"40 Is the New 20"

I was thrilled when I first heard this expression not long ago, because it helps give me a different outlook on life. Now that I'm officially closer to 60 than to 50, a little math (at which I'm not normally very good) tells me that if 40 is the new 20, then 60 is the new 40...hot diggity, I'm almost 20 years younger than I thought!

It's said that you're only as old as you feel, and that's true, if not always equivalently measurable. When I first get up in the morning, or just after I've been pummeled by three hyperactive grandchildren, I feel like I'm 90. When I'm dancing with Agnes or some other beautiful lady, I feel like I'm 20 again. The effect of age is, like most other things, a matter of how you deal with it: if you've eaten a healthy diet, exercised well, avoided smoking, and generally treated your body like a temple and not like a tent (in the words of a Jimmy Buffett song), you'll probably age pretty well.

This reflects itself in all sorts of ways, great and small. In a society and a time in which we place great emphasis on youth and beauty, it can be hard for talented, but aging actresses to land prime parts in the movies and on Broadway and TV. A recent article noted that many "older" actresses once known for being "sexy" are now redefining themselves for a new generation of audiences and roles...looking for ways to prove "they've still got it." This has led to all sorts of commentary and new slang expressions - one of my favorites being "GILF" - "Grandmother I'd Like to ... uh ... Make Love To."

It's said that the compensation nature gives men for aging is that each year there are more women we think are beautiful. It's true, of course. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the beholder's eye is greatly aided when the beholdee takes good care of herself (or himself). There's no reason why every lady shouldn't develop into someone's GILF...and every man work to keep himself attractive to her.

No particularly deep message for today. I'm going to dress nattily for work and head for the Metro...where I will, as always, engage in the eye exercises of the beholder.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo