One of "those ads" at the bottom of an article I was reading had a picture of an old man behind the wheel of a car being 'grumpy' - he looked like he was pounding his fists on the steering wheel. It was funny because he was little and looked like the grandfather in Hard Day's Night with the Beatles. It was an ad for car insurance in Grimsby. He was definitely British so I think they (the algorithm) got confused and gave me a Grimsby U.K. ad. It's happened before.
I though there must be lots of pictures of grumpy old British men: they seem to be archetypal. In fact, Getty images delivered search results of 94,523 Old British Man Photos.
Now compare that to the same search term with the addition of American - for old American men - that's a different headline - 3,280 handsome 50 year old men photos and premium... from Getty. American old isn't very old, is it? I guess Getty has the pulse on societal norms in advertising and what gets our attention.
There are a lot of articles on being old and grumpy. They seem to be opinion articles and explanatory pieces - what makes people grumpy at an older age and how to fix oneself. Everyone weighs in on this - AARP, Psychology Today, news organizations, newspapers. It seems to be a popular topic with differing data and views on whether old people are grumpier or happier than younger people.
And what is the magic age that turns an older person grumpy? There is some consensus on this, or else everyone references the same source. It is the age of 70 - the marker where "life - or at least the perception of happiness - begins to go downhill". I wonder if my Dad read that study, as that's what he told me.
And consider this: that was all written before the Pandemic. We are seeing a rise in grumpiness across the entire population. These articles come from medical and government sites as well as top magazines. Forbes heads the list with Is It Just Me or Is Everyone Grumpy? And that was written in July so consider the state now. Those articles talk about the coronavirus pandemic making everything seem uncertain, casing stress, short tempers, sadness and tension. And so we are justified in being grumpy.
Will there be a generation of curmudgeon children? That's a scary movie, isn't it?
Here is the "Maple tree" at Honsberger Street - the first photo the spring and the second winter. Can you spot the difference of the season in the sky, or the trees in the background? Or is it the dandelions in the grass of the first photo?
