The secret of eternal youth

I recently had a birthday.

The coffee house I go to offers free drinks on your birthday, and it was pretty busy when I went there. The teenage barista said, "sorry to make you wait on your birthday."

I said, "That's OK. I waited 73 years to get to this point."

She said, "73? No way! I thought you were like 50!"

I thought about that for a second and then I asked her, "About how old is your dad?"

She said "about 50" , and she pulled out her phone, found a family photo, and showed it to me.

Her father looks much younger than I do, of course. But I guess to a 16 year old, a 50 year old and a 70 year old look about the same!

So that's the secret of staying young -- hang out with teenagers! 😄

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dancingtongue · 80-89, M

More truth to that than humor, imho. Aside from physical health issues, age is more a function of outlook and lifestyle than chronology. I get similar remarks all the time, and not just from teenagers. In most cases--dementia, Alzheimer's being notable exceptions--the brain doesn't age as rapidly as the body if you continue to use it, continue to maintain a curious, engaged outlook on life. But far too many people surround themselves only with people their own age, revisiting the past instead of staying current. I get the need for Assisted Living when physical health demands it -- had to put my partner in one because she became more than I could take care of alone -- put volunteering to put yourself out to pasture in 55+ only communities to wilt and wither in a cocoon of the past is a death sentence, imho. Generational communities where people of all ages need to interact is healthy for both ends of the age spectrum, imho.

swirlie · F

@dancingtongue

But far too many people surround themselves only with people their own age, revisiting the past instead of staying current... but volunteering to put yourself out to pasture in 55+ only communities to wilt and wither in a cocoon of the past is a death sentence

I had this very conversation with a dozen or more very senior admirers of my intellect, overwhelming physical beauty and magnetic personality, after commandeering a local donut shop where local seniors gather on Tuesdays at 10am!

Most of these folks all live in a 55+ adult community where they gather at various times of the week to do like-minded activities in the on-site recreation center, which also has a swimming pool which everyone pays for but nobody uses except me, provided I'm accompanied by a resident through invitation.

I have always argued with these guys, most of whom are 3 times my own age, siting issues like you've already raised about them sitting around revisiting the past or reliving WWII ...like it just ended last week, as being the wrong approach one should take when one starts their daily routine as their feet hit the floor in the morning.

What I find incredibly fascinating is that each and every one of them all look the same, walk the same and talk the same. They've all adopted each other's unique senior's mannerisms in subtle sorts of ways, despite the fact that my analysis also includes men and women who have just retired and are in their early 60's!

It is often said that a person who loves their dog will eventually look like their dog, despite their dog's best effort to maintain it's anonymity. I've never been sure if the dog was trying to look like the person, or the person saw himself in the dog's face?

Either way, dog owners often look like their pet dog, despite their best efforts to pretend that they're the dog's Master. But when it comes to good looks and personality, the dog always seems to win-out and the person ends up emulating their hero who of course is the dog.

I'm finding the same thing you speak of occurring among residents of this senior's 55+ community that I speak of, where I volunteer my time to give inspirational lectures on living life to the fullest... and to show off my new swimsuits I make and to let them watch my pool tricks I learned when I was a kid!

These people I speak of never knew each other prior to moving into the adult community, but they all look like each other now. They also talk like each other now ..and have prematurely aged to keep up with each other over the last 10 years that I've been hanging out with them. It's like the younger ones are trying their best to become like the older ones so that they'll fit-in better with the community, which is scary when you think about it.

What you say in your contributory piece here is remarkable because I thought it was only my own biased opinion that was causing me to make these observations of them, so I totally get where you're coming from because what you've been saying is totally correct in my humble opinion.

Generational communities are where we should all focus to call home where the younger ones keep the older ones younger in their state of mind by default. Don't ever live in a location of isolation out in the country in the middle of nowhere and don't ever voluntarily live in a 55+ Adult Community where being around like-minded individuals is the communities social mandate.