HOW OLD IS OLD?

The Old Rusty Nail

AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE

Russell Burton, an Old Person

I ran across an e-article when I was looking for how much exercise someone my age should do each week.  I read numerous articles without finding a specific answer to my question.  As I should have expected, there aren’t really valid suggestions relating certain exercises or their amounts to any age group.  I was hoping at my age of 84 years I would find out that exercises are of no benefit to someone my age because I do not enjoy going to the gym several times each week. But, while I am there I see lots of people who appear to be having fun although I admit most of them are much younger. 

Well, I didn’t find what I had hoped to find because it was plain that some forms of physical exercises are useful throughout a person’s life regardless of age.  Obviously, I did not like that finding but I all really knew that physical exercises are of benefit regardless of age.

Still my search was not in vain for what I did discover was that old age has classifications for different age groups which are: early-old age (65-75 years of age); middle-old age (75-85) and very old is 85 years of age and older. Oh my, I have less than a year before I am ‘very old’.  So, I have concerns regarding this classification system.  Now, I am a scientist who has classified or grouped things regarding quantity many times in my research career, so it seems to me that going from ‘middle-old age’ suddenly to ‘very old’ in just one year is not right. You know, simply ‘old age’ was somehow left out.

In addition there were no explanations regarding the boundaries of these groups.  That is, other than age what makes these groups exist? Why does early-old age begin at 65? I was still working as a US Air Force laboratory Chief Scientist when I was 65 so I certainly did not feel like I was beginning my old-age experience.

So not knowing why these groups exist, I asked myself, what will happen when I reach this magical very-old age of 85?  You know, how will I feel?  Well this does concern me because like I have written before, when I reached 80 I suddenly felt old and that was a shock because in my 70's I felt kind of middle age whatever that feels like. Now, by looking at this age classification system, I should have felt something about this aging feeling when I reached 75 and became ‘middle-age old’, but that didn’t happen! So, I guess I was doing really well regarding this aging feeling thing. Still once again, it was never explained what it would feel like when someone enters each bracket. You know, how I am doing with this aging process.  Am I ahead of the game or falling behind?

I suppose it really does not matter which it is because age is age and time does not slow down. Einstein showed us that with his Space Time Theory. I know I sometimes kid myself into believing that by exercising at the gym I will slow down this aging process.  I have found that that is not happening because even though I go to the gym for exercises several times a week, I am still getting older and older.

Now, this classification thing has me wondering, maybe I should have felt old when I turned 75 but that did not happen until I reached 80.  That is, the feelings I got of feeling old at 80 was kind of a feeling that is supposed to occur with this ‘middle-old-age’ classification? If that is the case, I am growing older slower than I am supposed to.  So, I will not feel very old until I am 90! On the other hand, I am supposed to feel ‘middle-old age’ until I am 85 but I feel old at 80.

Well, this is both good news and bad news.  I was unaware that these age brackets existed.  I thought that being old was enough but I should have known better for I have written about my yearly physical changes which have occurred since I reached the age of 80.  There are several of them and none are what I consider as good.  And, yes they are making me feel like I am getting just ‘old’ but not really ‘very old’.

So, if I look at my present feelings about being old at 80 and not 75 does that mean I will not be ‘very old’ until I am 90?  And, when or where did ‘old’ happen? Thus, I suggest a change in this classification by having ‘middle-age-old’ from 75-80.  Then ‘old’ from 80 to 85 when people become really ‘very old’ and remain that way until they die.  On the other hand maybe we could add another group like ‘very-very old’ at 90 or perhaps ‘ancient’ might be appropriate.

So, with my always inquisitive mind I went to my Thesaurus and looked up ‘ancient’ which sent me to ‘old’ where I found numerous words like: infirm, inactive, enfeebled, decrepit, exhausted, impaired, broken-down, wasted, doddering, senile, having one foot in the grave, gone to seed, ragged, broken down, out of use, dilapidated, useless, tattered and there are many more.  Oh there were other words which were not this disheartening but still…

Now, I think these new classes I propose make lots of sense but it really has not changed anything regarding my aging process.  I just know that my physical condition and capabilities began to change significantly and noticeably when I turned 80 thus beginning this old-age process. And, it is coming on much more rapidly than I expected still I am not doddering, broken-down, or impaired.

My uncle will turn 94 in a couple of months which means he has been ‘very old’ for nearly 10 years.  I phone him about once a month or he phones me to see how we are doing.  He lives with his daughter in his lovely home which be bought in the 1930’s.  Next time we talk I must ask him what ‘very-old age’ feels like. On the other hand, maybe I don’t want to know.  Then maybe he has yet to become ‘very old’ whatever that means.

Well I am about to go to the gym for my weightlifting exercises for the week. I know it doesn’t stop this aging thing but maybe when I fall next time (and I will) I won’t break any bones.

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