LAST DAY ON EARTH AS A 59 YEAR OLD

Young people like me don’t know the meaning of “age”. Maybe because we think we have eternity in front of us: “ We have time to become old” is an old (!) song. Among the members of the generation born in 1800, only a third overtook 60 years old and 6 % only reached the age of 80. Among the members of the generation born in 1900, 55 % were still alive at 60 years old and 26 % at 80. In other words, to be 60 in the 19th Century meant to reach the old age, those who reached it were called “survivors”. It was already less common a century later and a large majority of the baby-boomers generation will reach their 60’s. I put this in here because tomorrow I am going to be 60 years old. My brain tells me I'm still in my 20s but not my bod. This little snipet makes me feel special. Abe's picture is here because he was 56 when JW Booth shot him. Today my wife told me " you have been rehearshing being a dirty old man all your life. Now on Thursday you become a classic dirty old man." What a fine compliment, it made me feel like all my work wasn't for nothing. I felt old then I went to see my dad, who will be 88 in 15 days!!