One Sunday afternoon I was chatting with a bartender at my favorite watering hole. The substance of it was ‘the point of no return” – the point in life when time is no longer the unlimited commodity it was when we were young.
My fella took it to mean the point at which a personality is not going to change – if a person is a selfish prick at 50, they aren’t going to become St. Francis at 55 or 60.
I took it to mean the point at which it’s too late to get fundamental life infrastructure in place – if you don’t have a house by 50 or 60, it ain’t gonna happen; ditto retirement.
50 or 60 was too late to do things like go back to school or get a second career
Myths about Aging
But the bartender – a guy about 30 – said 50 or 60 was too late to do things like go back to school or get a second career. I quickly disabused him of that notion. After all, Senior Citizens Day is coming (August 21).
Now, he’s a nice guy and I don’ think he was ageist – at least not intentionally.
But that got me thinking about the myths and misconceptions younger people (or even our younger selves) had about getting older.
YOUR TURN
What misconceptions and myths about aging have you held, encountered or had to correct? Let us know in the comments!
Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; her blog “Don’t Get Me Started” puts a quirky new spin on Old School New York City. Send Open Thread suggestions to editor@seniorplanet.org.
.png#keepProtocol)
