ChatterBank1 min ago
What Is Your Definition Of "old"
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In our local paper there is an item about someone of 65 years who was rescued from the river, and the rescuer (aged 55) describes the man as "the old guy". I don't consider 65 to be old, but what is the age at which you would describe someone to be old. I realise that to a very young person anyone over 45 is old!
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A couple of weeks ago two boys about 14 years old tried to guess how old I was, (as they do).
Number 1 said, "42", number 2 said, "48".
I said to number 2, "You can add 20 years to that".
"Blimey", said number 1, "I thought I was being generous, but not that generous".
I wasn't quite sure how to take that.
A couple of weeks ago two boys about 14 years old tried to guess how old I was, (as they do).
Number 1 said, "42", number 2 said, "48".
I said to number 2, "You can add 20 years to that".
"Blimey", said number 1, "I thought I was being generous, but not that generous".
I wasn't quite sure how to take that.
When my father died, my mother (74 at the time) continued going to a COPD rehabilitation group that he'd joined. She dropped it after a while and I asked her why. Her answer was "They're so OLD"
What she meant was, they were mentally old - wearing dull clothes (usually brown lol) and going to bingo and whist, using age as an excuse. She is fit and reasonably healthy, doesn't take any prescription medicines at 78, and although she will often give me a look when I'm trying to chivvy her along and say "I'm old you know", I don't think her outlook has changed over the years. I really think attitude is a huge part of how 'old' you are.
What she meant was, they were mentally old - wearing dull clothes (usually brown lol) and going to bingo and whist, using age as an excuse. She is fit and reasonably healthy, doesn't take any prescription medicines at 78, and although she will often give me a look when I'm trying to chivvy her along and say "I'm old you know", I don't think her outlook has changed over the years. I really think attitude is a huge part of how 'old' you are.
It's all relative, and as we've got better health in old age, it's moved up. I remember my mother telling me that when she got to 40 (I was 6) she felt her life was done, she'd put on pearls and just sit in the corner after that. (She didn't though, she gadded about until she was nearly 94.)
If people are 15, they think of anyone over 40 as beyond the pale.
It plays the other end of life, too - in our local paper, if you do something wrong you are a "man of 18", if you are a victim you are a "youth of 19". There's no logic to it.
If people are 15, they think of anyone over 40 as beyond the pale.
It plays the other end of life, too - in our local paper, if you do something wrong you are a "man of 18", if you are a victim you are a "youth of 19". There's no logic to it.