Rick Patrick
Columnist
I heard something on the radio this morning that caused things to suddenly "hit home" with me. Those of you who may have been paying attention may remember that I had my 59th birthday about a month ago. Most of the time, I look at age as "just a number." I generally feel pretty good most days. I don't run or jog anymore, but running and jogging has never been an activity that I particularly enjoyed, so I don't feel a great deal of loss there. I proudly request an "old man discount" almost anywhere I go and I am not in the least bit offended when I am given that discount without prompting. For the most part, I feel I can say that I am aging rather gracefully; not quite as good as a fine wine, but certainly better than three-week-old milk.
This morning, I heard that some retirement investment program is sponsoring the new Rolling Stones tour. From a marketing standpoint, I can appreciate the wisdom of this. Most Rolling Stones fans are probably at the age at which retirement investments are an important thing. Mick Jagger is, after all, 76 years old. Keith Richards is a mere youngster at 75. What's more, if I took a quick survey of my wonderful co-workers and asked who the Rolling Stones are, I would probably get at least one or two blank looks. In fact, as I am typing this, I did just that. Yes, I got one or two blank looks. All this proves the point that I'm not getting any younger.
The funny thing about all that is, I'm not really disturbed or bothered by any of that. Fortunately, I have a job that I can see myself doing for the next 20 years. I mean, how strenuous can it be to sit and type stories? Sure, I go to ball games and yes, that does take a minimum amount of physical activity. But as long as I can still make my way along the sidelines at the football games, I don't see that being a problem for many years to come. I'm reminded of the good time I had at my 40-year high school reunion last summer. Regardless of our age, we could still have a good time. This coming summer, I will be attending another reunion. I have no doubt that a great time will be enjoyed by everyone there. We'll probably be "rocking" just like a bunch of kids.
I just hope I don't hear a "Muzak" version of "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" on the radio anytime soon.