It makes you think
Marie Snider
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Years ago, I had a co-worker whose avocation was “old movies.”
At the time, I found it odd that a professional man could be so passionate about entertainment.
But when he began showing classic movies during lunch hour, I was quickly hooked.
Since then, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Helen Hayes, Keenan Wynn, Fred MacMurray, Cary Grant have become like old friends. And I watch the classics every chance I get.
By now, I’m seeing many for the second or third time. But that doesn’t matter. Like good books and good music, I never tire of old movies.
Last week, we re-watched “Monkey Business.”
In this movie, Cary Grant is an absent-minded chemist working on a youth formula. With the accidental help of one of the lab chimps, he actually succeeds. Unfortunately, only the chimp knows what’s in the formula. So Cary is back to ground zero.
At the end of the movie Cary tells his wife, played by Ginger Rogers, that he has a new recipe for staying young.
“What is it?” she asks.
“Well, it doesn’t come in packages or bottles,” Cary responds. “You’re old only when you forget you’re young. It’s a word you keep in your heart, a light you have in your eye.”
And the movie ends with Cary asking, “Do you like my formula? Makes you think, doesn’t it?”
It does make you think. Especially, in 2007.
My grandmother was old when she died at 72. But my mother, on the other hand, was young when she died at 82. And I have a goal to be vibrant at 100.
Today, that is not an unreasonable goal.
One study of eight European countries reports that the life expectancy of females has increased by three months per year for the past 160 years. And the researchers are projecting a life expectancy of 100 for women in those countries by 2070, with men not far behind.
Gerontologist Ken Dychtwald has written a book with journalist Dan Kadlec that is expected to help baby boomers revolutionize aging.
“The Power Years: A User’s Guide to the Rest of Your Life” is a step-by-step guide to reinventing yourself as you age.
According to these authors, baby boomers will be interested in second and third careers. They will want to find new interests. They will want to volunteer and contribute to society. They will want to leave a lasting legacy. And at the same time, they’ll want to have plenty of fun.
But what about those of us who are already this side of 60, or 70 or 80?
The authors have this to say about us: “In recent decades, a small but growing number of older adults have been rejecting the social pressure to ‘act their age.’ They have been rebelling against ageist stereotypes and seeking to remain productive and involved.
“They are everywhere... the executive who becomes a high school teacher; the grandmother who writes her first book; the accountant who becomes an artist. Ask them when they think they’ll start to feel elderly inside, and they’ll probably say never.”
We don’t have to wait for the baby boomers to revolutionize aging. We’re already doing it. Just remember what Cary Grant said, “You’re old only when you forget you’re young.”
It makes you think, doesn’t it?
F Write Marie Snider at thisside60@aol.com or visit her website at www.visit-snider.com