Oct 16 2020 - The UN Knows if you are old

 

Many people my age don't want to be old. Boomers don't want to be called or named 'old'. - preferring 'older'.  However the United Nations has agreed that 65 and older is denoted as old age.  That is the age nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings.  So when first world boomers think that 80 year olds should be defined as old, perhaps they are correct.  In Africa, old age is defined as 55 years old.  What Wikipedia does say is that it is not a biological stage and varies culturally and historically. What if being old has a social definition to  I look to our world of jokes to provide us with some signs that others might decide whether a person is old:  Kidnappers are not very interested in you. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first. No one expects you to run...anywhere. People call at 9 pm and ask did I wake you? People no longer view you as a hypochondriac. There is nothing left to learn the hard way. Things you buy now won't wear out. You can eat supper at 4 pm. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge. You sing along with elevator music. Your eyes won't get much worse. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service. Today's pictures illustrate my interpretation of the contrast between cat-come- when-called and dog-come-when-called.  Baxter looks like he's coming over and will decide whether to hit me with that intense look.  Millie wants to know if I'll still love her when she reaches me.

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It Glistens, Glitters and Shines

What is shiny? This is a word that was first recorded in 1580 - 90 -  a smooth surface reflecting light, typically because very clean or polished.  I wonder how many shiny things an ordinary person saw in a day in 1580 - even those who lived in the Royal Palace? this topic came about as Gerry's car was perfectly polished this past week and became exceedingly shiny. Doesn't the star on the front gleam 'shiny'? This word has taken on sizeable proportions in our current usage - movies, music, video games, software development frameworks, Pokemon, and all manner of things.  Fro example, one headline is "How to build R Shiny apps that update themselves". In the wiktionary definition, there is a slang usage of the word that points to its current usage.  It is a contraction of a disparaging term "Shiny arses",  originating during World War Two to describe a desks worker. We might look to Shakespeare as giving us this insight into things that are 'shiny'.   “All that glisters is not gold; Often have you heard that told: Many a man his life has sold But my outside to behold: Gilded tombs do worms enfold Had you been as wise as bold, Your in limbs, in judgment old, Your answer had not been in'scroll'd Fare you well: your suit is cold.' Cold, indeed, and labour lost: Then, farewell, heat and welcome, frost!” ― William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare's words have been referenced over time.  All that shines is not gold - has become a well-known phrase.  So we come to how shiny is used today.  It seems similar to Shakespeare - though hundreds of years have passed. "A company shouldn't get addicted to being shiny, because shiny doesn't last. Jeff Bzos "I think that wealthy white people would like to have a country that resembles the Fifties, when all the minorities were tucked away in ghettos and paid in very low wages but on the surface it was very bright and shiny and free and the rest of the world would look on it longingly. Alice Walker "I'm not a particularly shiny, happy person. I'm fairly cynical, and that's what draws me to comedy. Elizabeth Banks "Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night? Jack Kerouac These come from brainyquote.com So we look at Gerry' shiny car - while that beautiful shine won't last, it's been captured forever.