I will turn 55 this coming year. Although I have always had a youthful face, I am increasingly being provided with senior discounts without being asked my age. These are offered most by those who appear to be twenty and younger.
While I am always one to take advantage of a discount, it has also forced me to reflect on my current place in life. We all experience some reminiscence of our youth as we grow older, some of it rather fondly, others of it not so much.
But while the body ages, which can sometimes be temporarily repaired with tummy tucks, Botox and fish oil pills, we also gain a sense of context about life about which the emerging generations have little clue.
Some of us, mostly Boomers, search for the fountain of youth, resenting the fact that young clerks and servers automatically give us the senior discount. But that, in a way, is to deny the rich collection of experiences, some might say wisdom, we accumulate over time.
After all, regardless of your training, education or work history, we all have accumulated a wealth of street smarts that we share with others, whether they want to hear it or not.
Of course sometimes all this stuff about the wisdom of the aged is irrelevant. I stopped to buy some wine at a liquor store recently and the young clerk behind the counter asked to see my driver’s license. I thanked him for that, but he said, “Don’t thank me. We check everyone, whether they’re eight or eighty.”