As 2017 rings in, there is an obvious math problem for me.
I was born in 1957, the year of Sputnik. Let’s see, 2017
minus 1957 reveals that this year will mark my sixth decade on planet Earth.
That has become apparent as I gaze into a mirror…or look at
the style of the dresswear my younger colleagues fashion at work….It doesn’t
help when I read about Princess Leia (who is almost exactly my age)….having a
heart attack on a London to LAX flight…and…finally…there is the path I’m beating
to the bathroom from the bedroom each night….That all adds up to six-oh.
Heck, last week I was interviewed by a farm broadcaster who
called me a man “of a certain age.” He went on to ask how someone as old (and
tired) could possibly muster the strength to crawl into work.
Being almost 60 has its advantages and pitfalls. I almost
never eat full price anymore. The overweight kid behind the counter at the Arby’s
doesn’t even ask. It is a given. I get the senior citizen meal price. Sweet.
I don’t smoke, drink infrequently, exercise almost daily and
find it freaking unbelievable that Keith Richards lives, drinks, smokes and is
about to go out on tour again. Conversely, I greatly admire Tony Bennett who
sounded better than I recall him sounding while performing at his 90th
birthday bash. Maybe it was because of great genes….or maybe it was because of
his 49-year-old wife. Yeah----they met when he was an acne scarred 70 and she
was 29. My wife tells me that is not a formula for long life. In face she
promises a much shorter life for me if I ever considered the Bennett strategy.
You know, Harlan Sanders started KFC when he was 65. Ray
Kroc began his McDonald’s empire at 53. Jim Morris (The Rookie) throw his first
pitch for the Rays at age 35.
That means my dream of playing third base for the Cards
continues to hang by a thread. I’m not that much older than Peralta. And my
passion for fried chicken makes me a perfect pitchman for poultry.
I told the interviewer politely that age doesn’t matter as
long as a person has a passion for his life and work. I do. I can’t ever see
myself content to go and sit on the porch. Tony Bennett told an interview who
asked why he hadn’t retired and delivered the perfect answer….
“Each time I agree to a performance date, I sell out. That
makes it hard to retire.”
My thoughts exactly. Just keep improving…
They say that 60 is really “the new 40.”
If that is the case, I’m gonna need some help when I hit “the
new” 60, some twenty years from now.
Someone who can quickly change my Depends.
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