Age: What a Concept

Katherine Helmond gets a lift in
Terry Gilliam's Brazil

This morning, while getting ready for my day, it occurred to me that January is ending, and that February is sort of a big month for the family. My Mom's, Step-dad's and brother-in-law's birthday are in the first three weeks, and the parents are having their fortieth anniversary. They got married when I was four, so that means it has also been forty years since I entered the public school system. Kindergarten in 1971.

My mind--which works like one of Jessica Tate's soliloquies*--hopped from the arrival of February, to important dates, to forty years ago, to omigod in forty more years, I'm going to be really old! If I'm even alive at all!  Then, my mind got a little sad. A little verklempt. I mean, geez, 1971 was a long time ago and everything, but I remember it. Some of it I remember pretty well. And while it's conceivable that I do have forty (or even more) years left--particularly since I quit smoking**--I can't say that for very much longer, can I?

I'm sure that everybody comes to these realizations, and that everyone has their own way of dealing with it. When the future calendar pages can only be realistically read as 20 more years, 10. . .will I really freak out? Or will it just be one of those things you eventually absorb? I suppose I should listen to the more reasonable side of my brain that knows I could die tomorrow (I can't use the "hit by a bus" metaphor. It actually happened to someone I know. Really).  And I'd imagine that at certain ages. . .at least if the body or brain is giving out. . .you might not want to go on for 10 or 20 more years.

One of the more interesting things about aging today, is watching the generation ahead of mine (I'm early Generation X), the Baby Boomers, fight aging tooth and nail. When they hit their 40s and 50s, they didn't automatically get the old lady dress, the grandpa pants, the Brylcreem, the granny hairdo and shawl, like many of their parents did. It didn't hurt that the Boomers were the generation of rock & roll and counter culture. Knocking trends was what they did. Well, that, and plastic surgery became a little more acceptable.

My own parents are still going pretty much full blast all the time. My bosses--two ladies--are Boomers, and they're still going strong. Almost everyone I know born in the forties and fifties defy the image I had of "old people" when I was a kid. Ask most of them, and they probably wouldn't consider themselves old, and might get indignant at the suggestion. Turn on the news, and check out the commercials: Viagra. Boniva. Knee Replacements. Heart medicine. But look closely at all the actors pitching that stuff. Perky Sally Field, butch guys climbing mountains, the studly silver fox and his cougar in side-by-side bathtubs on the beach. Yeah, I don't get that last one either, but you see what I'm getting at. Basically, I'm feeling the same age as the Boomers, and I'm a generation behind them!

What they're probably going to do is, they're going to wear us out. We're going to see a whole generation ahead of us clinging to youth, eventually losing the battle anyway, as we all will. And we Gen-Xers are gonna throw up our hands and say, "why bother!" We'll hitch up our branches to our armpits, get our horn-rimmed glasses with the chain, black socks and sandals. . . It ain't gonna be pretty!

Notes:

* The Katherine Helmond character on Soap always talked in a verbial hopscotch: "I know what I know, but I don't know what I don't know, but I do know that I don't know. You know?" What's more, there's a Benson character in my head too, and he understands.

** Wrapping up 28 days! Woohoo!  Pass the cold turkey, who says it can't be done.

McCain Has a Memory Lapse on Meet the Press

It's not nice to make fun of a person's age, or take pleasure in another person's brain fart. Oh, who am I kidding, it can be fun, it just isn't nice. But it's too easy. And there is a cut-off age somewhere north of sixty where age jokes move from funny to mean, unless made by the older person themselves.

But when that older person is running for President, and has released their voluminous health records in only the most cursory (and unusual) way, a memory lapse is worth examining. And not just the lapse, but the way you are shown to deal with it. This is from this morning's Meet the Press on NBC.

McCain's Health: What's Going On?

Image from source, AmericaBlog

This past Friday, one of the more surprising aspects of the first debate was that John McCain seemed fully awake, upright, engaged and less doddering than usual. In this event, and in his speech at the Republican National Convention, McCain seemed very different than he often has on the campaign trail. I'd really like to know how they get him pumped up for the big events,

when he seems like a slowly deflating balloon at the smaller ones.

The issue of McCain's general health has become--for some reason--an almost taboo subject in the mainstream press, or from the Barack Obama campaign. Almost nobody seems willing to touch it. I'd really like to know why.

McCain was allowed--in a now more familiar "stunt"--to release his medical records on his own terms, by letting a select number of reporters view his voluminous records for a limited amount of time. Then they pulled the records from view. MoveOn.org recently ran an ad regarding the importance of knowing the status of McCain's health, and were slammed for it, with FOX "News" even somehow shaming a skittish MSNBC into dropping the ad. But these are valid points.

John McCain is our oldest candidate for a first-term President. People don't say much about it, but the previous record holder, and the oldest candidate for a second term, was very likely experiencing the beginning stages of Alzheimer's Disease while he was President. Well, as a blogger, I have very little to risk by doing my little part to bring some of this to light. I particularly have no fear of FOX "News!"

John Aravosis and the other bloggers at AmericaBlog, have been paying close attention to McCain and his health, and they've noticed that McCain had an odd appearance on this morning's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. They quite rightly are asking, what is up?

TW has not yet aired out here, so I may revisit this topic later in the day.

[Excerpt]

Swollen, lisping McCain appears on ABC's THIS WEEK

Remember, the reason we are forced to speculate about John McCain's health is because John McCain refuses to release his medical records. McCain let a few journalists review his records for 3 hours, that's it. They couldn't make copies, they had to leave everything behind. They got about 5 seconds to review each of other 1000 pages, then they had to move on to the next page. It's patently absurd. But that's where we are, due to John McCain's own choice in hiding his medical records. Thus, we are forced to speculate whether our potential next president is sick or dying. . .

Read more at: AmericaBlog

What About John McCain's Health Records?

Several issues seem to be mostly "off the table" in this Presidential campaign, at least as they pertain to John McCain. His philandering in the 70s. His involvement with the Keating Five in the 80s. His age.

But the one that gets far too little attention may be the most important. His health. McCain released his medical records in only the most cursory way. He let a limited number of reporters comb through his voluminous health records for a very limited amount of time. Then, he withdrew them.

Many people, including some doctors, are very worried about this. McCain has had cancer four times, and he's no spring chicken. When you add in his selection of Sarah Palin--a supremely inexperienced politician--for his number two spot, the matter of his health is extremely relevant. So why don't we know more?

McCain is 72. He's had cancer 4 times.

Sam Donaldson Revives McCain "Age" Issue

I got up early this morning to see The Other Half off on a trip, and then trundled into the TV room to watch the Sunday morning political talk shows. Ugh. Borrrrring would be putting it lightly. Were it not for my five cups of coffee, I never would have made it.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was on every show I watched, and the only thing I remember about him? That he has an unfortunate "tic." When he finishes a thought, he tightens his mouth into an "O" and then licks around the circle. The word creepy doesn't do it justice.

Then, I saw Michael Bloomberg, and really couldn't glean much, except that he has a massive ego. And he has his own tic; a raised, clenched left hand, with his index finger doing a little "world's smallest violin" maneuver. Maybe it was just me this morning, but I just couldn't focus on what anybody was saying. But then, I didn't get to watch This Week with George Stephanopoulos on ABC due to pre-emption.

Catching this clip on YouTube, I realize that I missed the only interesting part of all of the shows. Sam Donaldson calling out John McCain for his age? Whoa!