When did I become an old fart?
The topic of last party at Mayra´s house was the horrific: "getting old". I thought that it would not happen to me, that stuff was happening to everybody else, but me: the wrinkles, the tiredness, the lack of interest in what I have always been interested in, the stiffnes, the long reassuring speeches to young people. Boy, I was wrong. In this party, I WAS THE ONLY ONE GETTING OLD. Everybody there was fashionable and pretty, and me, no matter how many songs of Hip-hop bands I have accumulated in my iTunes library, I was as unfashionable as ever. Still not getting the last band´s hit!
I found that I was old, when I was reassuring random young people that everything is going to work out all right: school, jobs, love, life projects, everything ends up working out fine. That no matter what their fears, it is always for good, or that you end up accepting reality and moving on (or committing suicide in the worst case, and in the least worst case, you end up liking Monty Phyton and disliking authority). I did not say that last night to anybody, understanding that the restlesness of youth, may find that as an opportunity to blame me for not giving them more direction. And frankly, who likes Monty Phyton anymore but old folks?
Reassuring younger people!!! What a sight. I used to be the one needing reassurance, and there were always older people to do that at parties. Should I pursue this career? should I worry about the stock market? Should I follow fashion? Should I vote in favor of animal rights? There was always the random old-fart telling me, that no matter what, everything is going to be allright. I was then convinced of the validity of my questions, and the reliability of the answers. But now, still with not proven validity or reliability, I was there, with all my teeth, telling younger people that life works out.
Later, I discovered that being in the old-fart side of the room only takes a couple of years. A generation is about how long college life lasts, or for those that do not attend college, about how long high school lasts, or how long hanging out with friends and doing things irresponsibly lasts. You can stretch that for more, but it does not last, because the new "generations" keep following the ones that are slightly older, to ask for reassurance. And your peers start getting obsessed with having children and buying houses! In no time, you end up reassuring your peers children about how good life works out. So, young people, be prepared, it does not take long to be part of the old-fart crowd. I will be there to welcome you!
Toni
Comments
Very thoughtful, Toni. Funny how sneaky aging is. As you say, the generations just keep piling up behind you, relentlessly. But you're not the only one getting old, believe me (that's the old fart in me reassuring you). The nice thing about getting older is how you don't need to leave the house dressed exactly like all your girlfriends, your identity isn't propped up by only the music you listen to and the TV shows you watch, and you don't need to cop a hipper-than-thou attitude to cover up the lack of life experience. Plus, you're pretty much immune to the current nostalgia for the 80s, a scary time in so many respects (not the least of which was fashion ;-)). I enjoyed reading this.