Growing Old

We are indeed growing a bit older, but no need to let it get us down. The following inspirations are sent to cheer up those who are "Chronologically Challenged."

GETTING OLD

Don't let anyone tell you you're getting old
Squash their toes with your rocker!

The older we get,
the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Some people try to turn back their odometers.
Not me. I want people to know why I look like this.
I have traveled a long way.
And some of the roads were not paved.

Maturity means being emotionally and mentally healthy.
It is that time when you know when to say yes,
when to say no,
and when to say WHOOPEE!

Spring is here and so am I,
But at my age I wonder why.
If nature can be born anew,
Why can't I be recycled too?

You know you are getting old when everything
either dries up or starts to leak.

I don't know how I got over the hill
without getting to the top.

Experience is that marvelous thing
that enables you to recognize a mistake
when you do it again.

My ambition is to live forever. So far, so good.

This is my favorite time of day..........
well, there it goes.

"Wrinkled" was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up.

Health is merely the slowest possible rate
at which one can die.

Never knock on Death's door; ring the doorbell and run.
(he hates that).

It's not the pace of life that concerns me,
it's the sudden stop in the end.

When did my wild oats turn to prunes and All Bran?

I finally got my head together,
now my body is falling apart.
Funny, I don't remember being absent minded.

It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be...

It was all so different before everything changed.

You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair
that you once got from a roller coaster.

Time may be a great healer,
but it's a lousy beautician.

Age doesn't always bring wisdom,
Sometimes age comes alone.

Life not only begins at forty,
it begins to show.

You don't stop laughing because you grow old,
you grow old because you stopped laughing.

The Benefits of Getting Older

Your investment in health insurance
is finally beginning to pay off.

Kidnappers are not very interested in you.

It's harder and harder for sexual harassment charges to stick.

If you've never smoked, you can start now
and it won't have time to hurt you.

Your secrets are safe with your friends
because they can't remember them either.

Your supply of brain cells is finally down
to a manageable size.

Your eyes won't get much worse.

Adult diapers are actually kind of convenient.

Things you buy now won't wear out.

No one expects you to run into a burning building.

There's nothing left to learn the hard way.

Your joints are more accurate
than the National Weather Service.

In a hostage situation
you are likely to be released first.


HOW WELL DO YOU FACE GETTING OLD?

Some people handle the passing years with grace and style, while others cringe whenever they hear the song HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Take this True-False quiz to see how well you deal with aging.

1. Wisdom helps me to accept life's upsets much more easily.
2. If I grope for a fact I can't remember, I just laugh and say, "I'm not a teenager anymore."
3. I take better care of my appearance now than I used to.
4. I'm more willing to let go of grudges than I did when I was younger.
5. Experience, more than intuition, tells me whether a person is trustworthy.
6. If I go into a room and forget what I went to get, I just wait until I remember.
7. My sexual interest is not hurt by concerns about being older.
8. When someone asks my age, I jokingly say: "I'm over 21."
9. I rarely complain about everyday aches and pains.
10. I don't fear living alone in later years because I live for today.

SCORING

9 or 10 True: You blow out your birthday candles with a smile. You lead a productive life, accepting what you can't change. You can be a role model for members of the younger as they search for the secrets to ideal aging.
7 or 8 True: You're doing OK, but may want to rethink some of your sterotypes about aging. To feel younger at any age, you need to be mentally flexible. The key to a youthful attitude is a good sense of humor.
6 or fewer True: You tend to frown when your birthday comes around. Perhaps you should discuss your feelings with someone close to you. Then focus on the positive attributes of being older--for example, life experience and a tendency to handle adversity more easily. Also, practive laughing at life's little pitfalls and you'll be forever young at heart!

~~~~~~

How many do you remember?

Blackjack chewing gum
Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
Candy cigarettes
Soda pop machines that dispensed bottles
Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes
Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
Party lines
Newsreels before the movie
P.F. Flyers
Butch Wax
Telephone numbers with a word prefix (Olive - 6933)
Peashooters
Howdy Doody
45 RPM records
S&H Green Stamps
Hi-fi's
Metal ice trays with levers
Mimeograph paper
Blue flashbulbs
Beanie and Cecil
Roller skate keys
Cork popguns
Drive-ins
Studebakers
Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-5 - You're still young.
If you remembered 6-10 - You are getting older.
If you remembered 11-15 - Don't tell your age.
If you remembered 16-25 - We're older than dirt!


Comes a time in everyone's life when the doctor prescribes a little pill. Might be for your heart, or your knee, or your back.

And, like it or not, you'll have to take one of those little pills every day for the rest of your life. Now, I know a lot of you aren't going to take favorably to this new regimen: "If it's Tuesday, it must be time for my anti-inflammatory." But look on the bright side. The biggest problem in your life right now can be taken care of with a pill.

Think of all those problems you had when you were younger: Love. Money. Work. Children. Neighbors. Couldn't cure any of them with a pill, could you?

You're not getting older, you're getting better medication. So enjoy. And don't forget your pills.


You're lost between "baby boomer" and "generation X" if...

You remember when Jordache jeans
with a flat-handle comb in the back pocket
was cool.

Any photograph of you shows you wearing an Izod shirt
with the collar turned up.

You know any "Weird Al" Yankovic songs by heart.

You've ever rung someone's doorbell and said "Landshark!"

You were once bowled over by the technological excellence
of such products as Atari, IntelliVision, TelStar and Coleco.

You remember the premier of MTV-or worse yet,
you remember its predecessor, "Friday Night Videos."

A predominant color in your childhood photos is plaid.

You remember when music that was labeled "alternative"
really was alternative,
and when "alternative comedy" was really funny.

You took family trips BEFORE the invention of the minivan.

You rode in the back of the station wagon
facing the cars behind you.

You've recently horrified yourself
by using any one of the following phrases:
"You know, back when...,"
"When I was your age...,"
or "When I was younger..."

Schoolhouse Rock played a HUGE part in how you learned things
like grammar, math and history.
(A big hint here is if the only way you can recite
the Preamble to the Constitution is by singing it.)

You ever dressed to look like someone in a Madonna,
Cyndi Lauper or Duran Duran video.

You remember with pain the day the Green Machine hit the streets
(or the sidewalks),
instantly making your Big Wheel obsolete.

The age-old question "Where's the beef?"
still makes you laugh.

You remember when film critics raved that no movie
could ever possibly have more advanced special effects
than "TRON."

You're starting to believe that having the kids in school year-round
wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.

You remember trying to guess which episode of "The Brady Bunch"
it was by the first scene.

"All skate, change directions" means something to you.

You remember when movies were only PG and R.

You remember when your cable TV box
had a sliding selector switch...
and your "cable remote" was connected to the TV
by a CORD!

You remember Bo and Luke Duke, Daisy, Boss Hogg,
or - worst of all -
what Sheriff Roscoe's full name was.

Your parents paid $2,000 for a top-loading VCR
that was almost the size of a coffee table.

You found nothing strange about Bert and Ernie living together.

You remember having a rotary phone.

And lastly,

A song that will stick in your head for the rest of the day:
The theme song of "The       Greatest American Hero."
("BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I'M WALKIN' ON AIR...
I NEVER THOUGHT I COULD FEEL SO FREE-EE-EE..."


Did I Say...?

A 60-year old man goes to a doctor for a checkup. The doctor tells him, "You're in terrific shape. There's nothing wrong with you. Why, you might live forever, you have the body of a 35-year old. By the way, how old was your father when he died?"
The 60-year old responded, "Did I say he was dead?"
The doctor was surprised and asked, "How old is he and is he very active?"
The patient responded, "Well, he is 82 years old and he still goes skiing three times a season and surfing three times a week during the summer."
The doctor couldn't believe it! So he said, "Well, how old was your grandfather when he died?"
The 60-year old responded again, "Did I say he was dead?"
The doctor was astonished. He said, "You mean to tell me you are 60 years old and both your father and your grandfather are both alive? Is your grandfather very active?"
The patient replied, "He goes skiing at least once a season and surfing Once a week during the summer. Not only that," he added, "my grandfather is 106 years old, and next week he is getting married again."
The doctor said, "At 106 years, why on earth did your grandfather want to Get married?"
His patient looked up at the doctor and said, "Did I say he wanted to?"