Excellent questions. I’ll take them in order.

“This” is the start of a journey I hope we’ll take together. Getting old is, in fact, getting old already. I’ve heard that 50 is the new 30, so 60 must be the new 40, right? Well it sure doesn’t feel like 40! When science can make 75 the new 23, give me call, OK?

Conversely, at 60, I’ve likely lived something like three-quarters of the life I’m going to have. If I live to 90, I’ve already lived two-thirds of my life. If a train leaves Chicago heading west at 60 miles an hour and another leaves St. Louis…Dammit! I STILL can’t figure that out!! But I digress.

I recently attended a friend’s 60th birthday party, and was almost immediately sickened by the conversation. I mean, how much can you really say about blood thinners, catheters, and the number of pills (non-recreational) we have to take every day? When we were young, we talked about which types of booze got you drunk faster, which girl was hottest, and where we could score some weed. At this 60th party, the alcohol certainly flowed.. for the first half-hour, and then most switched to water. After all, too much alcohol at this stage doesn’t mean more fun; it means middle-of-the-night heart palpitations! But we did still wonder where we could score some weed! Yay us!

Life certainly is interesting for those of us getting old. Some of us awake with pains for no reason whatsoever. “I went to sleep feeling fine but woke up with some soft tissue damage, kind of above my elbow in the back of my arm!”  And that’s if you even slept through the night (but that’s a topic for a future post!)

Some of us are limited in what we can eat… you hear it in restaurants all the time from other getting-old folks — so long as you get there by 4:30! “I’d like the fish, but is it very salty? I have early-onset arteriosclerosis.” “Can I get sliced tomato instead of the home fries? Too much oil gives me the runs.” “Do they fry the french fries in the same oil as shrimp, because all of a sudden I’m allergic to shellfish, and I forgot my epi pen!” Then, there’s this: “I’ll have the bacon cheeseburger deluxe.” (Glare from wife). “Make that a grilled chicken sandwich, no bacon, hold the roll, and lettuce instead of fries.” “And a coke.” (Glare). “Diet coke.” (More glare). “Water.” (Final glare). “Tap is fine.”

Some of us are retired, and arguing that yes, in fact, golf on television IS exciting! So’s getting T-boned by a tractor-trailer, but I wouldn’t want any part of that either.

To answer the second question: How did we get here? That’s an easy one. We lived. And, in spite of the horrors we now see in the mirror, we live on. And, we hold it together. Some guys and gals our age still look mah-velous! Others don’t fit so snugly into those genes. But, quoting the great Bill Murray, “It just doesn’t matter, because the guys in the other camp are going to get all the really good-looking chicks anyway!”

Finally, where are we? We’re at the cusp of a new time. For many of us, our kids are having kids, and we’re experiencing the joys of grand-parenthood. Or, we’re true empty-nesters, and catching up on the travel we’ve been putting off so those same kids could have food, clothing and shelter. (Talk about your misplaced priorities!!)  LOL, as the kids say.

So I started this blog as a place where we can share the funny, the touching, and all that it means to be “getting old.” I hope you’ll join me on this trip and share your stories too. I promise it’ll be some kinda crazy ride!