Feeling "Senior" ?

Bette Davis once said, "Old age is no place for sissies". In fact, she had it embroidered on a pillow that was prominently placed on a sofa. I'm not sure if she was right or not, since I'm not "old", yet. I hope to be one day, but for now, I'm fairly content with just being "Senior". I don't know when you actually become "old", but I think it happens when you just feel "old", and I must admit, I have my moments.

I felt a little old (I got tired of typing those " "s ) last week when I was picking up a prescription, which can make you feel a little old, in and of itself. The Pharmacist handed my drugs to a young assistant, and gestured to me. The young lady asked, obviously thinking that I couldn't hear her, "Oh, for that older fellow ?". Yep, I felt a little old, but only for a moment.

For quite some time now, I've enjoyed claiming my Senior discounts. That has never bothered me a bit. There's something heartwarming about paying $4.00 for a $7.50 movie ticket. But, lately I've been getting a few discounts without asking for them, and that kinda makes me feel old, but only for a moment.

I get the AARP publications in the mail, and find myself looking over my shoulder to see if any neighbors noticed, but, what the heck, most of them are older than me anyway. I'm starting to get fliers about Diabetic supplies, and VIAGRA! for Pete's sake. And, of all things, last week I got a catalog in the mail from "Active and Able, Products That Make Daily Living Easier". I felt incensed, and somewhat older, but only for a moment. Unfortunately, these moments appear to be happening more often, as I get...older.

Last evening, our oldest grandson, Ryan, called. It seems that he has proposed to his wonderful Jeanette, and she accepted. We had been anticipating this for some time now. I can't speak for my Darlin' Darlene, but that made me feel OLD. And, the moment hasn't quite passed. I expect the feeling will lurk there, in the back of my mind, since his announcement carries with it the Sword of Damocles called great-grandchildren, just hanging there. I am thrilled for him and Jeanette, and I congratulate them both, and I'll just deal with the older thing. It's not their problem.

There is one thing, though, that consistently makes me feel old, and I have to do it, every two weeks, since that's how many containers I have, and I ain't buying any more of them. Every two weeks, I drag out my drug stash, sit down at the island in the kitchen, and count out my pills into those danged pill compartments. Now, that makes me feel old. I suppose that I could just stop filling the prescriptions and not have to deal with it. But, I probably wouldn't get much older, either. Rather than that, I think I'll simply apply a lesson that I've learned from my brother Lonnie's approach to a golf problem that he faced, and I'd recommend this to all of you.

Lonnie had driven his ball past the Out-of-Bounds stakes. We drove up to his ball, and instead of picking it up and dropping it back In-Bounds and taking the required penalty stroke, he lined up to hit it again. I mentioned that it seemed to me that he was Out-of-Bounds. He never flinched, and just before he struck the ball again, he calmly replied, " She's Out-of-Bounds when I say she's Out-of-Bounds". I'll be Old when I say I'm Old.

Have a wonderful day, because it's a wonderful day out there !

Later,

Don Lehr (Michguy)