Growing older? You have company
The following musing is a result of my wife mentioning that Marjorie Lord (Danny Thomas' wife on The Danny Thomas Show) is 92.
In the past I have written about birthdays and getting older. Aging is something we all do, regardless of gender, nationality or sexual preference. Most often our birthdays tend to roll off our backs, so to speak. In fact, many look forward to their next birthday and the celebration of it, be it a party or journey.
There are, however, what I call milestone birthdays. They typically are when our age ends in a zero, as in 40, 50, 60, etc. Then there are those other milestone birthdays that signify our reaching an age that society has deemed important. For those younger they include 16, 18, and 21. For these of us older, they include 55 when you start receiving senior discounts and are encouraged to join AARP, 62 when you can first retire with reduced Social Security benefits and 65 when you get your Medicare card and are officially a member of seniordom.
But for all of these ways which mark the passage of time, there is one more that I suspect all of us who are older keep tabs on. They are birthdays but have nothing to do with our birthday. They are the birthdays of the rich and famous, especially Hollywood actors. For some reason most of us take a perverse satisfaction in knowing that the young and beautiful are aging right along with us.
In truth, it matters not that they are younger or older than we are; what is important is that they too are going through the aging process. There is a certain glee in learning that very popular stars of years gone by are older than we are. Equally so, it warms our heart to know that those "younger stars" are now in their forties, approaching fifty. We have seen it with stars that were our idols when we were young. We also know the younger stars are slowly fading. For them great parts are harder to find, and they are destined to become unknowns to future generations.
To make you feel better, or perhaps older, I thought I'd list the ages of a few Hollywood stars. They are a random selection, listed in no particular order. They are:
Brad Pits - 46
Tom Cruise - 48
Clint Eastwod - 80
Kim Bassinger - 50
Aston Kutcher - 32
Al Pacino - 70
Liz Taylor - 78
Kate Winslet - 34
Marilyn Monroe (had she lived) - 84
Tom Hanks - 54
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - 49
Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) - 24
Sandra Bullock - 46
Jerry Mathers (Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver) - 62
Madonna - Just about 52
Britany Spears - 28
Bill Clinton - 62
So, on one hand you may feel sad knowing that those celebrities remind you that you are growing old. On the other hand, you may take comfort in knowing that you have lots of company as you grow older. Personally I prefer the latter.
Just as a closing note on something related: If you are in your sixties or seventies, isn't it great when you hear of some celebrity such as Marjorie Lord who is 90 or 92. It makes you think if they can do it, so can you. You may be good for another 20 years or more. We never give up; hope springs eternal. Then again, when someone well known who is younger than us dies, it gives us pause.
As I've always said, life has its ying and yang, ups and downs.We may not like it, but we have no choice but to live it. So watch those birthdays, but take them with a grain of salt.
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Do you have thoughts on how it feels to be the oldest one at the party, in the room, in the neighborhood, in the church, in the car?
John:
It is a rare occasion when I am not the oldest in the room or anyplace else. But it is better than not being in the room or anyplace else. Then again, I take some comfort in knowing that those younger will have their turn in being the oldest in the room, neighborhood, church or car.
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