<div dir='auto'>Very funny and sadly fairly accurate.<div dir="auto">I
thoroughly enjoyed reading. ...Jim </div></div><div
class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Nov. 25, 2022 7:05 p.m.,
Willow Arune <walittleboots9@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:<br type="attribution"
/><blockquote class="quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc
solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">"My memory for names is horrible. (I
once asked Ted Kennedy how he recalled names and he advised that if a man is
over 50, just ask “how’s the back?” and he’ll think you know him.) <br />I
often can’t remember where I put my wallet and keys or why I’ve entered a room.
And certain proper nouns have disappeared altogether. Even when rediscovered,
they have a diabolical way of disappearing again. Biden’s secret service detail
can worry about his wallet and he’s got a teleprompter for wayward nouns, but
I’m sure he’s experiencing some diminution in the memory department.<br />I
have lost much of my enthusiasm for travel and feel, as did Philip Larkin, that
I would like to visit China, but only on the condition that I could return home
that night. Air Force One makes this possible under most circumstances. If not,
it has a first-class bedroom and personal bathroom, so I don’t expect Biden’s
trips are overly taxing.<br />I’m told that after the age of 60, one loses half
an inch of height every five years. This doesn’t appear to be a problem for
Biden but it presents a challenge for me, considering that at my zenith I
didn’t quite make it to five feet. If I live as long as my father did, I may
vanish.<br />Another diminution I’ve noticed is tact. A few days ago, I gave
the finger to a driver who passed me recklessly on the highway. These days,
giving the finger to a stranger is itself a reckless act. <br />I’m also
noticing I have less patience, perhaps because of an unconscious “use by” timer
that’s now clicking away. Increasingly I wonder why I’m wasting time with this
or that buffoon. I’m less tolerant of long waiting lines, automated phone
menus, and Republicans. <br />Cicero claimed “older people who are reasonable,
good-tempered, and gracious bear aging well. Those who are mean-spirited and
irritable will be unhappy at every stage of their lives.” Easy for Cicero to
say. He was forced into exile and murdered at the age of 63, his decapitated
head and right hand hung up in the Forum by order of the notoriously
mean-spirited and irritable Marcus Antonius.<br />How the hell does Biden
maintain tact or patience when he has to deal with Mitch McConnell? Or Joe
Manchin? And very soon with Kevin McCarthy, for crying out loud?<br />The style
sections of the papers tell us that the 70s are the new 50s. Septuagenarians
are supposed to be fit and alert, exercise like mad, have rip-roaring sex, and
party until dawn. <br />Rubbish. Inevitably, things begin falling apart. My
aunt, who lived far into her nineties, told me “getting old isn’t for sissies.”
Toward the end she repeated that phrase every two to three minutes. <br />Am I
repeating myself?<br />I’m doing videos on TikTok and Snapchat, but when my
students talk about Ariana Grande or Selena Gomez or Jared Leto, I don’t have
clue who they’re talking about (and frankly don’t care). And I find myself
using words –- “hence,” “utmost,” “therefore,” “tony,” “brilliant” — that my
younger colleagues find charmingly old-fashioned. If I refer to “Rose Marie
Woods” or “Jackie Robinson” or “Ed Sullivan” or “Mary Jo Kopechne,” they’re
bewildered. The culture has flipped in so many ways. When I was seventeen, I
could go into a drugstore and confidently ask for a package of Luckies and
nervously whisper a request for condoms. Now it’s precisely the reverse. (I
stopped smoking long ago.)"<br /></div>
</blockquote></div><br></div>
