AGING

 At my age, it's not uncommon to receive in my e-mail box a plethora of jokes and cartoons about aging.  Most of them, sadly, really hit home.  They are obviously written and designed by people who have been there - done that.

I had a revelation similar to these jokes while walking as fast as I can on the running machine at the gym.  First, the evil interior designers put those contraptions on the second floor so I have to catch my breath and check my pulse before I ever start.  That's a different issue. 

I can see all around the gym from up there.  Last week, I noticed that almost every sweating body was  adorned with headphones or a headset of some kind.  They have some strange names that I never heard of printed on them.  Not sure if they are listening to something or just noise-canceling.

Looking closer, all the rest of the people had cute little white or black earphones or earbuds stuck in their ears.  Wow!  I didn't feel so bad now.  I had my earbuds in place listening to a "current event" podcast on my phone.  I'm one of them!

Then it hit me; the age thing struck me:  I was the only one in the whole place that had wires attached to my ears!  Yikes!   It's like having a dial telephone mounted on the wall. So oooooold.  I covet being taken for a younger person.  Now, that could be out at the gym.  

Yankee ingenuity to the rescue.  No more listening to podcasts on my outdated ear devices.  I'm ripping the wires off of my Apple earplugs so I can be part of the crowd, be one in solidarity with the guys with 32" waists and Popeye forearms;  be one with the chicks in the yoga pants and bare-midriff tank tops.  They'll never know that I'm connected to nothing.  

Pity me ... and my ego.