The gray on my head can't be hidden any longer, and this coming Wednesday, it's my birthday, the last year I can say I'm in my "early 50s." To me, "early 50s" means 50-53; mid-50s is 54-56... and after that, it's the late 50s from 57 to 59. I know that friend and fellow blogger John McCrarey likes to say "age is just a number," but I notice that the people who trot out that proverb are all old.
All I care about is that I'm still able to put one foot in front of another for distances ranging from under 15K to over 60K in a single session. My knees can be somewhat the worse for wear, but I'm not out to perform stunts. My feet can hurt, but as long as the pain isn't excruciating, I'm just fine: I've lived with pain for years, at this point. It's the price you pay for distance walking. And as long as I can walk, I'm a happy man.
That said, the body continues to fall apart. I've got another toe infection I need to deal with, and my left eye has been suffering from conjunctivitis for about a week. (Wikipedia says the three main causes of conjunctivitis are viral, bacterial, and allergic. I'm trying a Claritin thing right now, to tackle the allergy angle, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Viral infection is apparently the most common cause of conjunctivitis by far.) I'll be visiting the local doc tomorrow about my eye, and I might have to see a specialist about my toe; there's one in the Jongno area of Seoul. So, yes, my body is betraying me every chance it gets. So far, though, it's not enough to stop me from walking.
But, like a walker, time marches on, and I ain't gettin' any younger.
Age is not just a number. It's something that works slower in some people and faster in others, but it gets us all in the end (provided something else doesn't get us first).
ReplyDeleteI think the proverb is supposed to emphasize the importance of state of mind, aka being "young at heart," but we ignore our age at our peril.
""age is just a number," but I notice that the people who trot out that proverb are all old."
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify, I'm repeating a "proverb" I've heard countless times when I tell a young Filipina that I'm too old for her. "No po, age is just a number!" To a certain extent, that's not bullshit, either. Unlike in Korea, where I became invisible to younger women after turning 60, here, age is considered a sign of stability (he won't cheat on me) and, yes, financial security (he can support me, my kids, and my extended family). I've been living here for over four years now, and I'm still astounded at some of the old men/young women couples I see. One of the standards I apply when I meet a potential girlfriend is, "will I look ridiculous walking down the street with her?"
Having said that, if men can be women and women men, by god, I can self-identify as a 30-year-old. I don't care what the age bigots say. Of course, now when I meet a girl and tell her I'm thirty, she invariably laughs, then says, "age is just a number."
Is it really a sign of stability, though? For some people, old habits die hard.
ReplyDeleteYou're right; age doesn't make you more stable or reliable. I'm on a couple of Philippines forums, and some married guys post stuff like, "my wife is visiting family in the province; I'm going to get laid by a different woman every night while she is gone."
ReplyDeleteThen again, who knows what the wife is up to--visiting family or her Filipino boyfriend? It cuts both ways.