (alleged) age. Oh, not about computers, AI and all that trivial stuff, but about life. 75 years is a long time. For instance, here’s events I REMEMBER and where I was when I heard the news:
—John Lennon; Ithaca, NY
—Bobby Kennedy assassination; Ogdensburg, NY; went to bed after learning he’d won California primary, Woke up, he was dead.
—Dr. King assassination; Niagara Falls.
—JFK assassination; 7th grade homeroom
I know about loves found and lost, poverty and bounty. Violence and betrayal, kindness and support. Children growing up and going their own way. Standard shift.
I remember Maggie Kuhn, founder of Gray Panthers, whose mission it was to fight against the invisibility of old people in our youth obsessed society. She once said, “Old age is not a disease - it is strength and survivorship, triumph over all kinds of vicissitudes and disappointments, trials and illnesses. ...”
Damn right, Maggie. So maybe I’ll call off the lawyers. Accept my age, realize I’m still cool, and live each day as if it’s my first, not my last.