When Does One Admit to Being Old?

Many years ago I was skiing at Mount Tremblant in Quebec. Since I was in my mid-forties at the time I was convinced the old outdated HEADS I was using would have to do me the rest of my skiing days. As much as I would have liked new equipment, I figured it would be a waste of money at my age.

On that first morning I was up at the top of the mountain for my first run of the day. It was a cloudless day, the air was clear and crisp, the sky an eggshell blue, the view along the top of the mountain ridges an inspiring series of ever-green trees - pine, balsam, red cedar and spruce. Rock outcrops and sparkling virgin snow as far as you could see. And absolute quiet and peace - just the way I liked it. As the first one at the top of the North side I almost had it all to myself before the multitudes arrived to carve up its pristine surface. But there was one other early first track skier celebrating and sharing this spiritual experience of unlimited freedom!

Returning by chair for a second run I met the man who had started down the hill a few seconds before me early that morning. In the course of our conversation he asked if I would ski with him. I had seen him going down and recognized a good skier. We ended up skiing the hill in tandem the rest of the week. One day, when I got to know him better  I asked him his age. He replied seventy-two! When I returned home to Toronto I immediately went to the nearest ski shop and purchased new skis, boots and clothing.  Until I met him I though I was through and that I was enjoying my last days as a downhill skier. Because of that chance encounter I have enjoyed over forty more years of down hill skiing!

The question is: does our attitude get old before the body begins to creak? The answer is yes, or was for me, my attitude towards aging almost deprived me of many years of pleasure. I realize that is not always the situation but I have met some who seem to have given up and actually think of themselves as being old men or women. Now that I am in my 40's for the second time that same idiotic attitude is beginning to creep into my thinking again. I fought it off once, but I know this time it will be more difficult.

The earlier tumble into thinking I was old at forty now has three new, and mighty strong allies. First, the aches and pains each morning. Obviously, I can't deny that these creaking joints are trying to tell me something! Its like trying to get an old car, that was left outside one frosty night, to start. Secondly, my dear friends keep sending me emails containing so called humorous pictorial gags about old people! And last, but not least, the mammoth amount of arthritic pain medications advertised on the tube as I try to catch up on the daily  evening news.

While it is true I now have some limitations in what I can safely do, I will not let my attitude be influenced into thinking that I am an old man. I don't slaver, don't use ALWAYS infinity pads, don't lean on a walker, and don't ingest a multitude of pills every morning!

So before you give in to the pressure to behave like an old man or woman -  Carpe Diem said Horace - seize the day and live like there is no time like the present. Or, as the old adage says, "Live well, laugh often and love much."

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week