What Age Is Old (You Sound Old Related)

RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
edited December 2010 in Strut Central
My Dad still gives me shit about the time I said I hoped I didn't live past 25 and become an "old man".

In my 20's I thought 40 was old.

At 53 I'm thinking more like 75.

So at what age does the average strutter think you become "old"?

  Comments


  • ReynaldoReynaldo 6,054 Posts
    40 for guys. For chicks it's when they start getting wrinkles.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Depends on the person.

    For me, I will probably begin to feel old when I can't do things I used to due to physical limitations because of the passage of time.

    I have a few friends in their 20s, younger than me, and we were all out a few nights ago and I am watching them thinking, the crap these guys eat and the way they drink and smoke, I've got like 15 years on them! (unless I get hit by a truck, of course)

    I find it more and more difficult to recognize people's age within the 18 - 68 range.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    It's funny you ask this, as I think what you wrote in another thread is a real key to not getting stale and stuck: NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU WERE LIKE AT YOUR KID'S AGE
    Even if not a parent, it's important to remember.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,903 Posts
    I always thought it was the day you say "It's too loud" or "Get off my lawn".

  • Options
    It's the day you start thinking Republicans make sense.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    60. What's Eldery then? 75?

  • gravelheadwrapgravelheadwrap corn 948 Posts
    Definitely depends on the person.

    But generally, I've always felt once you hit 70, you're old. A lot of people are still quite active in their late 60s, not to mention 90s. I've got a relative who is 94 who still plays 18 holes of golf a few times during the summer.

  • eliseelise 3,252 Posts
    batmon said:
    60. What's Eldery then? 75?

    You have accused me of having greys, mister! ;)

  • BobDesperado said:
    It's the day you start thinking Republicans make sense.

    wouldn't you be happier spewing your tired political bullshit at some other website like the huffington post?

  • BreezBreez 1,706 Posts
    bassie said:
    Depends on the person.

    I mean as far as looks, look at Raquel Welch. She's in her late 60's and she is RE-DIC-U-LOUS!! As far as feeling old, it varies from person to person. I'm only 35 and I feel "kind of" old. Music also can make you feel old or at least out of touch which leads to feeling old.

  • roy haynes is 85 and he is still playing just a great as ever. dude must have an ageing picture of himself locked away in the attic.


  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I do think how you feel in this regard can reflect physically. Of course, there are genes, environmental factors, etc. but feeling like you are wasting away, disconnected and generally on your downward glide, it will show in how you carry yourself, in how much you frown or smile, etc.

    I can't say I feel that different than from when I was 25, it's basically plateau'ed for me since then.

  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    Hey,

    I feel old every time I play basketball against 20-somethings at the gym. I look at their quickness and athleticism and think, man, I used to have that level of quickness, leaping ability, and stamina. Plus, when I was their ages, I didn't feel the after-effects of playing ball for days later (e.g., sore knees and back) like I do now.

    Another manifestation of my getting old is my dwindling alcohol tolerance and recovery from it. Man, in my 20s, I could knock 'em back like a champ, puff 2 or 3 blunts, and not feel a thing the next day. Now, a major bender can incapacitate me for an entire day, or at minimum, I'll suffer a headache through the whole work day. Also, I can't eat like I used to, as if I eat some spicy shit (or beef) too late, I'll have nighttime heartburn like a motherfucker. I had to cut that shit out as I got sick of popping Pepcid ACs.

    Finally, after years of being so up on popular music, I don't have a fucking clue as to what the hot songs are or who the hot artists are. I'm totally disconnected from the current music scene, something I could never envisioning as happening to me. So, I'd say in my late 30s and early 40s, I realized I was that getting old. On the upside, the quality of fucking improves astronomically from the 20s to the 40s. As an old dude, I have some tricks up my sleeves that you young pups haven't learned yet. ;-P

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    Big_Stacks said:
    Hey,

    I feel old every time I play basketball against 20-somethings at the gym. I look at their quickness and athleticism and think, man, I used to have that level quickness, leaping ability, and stamina. Plus, when I was their ages, I didn't feel the after-effects of playing ball for days later (e.g., sore knees and back) like I do now.

    Another manifestation of my getting old is my dwindling alcohol tolerance and recovery from it. Man, in my 20s, I could knock 'em back like a champ, puff 2 or 3 blunts, and not feel a thing the next day. Now, a major bender can incapacitate me for an entire day, or at minimum, I'll suffer a headache through the whole work day. Also, I can't eat like I used to, as if I each some spicy shit (or beef) too late, I'll have nighttime heartburn like a motherfucker. I had to cut that shit out as I got sick of popping Pepcid ACs.

    Finally, after years of being so up on popular music, I don't have a fucking clue as to what the hot songs are or who the hot artists are. I'm totally disconnected from the current music scene, something I could never envisioning as happening to me. So, I'd say in my late 30s and early 40s, I realized I was that getting old. On the upside, the quality of fucking improves astronomically from the 20s to the 40s. As an old dude, I have some tricks up my sleeves that you young pups haven't learned yet. ;-P

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak

    I stopped running full court at 40 and haven't played serious half court since I was 45......I go out and play with some younger guys during lunch break but I can feel the age catching up with me.....still, I'll take any mofo on in a game of 21 or HORSE and usually win. I love spicy food but I need the Prilosec from time to time...and I rarely drink hard liquor anymore....just a beer snob these days. My kids keep me up on the new music front just well enough to know that most of it sucks. I know that I'm definitely younger than some people younger than me and older than some folks older than me...it's all attitude.......and it helps to just laugh when some strutter throws the "you sound old" card at me because I'm just old enough to know that being old beats the hell out of the alternative.

  • waxjunkywaxjunky 1,849 Posts
    The scale definitely slides over time. Just estimate how long you think you'll live, then subtract 10 years. That's old.

  • onetetonetet 1,754 Posts
    As far as music goes, I think "old" doesn't necessarily mean someone who's disengaged from what's popular or hip, but rather someone who stops finding time to seek out new music -- usually settling into a safe but sad brand loyalty for the ever-diminishing returns of fading heroes.

    I've seen a lot of friends get old soon after moving to the suburbs, maybe getting married, taking a desk job they hate -- and realizing they're old a few years later when they emerge from the 'burbs to find that their old friends haven't spent those years sitting around waiting for a GBV reunion or new De La Soul album.

  • jleejlee 1,539 Posts
    "oldness" as it relates to "ageism" i would suggest tends to be right around 50 give or take your health & looks.

    "oldness" as it relates to "coolness" is much more debatable. sometimes the old guy at the club or concert is super hip, and sometimes he is super sketchy. i would argue that there is a line in which if the desire to be cool outweighs your desire to be responsible then you have hit that "sketchy oldness" factor.

  • edulusedulus 421 Posts
    im 27, my friends have started to get married and have kids. i have never given marriage and kids serious thought, but after the latest break-up...and spending time with the folks over christmas, i did the math and realized that i was three when my parents were my age and my younger brother was just born.

    so now i feel old.

    also, the fact that i am finally leaving school after 23 years in, i am feeling i dunno, more like an adult. i guess i don't feel old, i just feel more like an adult now.

    so to answer the question, 50 is old. some people age quicker, but once you hit the triumvirate of bad back, bad sight and bad memory, you're old.

  • plaese to describe the conditions surrounding your every day commute to school. uphill both ways? sharing shoes?

  • Options
    crabmongerfunk said:
    BobDesperado said:
    It's the day you start thinking Republicans make sense.

    wouldn't you be happier spewing your tired political bullshit at some other website like the huffington post?

    No. Wouldn't you be happier if you just put me on ignore so you wouldn't feel compelled to soil yourself every time I post something you don't like?

  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    In relation to the other thread I started, yeah, starting to worry about whether kids are acting inappropriate behind the doors of your own home does have a way of making you feel older than you might like. My girl is two years older than me (32 her, 30 me). She had two kids real early (knocked up at 16) and got married and divorced early, too. It's a lot of responsibility trying to go right by her, her two boys and me, and it takes an effort to not make a big deal about things that are annoying but that, in the end, aren't a big deal -- you know "it's a process." I know all the kids' friends look at my girl and me as fairly young and still "cool," and to a certain extend take me seriously despite the fact we could be their older brother or sister. In the end, all of us have to deal with things that we may not be ready to handle, and how we handle those bends in the road helps us remain youthful -- or crumble under the pressures of the world. I still feel young, yet I also just updated my beneficiary on my life insurance policy.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Big_Stacks said:

    Finally, after years of being so up on popular music, I don't have a fucking clue as to what the hot songs are or who the hot artists are. I'm totally disconnected from the current music scene, something I could never envisioning as happening to me.

    I would say im totally disconnected but my eagerness to remain on top of shit in this flooded and fractered era of the music game has vanished. But "Upper echelon" POP music has been suspect to me for a long minute, even before the internet totally eclipsed the industry. U cant tell me Katy Perry is what is what's really good. Or dude talmbout Justin Timberlake's album is like Off The Wall. Pause.

    My healing factor slowing up has woke my ass up to age. A cut will take longer to heal, or a sore muscle needs longer rest.

    As long as the Third Muscle still works im good.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I think there is something to be said for the _____ is the new ______ that is so popular these days.
    I think white_tea's post is a great example of how living out new definitions of family - hence responsibility and maturity level - while engaging in one's own interests and maintaining one's identity means that age is becoming more and more just a number.

    In the past, it was family and occupation that marked these things, but since that's all gone haywire, the lines are blurred. Really, it seems physical limits can be the only true demarcation. But science is dealing with that, too...

  • AlmondAlmond 1,427 Posts
    I've been told I look young but act old. I like arts/crafts, floral bedding, baking, and vinyl records. Even as a youngin, the kids would say things like "You should be a librarian." I think I'd make a great grandmother, but that involves having kids first.

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    I'm not sure that "old people" are held in the same esteem today that they were when I was a youngin....I always dug listening to old folks tell stories about "back in the day" and thought growing old was some sort of badge of honor. When my grandfather was 94 years old I asked him if I bought a tape recorder and taught him how to use it (he was blind), would he tell the story of his life on tape. He couldn't imagine why anyone on earth would be interested in his life and I explained that I wanted my kids and grandkids to hear about what it was like growing up during his lifetime.

    He thought about it a minute and said he couldn't do it....I told him not to worry, the tape recorder was easy to operate and he replied "It's not that, they're are just too many things I've done in my life that I'm ashamed of and wouldn't want people to know about".....I told him to just leave those parts out to which he replied "Well, then there won't be anything to talk about".

    He died at 98 and I really do regret not getting him to do that....he had dropped out of school at 10 to pick tobacco and went blind in his 30's from drinking bad moonshine...I really wish I got to hear those stories he was ashamed of.

    I don't think "old people" are respected today they same way they were 50 years ago.

  • When I was 22 I knew a 26 year old. I thought he was old as dirt. Then I dated a 29 year old. Might as well been my mothers friend.

    Now I'm almost 40 and my perception hasn't changed. I see people all the time that I think are old but I have to check my self because they are probably 10 years younger than me.

    Age is just a number anyway. I hope to be active into my elderly years if I make it.


    Sometimes I ask my friends if they still skateboard. They might say, I'm too old for that stuff. My body cant take it. They are 30 smh. I didn't even learn kickflips till I turned 30.

  • Anytime I tell someone I'm 34 they state "Geez, you don't look at day over 24"!. I feel,look and sometimes act like I'm still 20. It is all about how you take care of yourself. What you put in your body, how you handle stress, genes..etc. My dad was in his late 60's when grey hairs started appearing. Same with my mother. I come from a youthful family.

  • jaymackjaymack 5,199 Posts
    Raquel Welch[/url]. She's in her late 60's and she is RE-DIC-U-LOUS!!

    c'mon. maybe 10-15 years ago, but be surrious.

  • Options
    Rockadelic said:
    I'm not sure that "old people" are held in the same esteem today that they were when I was a youngin....I always dug listening to old folks tell stories about "back in the day" and thought growing old was some sort of badge of honor. When my grandfather was 94 years old I asked him if I bought a tape recorder and taught him how to use it (he was blind), would he tell the story of his life on tape. He couldn't imagine why anyone on earth would be interested in his life and I explained that I wanted my kids and grandkids to hear about what it was like growing up during his lifetime.

    He thought about it a minute and said he couldn't do it....I told him not to worry, the tape recorder was easy to operate and he replied "It's not that, they're are just too many things I've done in my life that I'm ashamed of and wouldn't want people to know about".....I told him to just leave those parts out to which he replied "Well, then there won't be anything to talk about".

    He died at 98 and I really do regret not getting him to do that....he had dropped out of school at 10 to pick tobacco and went blind in his 30's from drinking bad moonshine...I really wish I got to hear those stories he was ashamed of.

    I don't think "old people" are respected today they same way they were 50 years ago.

    Depends on what you're looking at, I guess. There are a whole lot more options for getting "old people" out and about these days, and from a lot of accounts I've heard conditions are much better in "nursing homes" than they used to be.

    If you want to go back before the New Deal, poverty among "old people" was the rule rather than the exception.

    I suppose the immense political power "old people" have now pays off in real ways.

  • ElectrodeElectrode Los Angeles 3,127 Posts
    crabmongerfunk said:
    roy haynes is 85 and he is still playing just a great as ever. dude must have an ageing picture of himself locked away in the attic.

    I was going to pop in this read because I feel like I'm 27 going on 72 since I don't even have a cell phone or Facebook. I didn't expect to see Roy Haynes in this thread. I spoke to him briefly after he signed my Horo LP at Catalina Jazz Club a couple of years ago. He's a real nice man. Anyhow, I feel like such a undesirable dipshit whenever someone my age, especially one who can't get his shit together and doesn't do jack with his life, says that he is going to get married or is going to have a kid. Meanwhile, I have been a dateless wonder for four years. I'm in the sexual prime of my life and I feel like it's all going to waste.
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