Age

[Peggy]

George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!


HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them "

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable,improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

[tex]

What can I say? George is right.

The beauty of aging is that it doesn't require any special effort on our part. We don't have to do any special planning to get there. Whether we plan or not, we're gonna get there, all the same. We don't have to go to any special meetings, we don't have to get a special license from the state--all we have to do is stick around.

It's the easiest thing we'll ever do, and it's the hardest thing we'll ever do. It's easy because it comes naturally, and it's difficult, because we are finally forced to face the fact that we will never accomplish many of the things that we intended to do with our lives.

When we are young, we are invincible, and we are immortal. As we begin to age, we realize that maybe we are not invincible, after all, and we begin to worry about the risks of death, after we see it claim a few of our peers. The day eventually arrives, when we suddently realize that, hey--our life is half over, and we still haven't made much of a dent in the list of things that we wanted to do.

Eventually, the realization, and the admission to ourselves, that we are not immortal, after all, changes forever, the way that we view the rest of our lives, whether or not we realize it. As the decades click by, we become more in tune with what really counts in our lives, and we tend to channel our efforts in those directions.

The saddest part of aging, as far as I can tell, is the realization that not everything that happens on earth, follows a logical pattern, and some things are totally beyond comprehension. Watching innocent people suffer agonizing pain and death, ages us more than we realize, especially when they are close to us. When we were young, we thoght that any problem could eventually be solved, no matter how difficult it might be. Having to face the reality of the fact that there are so many injustices in life, about which we have absolutely no control, is one of the aspects of aging that is the most difficult to accept, and the hardest to cope with.

Age is absolute, but the term "old", is always relative, and can never really be absolute. When we are kids, old is the way we think of someone in his or her 20s or 30s. When we are in our 20s or 30s, folks in their 40s and 50s meet our definition of old. When we are in our 40s and 50s, etc., etc. "Old", always seems to be roughly 10 to 20 years greater than our own age

So, the obvious queston is, "What is the correct definition of old?" Does it occur at a certain age? Does it depend on how we feel? Does it depend on how others preceive us? Does it depend on all of the above? As we age, just when do we get old?

Love,
Wayne

[Liz]

I agree with George also Peg. It is a great philosophy for life.

And Wayne, life is not fair when you look around and see the "Baddies" seemingly prospering & so many innocent people suffering. We are always hopeful that they will get their just deserts in the end. Age is relative. I have friends in their eighties & ninties who would put some much younger people to shame in their attitude to life.

I feel that I have to achieve or create something every day or it is wasted. I have never understood people going on a holiday & simply veging out for the whole time. Everyone needs periods of relaxation in their lives but it is too precious & can be too short in some cases to waste it in non productivity. That is why I think I get so frustrated when I am ill. All of my 'get up & go' has 'got up & left' at the moment & I keep thinking of all of the things I could be doing.

Love

Liz

[barbaranoela]

Age is a number----and by golly when I hit 70,I said to Debbie---feels pretty darn good!!!
Liz ---U R right----I have friends younger than me and they OLD!!!

Old is---wall-paper that starts to fall off the wall---or the smile on ya face isnt really a smile----the smell of mowed grass is like*so-what* or ya house needs a paint job---or a dish has a chip in it!!!

I luve the small of cut grass---

Im happy that I can still keep counting the ####'s and FEEL great about it---
I really thought when I reached 71---I would be thinking---*OH my goodness---climbing fast but I didnt*

We sure learn alot while mellowing like a fine glass of wine~~

Luv,
Barbara


PS. but when I am Having a *run* I feel a tinsy bit GROUCHY OLD!!!

PSS---LIZ--Xactly like Louie----he says the same----ATTITUDE!!!

[Liz]

Hi Barb,got this in an email & it is now my motto

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"



Well I don't mean total debauchery but you have got to live life to
the fullest & get as much out of it as you are able. See something every day that will tell the world & your loved ones that you were here on this earth for a time, & left your mark. We are only here for a relatively short time, we must make the most out of it.

Love

Twinnie

[barbaranoela]

Absolutely right on the button of life~~~~~ whatta ride!!!!!

I swear U and Lou sound like *twins*--he has the same way of thinking--

I LUVED the picture----Now wouldnt Saint Peter open them PEARLY GATES for a dame looking like that~~~~ U betcha~~~~

luve ya lizzie
Twinee---still across the pond----