What makes you feel old?

[easysurfer]

I was at the car repair shop the other day and while waiting had a conversation with this gentleman about different events. One of the topics was the events in the Middle East, then about gas prices.

The gentleman says to me that in talking with his dad, his dad remembered when gas prices were 75 cents a gallon. To continue the conversation, I said to him, "Yes, I remember when candy bars were 5 cents each." Thinking, he'd say..."yes" in agreement.

Instead, he has a look of amazement and says astonished, "Really??, 5 cents a bar??"

Then I was thinking, am I am really that old?

I was gonna continue and say I remember when a box of cracker jacks costed on a penny, but thought maybe he wouldn't believe me

 

[W2R]

That sort of thing doesn't make me feel old. The person was just too young to have similar life experiences. Wet behind the ears.

I REALLY begin to feel old when I am sick. The longer I am sick, and the worse it is, the older I feel.

On the other hand, not being sick and working out at the gym so that I am stronger and more capable, makes me feel younger. I think I have lost about 6 years this winter and spring.

 

[Nova]

I was gonna continue and say I remember when a box of cracker jacks costed on a penny, but thought maybe he wouldn't believe me

Really? Didn't know that. But then, I was a chocolate lover from way back and do remember the $.05 candy bars. My great aunt gave me a recipe when I first married ('67) that called for a $.17 bar of Hershey's...I was confused about what size to buy way back then...never made that wonderful candy.

 

[hakuna matata]

For me it is an odd thing. I have a truck that is ready to turn over to 100,000 miles. But on new cars it is all electronic. Both my wife and I recall watching our respective father's trucks turning over, mechanically. It was awesome to watch that odometer flip to 100,000 MILES! Wow! Each number flipped and it was so cool. I think it clearly was a huge thing in our respective childhoods since we both remembered it.

But my daughter will never see that, and furthermore, she would never understand it! When the truck flips it will be just an electronic thing, nothing fancy and will mean nothing to her.

 

[freebird5825]

Old is 99.

I'm middle-aged at 52.5, so I really don't feel "old". And when I do click a few more miles on my odometer, I'm going to keep repeating that.

Old is 99.
Old is 99.
Old is 99.

It's all in the attitude.

 

[Nova]

Hmmm, let me see. Foregoing spike hills for a more sensible wedge hill or (yikes, even worse) a shoe from the comfort section, and coming to terms with the realization that my waist will never be 22" again. I cringe when someone over 21 calls me ma'am. These are a few things that make me feel old.

 

[steelyman]

Wow, what a depressing topic. I would rather hear about what makes you feel young, or that you are right where you should be.

 

[traineeinvestor]

It's a bit like those wealth surveys which show that "rich" is a bit more than you have now - old is at least 20-30 years older than I am today.

Of course, if you want a more practical answer:

1. I don't get Facebook, and neither do most of my friends and family. I struggle with the idea of putting a lot of personal information out there for the world to [-]poke fun at [/-]see and view it as a poor communication tool

2. I accept hair loss as normal

3. I start thinking that I am close to retirement

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

I REALLY begin to feel old when I am sick. The longer I am sick, and the worse it is, the older I feel.

That is no joke. I feel like senior citizen right now. On the other hand, I was in the hot-tub at the hotel I'm staying at here in FL, and some folks asked me if I was here on Spring break, and what school I attend. They seemed shocked when I told them that I'm 38!

 

[veremchuka]

talking to someone that has never seen much less used a rotary dial phone, someone that has never seen a tv where you had to go to it to change the channels or volume, someone that never saw over the air broadcast tv, someone that has never seen a vinyl record or record player, the list is long.

 

[Nords]

Teaching my daughter about classic rock, although I eventually hooked her on Blue Oyster Cult...

What keeps me feelin' young is seeing surfers in the lineup who are still older-- and better-- than me.

 

[Ronnieboy]

My co-workers make me feel old...at least the young ones. I remember something happening at work and I made the comment about Thurston Howell the III and no one knew who that was or had even heard of Gilligan's Island. Happy Day's...what was that? The Fonz? I couldn't believe it. Found out they only heard of the Brady Bunch b/c of the movies, not the t.v. show.

 

[bbbamI]

Old is 99.

I'm middle-aged at 52.5, so I really don't feel "old". And when I do click a few more miles on my odometer, I'm going to keep repeating that.

Old is 99.
Old is 99.
Old is 99.

It's all in the attitude.

Hey...I'm 53 and there's no way I'm gonna live to be 106!

But...I like your style....

 

[studbucket]

That I'm 25, yet balding and expect to be fully shaving my head within 2-4 years (to not have the "horseshoe/combover" look).

 

[kumquat]

Nothing makes me feel old!! I'm not old!! In a few months, I'll be 62 according to birth records, but I won't be old. Old is a state of mind. Normally it is reserved for people who are NOT of my cohort. If you want to call me old, prove you are younger. That means "run faster", "jump higher", "live longer" or try to attract the young chick who likes me.

(Damn, I wish the YC above wasn't my DD)

 

[FIREd]

What makes me feel old:

not being able to eat all I want without having to worry about things like high blood pressure, cholesterol level, weight...
having to concern myself with the consequences of my own death (wills, life insurance, IRA beneficiaries, etc...).
seeing more and more friends and family members die or get afflicted with illnesses.
twitter


What makes me feel young:

still getting carded when I buy alcohol
still being able to fit in the clothes I wore in my 20s
having no children and few responsibilities

 

[Major Tom]

- Looking at my collection of CD's (about 10,000 of them) and realizing that a lot of young kids wouldn't understand why I wanted to collect them,

- Being able to remember when record stores were everywhere,

- Being able to remember what life was like before the internet,

- Being called "sir",

- Not knowing (or caring) who the latest hot bands are,

- Back pain and knee pain.


Hey, you did ask!

 

[Major Tom]

That I'm 25, yet balding and expect to be fully shaving my head within 2-4 years (to not have the "horseshoe/combover" look).

I went to University with a kid who had a full monk's bald patch at the age of 18, so you're ahead of the game!

 

[Joshua]

I'm only 28, so I am not even close to old. Nevertheless, this topic is about "feeling" old, so... I do sometimes feel old when I go to work and have to explain to a 19 year old how to do something that seems simple to me. I sometimes feel old when I consider that most of the people I work with have never got up at 2am to load logs into the woodstove and run the faucets to make sure they haven't frozen up.

Mostly I feel old when I see people on here who are younger than I am but way farther ahead financially toward their goals. I've had ten years as a legal adult to make progress, and I feel like I've mostly blown them all because I didn't know how to stand up and get what I wanted.

 

[aaronc879]

I felt old a few hours ago when I was in my 32nd hour of work this weekend. I had to get all 6'6 1/2" of me down to the ground and it was very difficult and painful to get back up. I had to find something to grab onto to help pull me up or i'd still be on the ground. I'm only 31 years old. I don't want to think about what it'll be like when i'm actually old. I spent all night limping with both legs because my hip on the right side hurt and my knee on the left hurt. All the time while limping I was also holding and trying to massage my aching back. I must've looked like the walking dead.

 

[Ronstar]

I felt at my oldest when I wasn't carded for a senior discount.

 

[Cattusbabe]

I feel old if I don't work out for a few days.

 

[rescueme]

Any male sitting in a restaurant with their baseball cap on (even worse, if it's worn "ghetto style").

A similar restaurant complaint of some wait person referring to me/DW as "youse guys". Since we're probably the age of their grandparents, I wonder if they were brought up to address them in that fashion, also.

I remember when folks (any age) had manners. I wish they were still here.

BTW, I still remember gas at $.27/gal, and they cleaned your windshield and checked your oil. OTOH, I also remember my first j*b after I was discharged from the military in 1971 at 22 years of age, when my gross pay was $120/wk. The net pay had to cover the necessities of life for my DW/DS/me. They certainly were not the "good old days".

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I feel old when I suddenly realize while sitting around the lunch table at w*rk that the focus of our conversation is frequently on cholesterol, blood pressure, bunions, fiber and periodontal disease. Also where to take the grandchildren this summer.

 

[brewer12345]

Losing both the dogs in the last 7 months we adopted when we were young, pre-kids, and relatively free. We pulled up pics of both beagles as pups/yound dogs and I cannot believe how yound we all look in the shots.