Back to the Future

Clint Eastwood, happy 85th

William Shatner, happy 84th

The man you now know as “Raymond Reddington,” happy 55th

Chevy Chase, happy 71st

Gary Oldham, happy 57th

Robert Redford, happy 78th

Martin Sheen, happy 74th

Jeff Bridges, happy 65th

Jay Rusovich [me], happy 59th

~~~

When I was growing up this is what these guys looked like, myself included.

We no longer look this way, but it’s important to note that all of us travel through life in the same progression.

We all know what youth looked and felt like, because at one time, we were also maladjusted teenagers pulling figure-8’s on someone’s golf course in the middle of the night.

I bring this up also because in spite of the fact that youth is still a middle-aged man’s most precious commodity, I never appreciated it until it was gone.

Now I pay through the teeth for it.

The Beauty-Status Exchange

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/07/the-myth-of-buying-beauty/374414/

The Beauty-Status relationship is analogous to lines and performance in sports cars.

And speaking of sports cars, there’s always a faster one.

~~~

What I’m about to illustrate will probably irritate most women who resent objectification, but it may help mitigate the anger through acceptance that men are superficial first, human second.

THE MALE DEMOGRAPHIC

1] Big cities

2] Educated

3] Worldly

4] “Rich”

5] Baby-Boomers

Three [3] female body types and how men of the above demographic respond to each:

While no one could possibly argue that this woman isn’t insanely fit, most would find her too muscular for cocktail attire.

Imagine her in Prada and the discussion is closed.

She’s out of place anywhere other than a gym, which is not where most of these men spend the majority of their lives.

She is also impossible to physically control, which challenges a CEO’s self-perception as natural born leader.

A plus-size model parades a design from the Rio label during the ‘Hot in the City’ Intimates show at the Sydney Fashion Festival on August 21, 2009. The festival aimed at the public profiles the comtemporary spring-summer collections of local and international fashion brands as these new season’s looks arrive into stores throughout the city. RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE AFP PHOTO / Greg WOOD (Photo credit should read GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

Plus-sized women make such men feel inadequate and embarrassed.

What have they done – or not done – in their personal lives to enable such an abomination to evolve?

People will hurl conjecture right and left at galas and benefits from here to Monte Carlo.

She should know better, and he’s obviously a complete failure as a man, so yes, this physique is a FAIL.

SHARNI VINSON and Kellan Lutz at the Beach at Cronulla New South Wales in Australia

While there remains a small niche market for this look – particularly among men who get off on physically dominating the look and feel of 12-year-old boys – it is less common than you might imagine.

Finally, we have what most men in the above demographic consider a woman prepped to sell.

She is fit, but overly so. “Toned, but not muscular” is the way is usually described.

Her bathing suit looks the way the fashion designer envisioned it on a woman, and furthermore, she would look great in basically everything “couture” on the planet.

Perceptions of him – his status, in particular – soars.

He’s now arrived and she gets the house.

Yea, there’s a downside to everything.

~~~

HOW TO MAINTAIN “OBJECT” STATUS

Women who go down this road know what they have to sacrifice in order to get it right.

First, they have to start out with the right facial and body structure.

There is some wiggle room here, so don’t freak out just yet.

From this point forward, the hard work begins.

Tenet #1: Counting calories is as much a part of life as breathing, preferably no more than 1200 a day.

For me 1200 calories doesn’t even cover breakfast, but whatever.

Tenet #2: In order to maintain the obligatory year-round tan and flawless skin, you need the right skincare products and 100% sunblock.

Understand that women do not tan at a pool. They tan at a salon. There’s a difference.

As for exercising, there is no such thing as running a marathon or any extended outdoor running at all.

It’s fine for teenagers, but once a woman hits her mid-20’s all the sun damage creeps in like a tsunami.

Tenet #4: All exercising must be done indoors – at “pump” classes, Pilates and yoga.

Understand that the look is “toned, but not muscular,” in spite of the fact that this makes no literal sense, since tone is muscle.

But women in “the know” understand the terminology well because they have the blueprint stamped into their DNA.

SUMMARY OF THE BASICS

1] 1200 calories a day

2] Spray on tan and sunblock.

3] Indoor exercise, only.

Got it?

WANT MORE?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3122739/All-day-s-work-Erin-Holland-furiously-flaunts-fabulous-figure-numerous-bikinis-impromptu-photo-shoot-friends-Fiji.html

How You “KNOW” You’re Middle-Age: A Primer in Dispelling Stereotypes

The article below cites 40 bullet points that claim to determines “middle-age” status:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/middle-age_n_3830194.html

Oh Dear God. Here we go…

According the article, the top 40 signs of middle age [55-plus] are as follows.

Notes:

Between each entry are my comments based on personal experience as a middle-age man living in a large metropolitan area.

You may find many of my comments surprising. Or not.

Here’s their list:

1) Losing touch with everyday technology such as tablets and TVs

Comments: This does not apply to me, but it does for others…many others. But most of them are in their 80’s and couldn’t care less.

2) Finding you have no idea what ‘young people’ are talking about

Comments: Again, this doesn’t apply to me because I’m around people of all generations. Disconnecting is a big problem, particularly for older men.

3) Feeling stiff

Comments: I don’t know what “feeling stiff” means in this context, but I have to assume it’s inflexibility, which is not a problem when you stretch, foam roll, and circuit train.

4) Needing an afternoon nap

Comments: On the days I don’t workout I don’t nap. On the days I do, I’m down for the count.

5) Groaning when you bend down

Comments: After dead-lifting hundreds of pounds, the attendant soreness makes me groan just getting out of bed.

6) Not remembering the name of any modern bands

Comments: I didn’t know there were any modern bands. Most of the bands I listen to still tour.

7) Talking a lot about your joints/ailments

Comments: Everyone who works out talks about ailments because we’re looking for work-a rounds, in most cases. As for going on and on about one bullshit ache and pain after the next, I leave it to the guys who threw up their hands at age 50.

8) Hating noisy pubs

Comments: I don’t go to pubs because I’m not much of a drinker. As for restaurants, I don’t like a lot of noise because I can’t hear the conversations, which is why I’m there in the first place.

9) Getting more hairy -– ears, eyebrows, nose, face etc.

Comments: Yes to all of the above, which is why I make sure that stuff doesn’t get out of control. You have to pay attention. Most older men don’t, hence the punchlines.

10) Thinking policemen/teachers/doctors look really young

Comments: I have no idea where this came from because my GP is 10 years older than I am and a triathlete. As for teachers and policemen, it never really crossed my mind.

11) Preferring a night in with a board game than a night on the town

Comments: A night in the pool followed by a glass of wine is more like it. When I was single, I’d take the night on the town in a heartbeat.

12) You don’t know any songs in the top ten

Comments: I don’t know any songs in the top ten by name, but I do recognize a Katy Perry song that makes my skin crawl.

13) Choosing clothes and shoes for comfort rather than style

Comments: I choose shoes with soft soles because they are more comfortable. All of my Prada’s have soft soles.

14) Taking a flask of tea on a day out

Comments: My trainer who’s 35 carries tea around with him, as do a lot of young guys in the gym who want a peak workout. Caffeine is a key ingredient in many sports drinks. I just do the morning coffee and nap when necessary.

15) Obsessive gardening or bird feeding

Comments: I don’t garden, but like trees if that helps.

16) Thinking there is nothing wrong with wearing an anorak

Comments: I didn’t know what an anorak was until I Googled it. But no, I don’t wear one and have no idea why anyone else would, either.

17) Forgetting people’s names

Comments: This has been a problem since high-school, but I’m working on it.

18) Booking on to a cruise

Comments: I hate the idea of being stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean with a bunch of people I don’t know, so no.

19) Misplacing your glasses/bag/car keys etc.

Comments: I’m getting better at this. I started reading this book on mindfulness, which reminded me to try and focus on one thing at a time, rather than 6000.

20) Complaining about the rubbish on television these days

Comments: My name is Jay Rusovich and I am a TV show addict.

21) Gasping for a cup of tea

Comments: I don’t even know what this means.

22) Getting bed socks for Christmas and being very grateful

Comments: I don’t know the meaning of “bed socks.” But I don’t wear socks in bed because I have blankets.

23) Taking a keen interest in The Antiques Road Show

Comments: I’m into mid-century modern and contemporary.

24) When you start complaining about more things

Comments: When I was in high-school I complained about the lack of freedom to come and go as I pleased. Now I complain about long waits for room service. Tie.

25) Listening to the Archers

Comments: I don’t know what – or who – the Archers are, and refuse to Google it/them.

26) You move from radio one to radio two

Comments: I don’t understand this one at all.

27) Joining the National Trust

Comments: The what?

28) Being told off for politically incorrect opinions

Comments: All the time. Always have.

29) Flogging the family car for something sportier

Comments: I’m childless and living with a woman half my age. There is no “family car.”

30) When you can’t lose six pounds in two days anymore

Comments: I lost 5 pounds of water on a two-hour bike ride yesterday.

31) You get shocked by how racy music videos are

Comments: I assume this is a veiled reference to Miley Cyrus performances, which are tepid compared to the shit I’ve seen, and personally experienced.

32) Taking a keen interest in the garden

Comments: Knock if off with the garden shit, already.

33) Buying travel sweets for the car

Comments: We carry stuff most people associate with surviving a global apocalypse. “Sweets” are not on that list.

34) Considering going on a ‘no children’ cruise for a holiday

Comments: Why would any adult want to hang out around a bunch of children?

35) When you know your alcohol limit

Comments: I have always known my alcohol limit. My body tells me the same way it did back in college.

36) Obsessively recycling/ knowing the collection dates

Comments: I just watch what the neighbors do. Most of them are actual adults.

37) Always carrying a handy pack of tissues

Comments: WTF?

38) Falling asleep after one glass of wine

Comments: Most people who workout a lot fall asleep after a glass of water.

39) Spending more money on face creams/anti-aging products

Comments: Guilty as charged. But my girlfriend outspends me tenfold.

40) Preferring a Sunday walk to a lie in

Comments: I’ll take the later, thank you. I need a day off once a week.

~ ~ ~

NEED MORE MIDLIFE BASHING? THE HP IS HERE TO HELP, AGAIN…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/22/signs-youre-not-as-young-as-you-used-to-be_n_7293432.html

1. You walk into the kitchen to get something but you forget what it was when you get there.

Comments: I remember walking into my college library as a senior and forgetting what book I was looking for – during finals.

2. Every horizontal surface in your house has a pair of reading glasses on it.

Comments: Both sunglasses and reading glasses, actually.

3. You are regularly asked why you still have a telephone land line.

Comments: The land line is strictly a back-up system. I still don’t know the number. But my 84-year-old mother uses her land line regularly.

4. You carry cash and use it to pay for things.

Comments: If I have a few 5’s in my pocket it’s for valets, not luncheon meat.

5. You still figure out the tip in your head instead of using your phone calculator or an app.

Comments: Since the bill for dinner is usually $150, I tip $30. The day I use an App to calculate 20% to the penny, shoot me.

6. You check the menu online before you eat in a restaurant because you know you won’t be able to see it once you are there.

Comments: I never look at a menu. That’s what waiters are for.

7. You frequently choose restaurants based on their parking situation.

Comments: When you live in a big city, you need valets in order to find a parking space. Why would I walk two blocks to a restaurant?

8. When you park at the mall, you take a photo of where you left your car.

Comments: I have never heard of anyone doing this, but I assume the writer does.

9. You get invited to parties that start later than you like to go to bed.

Comments: We usually go to bed around midnight, so if the party starts at midnight, we opt out.

10. More than once you’ve grabbed the Ben-Gay thinking it was the toothpaste tube.

Comments: I started wearing readers at 39, and since that time, I can’t count the number of things I’ve squirted in the wrong places.

11. Loud music bothers you unless you’re the one playing it.

Comments: I get upset if music isn’t loud enough to hear, since I lost a lot of my hearing listening to loud music.

12. You rushed out and bought the iPhone6 Plus and love it — even if your kids mock you.

Comments: I bought the Iphone 6 because the ‘Plus” is the size of my Ipad.

13. You have different glasses for reading, for driving, for the computer and for going to the movies.

Comments: Just readers. Computers apparently don’t affect long distance vision.

14. You no longer rush to the dermatologist over every new sun spot.

Comments: I do, in fact, rush to the dermatologist every time I see a new sun spot. Some things never change.

15. You think people driving the speed limit are driving too fast.

Comments: I pretty much always think people are driving too slow.

16. You see items from your youth on “Antiques Roadshow” — going for top dollar.

Comments: Yea, I agree with this one.

17. You prefer a coffee maker with just an on/off switch.

Comments: I like having options, which is why I use the timer. But a simple “on-off” is good, too.

18. You understand that the only toppings on a pizza should be cheese and pepperoni.

Comments: The only ingredients I don’t use are cheese and pepperoni.

19. You can’t pronounce quinoa.

Comments: KEENWAH. Happy?

20. Kale will always be just a salad bar decoration to you.

Comments: Kale gets stuck in my teeth, which is why it’s often just decoration.

21. Shaving your legs is something you do only when going to the beach or a pool party.

Comments: No, I shave them all the time. So does my girlfriend.

22. You eyebrows turn white, if you have any eyebrows left.

Comments: Yup, whitish, but full.

23. Buying a new appliance makes you happy.

Comments: Who doesn’t love new appliances?

24. You fall asleep whenever you try to watch TV.

Comments: I have never fallen asleep watching television, but my girlfriend does it all the time, and she’s half my age.

25. You pick movies based on the theaters with fully reclining seats.

Comments: I don’t like sitting in dark rooms filled with complete strangers.

26. You begin to “get” cruises.

Comments: I’ve never been on a cruise and never intend to.

27. You wear your Fitbit to the mall and immediately check how far you’ve just walked.

Comments: My Fitbit is still sitting on my desk after giving me wrist rash.

28. You don’t have operations anymore; you have “procedures.”

Comments: The difference between an operation and a procedure is anesthesia. If I have to go under, I’m having an operation.

29. You wish your doctor took the laxatives that he gives you as pre-colonoscopy prep.

Comments: I don’t care what my doctor takes as long as he’s not tripping during the procedure.

30. The first thing you look for in an obituary is the person’s age and what killed them.

Comments: I don’t read obituaries unless I’m doing research.

31. You remember when you used to think having hemorrhoids was a big deal.

Comments: I’ve never had hemorrhoids.

32. Your idea of a great date night involves take-out food and Netflix.

Comments: I’m on board with this one.

33. When you come upon old photos of yourself, you think “I was so thin then.” All the time.

Comments: I was very thin back then, and lucky not to be locked up.

34. You are a big fan of yellow sticky notes.

Comments: I use pink ones.

35. You cut off the wine early enough to take the sleeping aid.

Comments: When I take a sleep aid, it’s with frozen fruit, a slice of low fat cheese and some pita chips.

36. You wonder when exactly it was that liberal you became a fiscal conservative.

Comments: I’ve always considered myself a fiscal conservative, even when I didn’t have a dime.

37. Public transportation makes you uneasy.

Comments: What’s public transportation?

38. You understand why people pay to upgrade their seat on planes.

Comments: So does Justin Bieber.

39. Running shoes are your go-to footwear — and not for running.

Comments: I would generally agree with this one.

40. You buy drugstore hair coloring by the case when it’s on sale.

Comments: The only thing I get by the case is pet food.

41. You’ve had conversations with friends about the best source of bran.

Comments: I have never had a conversation about bran.

42. You know first-hand that generics aren’t as good as the real deal.

Comments: If the generics work, I buy them. If not, I buy the name brands.

43. You pour egg whites into your coffee thinking it was fat-free creamer.

Comments: Seriously?

44. Your kids are all taller than you.

Comments: None of the animals in this house are taller than me.

45. You do some mental math before adopting a new puppy or kitten.

Comments: No I just grab whatever’s dragging garbage across the street.

46. You say things like, “My next house won’t have so many stairs.”

Comments: I said this 20 years ago and still have a lot of stairs.

47. You can’t remember the last time you fell asleep and stayed asleep all night.

Comments: I usually sleep through the night. If not, I don’t remember waking.

48. You are finally remembering which is Medicare and which is Medicaid.

Comments: I still have to Google it.

49. Hotels no longer ask to actually see your AARP card before they give you a discounted rate.

Comments: Hotels never offer me a discount of any kind. In fact, most of them pad the bill.

50. You swear your feet are growing wider — because they are.

Comments: If my feet are wider it’s because I have more lean muscle mass, which would make anyone’s feet wider. Large animals have big feet, too.

SUMMARY

Folks, I could go on and on with this crap until the sun dies.

People love stereotyping Baby Boomers; putting millions of us into neat little boxes that can be stacked on shelves and labelled.

But what happens when you don’t fit the stereotypes?

You put a smile on your face and middle finger in the air.

When Did Bad Service Go Airborne?

Every heard the term “Coffee shop attitude?”

If not, I’m sure you know all about bad service, whether it’s a stoner serving coffee, or say, a plumber with a house note and problems with his wife that you need to hear all about.

These days, if I want great service I have to pay the highest price imaginable for it.

If I’m traveling, I have to choose – for example – Ritz Carlton, a company that trains its employees in the fine art of great customer service.

Of course, I’m looking at $500.00/night on up for said service, but it’s well worth it given the alternative.

If I want a great overall dining experience with air-conditioning and hand towels, I have to pick the most expensive place in a given city or I put up with cultural flu.

How exactly does this ‘attitude’ play out?

Simple:

WAITER

“You [the customer] make me feel like giving a shit. If you’re successful I’ll pass you a plate without dropping it in your lap.”

In the case of a plumber [and I use ‘plumbing’ randomly], you have to offer restroom facilities, cold drinks and sometimes gas money to Home Depot when they don’t have the part they need on their trucks.

When did this all this crap start? The entitlement?

I remember when plumbers, waiter, electricians, gardeners – suppliers of every kind – were appreciative and polite to their customers.

It’s how they got what was once known as repeat business.

As kids we were taught that the nicer you were to your customers, the more money you made.

It seemed pretty simple at the time.

But today, people resent serving anyone who doesn’t kiss their butts – as if we [the people paying for their services] owe them special treatment for assisting us in exchange for our money.

Obviously, people are feeling more and more invisible in a world where respect is a birthright, not something earned.

Maybe it’s the fact that I’m older, more successful, and, generally speaking, more experienced that I expect more.

But in the end it doesn’t matter what the rationale is.

What does matter is where they’ll be in ten years when cleaning dishes is no longer cool.

Note: This discussion is slightly off topic, but I couldn’t help myself after some moron at an organic hamburger joint was too stoned to understand the meaning of “I’d like a hamburger with lettuce wrap and sweet potato fries” all in the same sentence.

By the way, I want to smack that douche in the photograph above, and I know you do, too.

We’re Traveling Through Another Dimension, a Dimension Not Only of Sight and Sound But of Mind: Meet “Caitlyn”

Bruce Jenner [65] as “Caitlyn”

http://www.tmz.com/2015/06/01/bruce-jenner-photo-caitlyn-woman-vanity-fair/

First of all, I don’t care what Bruce Jenner, or, for that matter, anyone else does with their body.

Some people like tattoos, others pierce their genitals.

There are women [and men] who spend the lion’s share of their time in the company of plastic surgeons. Some say it improves their chances of scoring an acting job on Law and Order.

Others undergo procedures they think will attract the attention of rich, powerful men with penchants for younger women, in spite of the fact that most of them are in their middle 40’s.

Enter Bruce Jenner, a one-time Olympic gold medalist, and now a regular on the reality television series, Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

I remember him back in their 80’s as the Wheaties guy.

He was all about being a fit, healthy man. All man.

But as we all come to know, what we see in life is rarely what’s behind the veil.

There are no simple set of right angels, balanced and aligned.

Jenner claimed he was never comfortable with who he was, that he never felt comfortable in the body of a man.

So like everyone else I know, he did something about it – mostly because he could afford to do something about it – and then decided to make it a crusade for the transgendered community.

Win-win.

He’s both woman and celebrated advocate.

It kind of reminds me of Madonna, a woman in the throes of a very public crash-and-burn tied directly to her delusions of pop relevance.

They’re both shell’s of their former selves, but at this stage of the game, neither one of them are going out without a fight.

Whether it’s heavily Photoshopped press images, or scripted interviews, “relevance” will not be denied.

This does make for a compelling study in abnormal human psychology. It’s a textbook example of just how far a person is willing to go to satisfy self.

I certainly don’t criticize Jenner for tackling a debilitating psychiatric dilemma.

But I do question his decision as a parent to drag his daughters through what should have been a private family matter, accolades from the transgendered community notwithstanding.

Then again, one could also argue that The Kardashians made their fortune on public disclosure, and Jenner’s transformation is just another angle in a never-ending story.

For me, the last thing in the world I would want to do is become a woman at age 65.

Hell, most women I know begin to feel invisible by age 40.

Skinny, Lanky and Long: The Go-To Look in Certain Circles

The Country Club aesthetic.

The athletic aesthetic.

~ ~ ~

I don’t know exactly where women got off track [or men became so fetishistic about anorexia], but the go-to aesthetic for successful older men appears to be very thin physiques.

I have several theories, which I know you just can’t wait to hear. [ahem…]

1] Many successful, older men were once wormy little bean counters nobody paid much attention to until they sold their shares of stock in the company they gave 20 years of their lives building, and then retired, divorced…and reinvented themselves as superheroes.

Such men prefer women who don’t remind them of what they once were, particularly now that they’re rich, entitled, and bigger than life.

Mindful of this, smaller women are less threatening, which feeds the man’s delusions of grandeur.

2] Successful older men who once played pro football and now own car dealerships tend to like physically small women because they crave control, and like knowing that the woman is submissive and willing to maintain the physique of a 12-year-old boy in exchange for lifestyle.

3] Couture fashion designs look better on small-framed women, which is a slam-dunk for galas, benefits and cocktail affairs of the rich and powerful where men parade their women like goats in Prada.

4] There is a notion floating around the collective unconscious of this socioeconomic niche that thin women are more cultured, educated, and generally speaking, intelligent.

This conveys to others in his world that she is in his arms by divine provenance.

In other words, if he didn’t himself possess the same qualities, she wouldn’t be with him.

5] Sex, Sex, Sex: Smaller woman make men look and feel bigger, which is a massive turn-on for men with control issues [most of them].

And while there exists in smaller numbers a closeted fetish for fuller-figured women with big asses, but most of them keep such fantasies in the closet alongside everything else they keep in there.

As for the men who truly crave nothing but very thin frames, they like knowing they can throw them around like rag dolls.

6] Reflecting the psychopathology of this aesthetic, women tell their personal trainers they want “tone, not muscle,” which only makes sense if you’re in this culture zone.

What they mean by this is they want a long, lean, low-fat figure that sells well in country clubs, and has store clerks tripping all over themselves at places like Chanel.

Men in possession of such women want a comprehensive “package” that never changes for the rest of their mortal lives, that’s all.

~ ~ ~

NOTES

The woman in the second photograph is fit and muscular.

Unfortunately, her legs are too big for many high-end fashion designs, which means she can’t wear them; a clear breach of protocol.

Personally, the woman in the below photograph would be a slam-dunk for me, but I happen to like athletic women in Lycra because she could hold her own with me in a street fight against several assailants.

My perspective is obviously warped.

Age Stereotypes? Think Again.

78-year-old skateboarder, Lloyd Kahn [above].

When I was back in my 40’s, I remember a 54-year-old guy telling me that, in no uncertain terms, life as he once knew it was “gone.”

He was referring to his once athletic frame, now reduced to a 3rd-term pregnant midsection and shoulder slope that reminded me of someone in the advanced stages of spinal stenosis.

Ten years later I happened to run into this once over-the-hill man and barely recognized him.

At age 64, the guy had literally transformed himself into an exemplary specimen of health.

He revealed to me that he’d hit rock bottom in his personal life, and that as a retired professional, he was bored and depressed.

“Debilitating depression” is the way he phrased it.

Retired too early. Kids gone. Marriage hum-drum. Life a downhill slide.

Imagine decades of this.

No wonder he checked himself into a clinic that specializes in helping men rediscover themselves, and the fire that used to burn white hot.

It obviously worked. And while his marriage didn’t survive the ordeal, he did.

Aging is a state of mind that starts innocently enough – a little reality check here and there – but it rapidly escalates into a malignant mindset that kills the spirit that once stole smiles, and filled hearts with love, joy…and hope.

WHY WOULD ANYONE WILLINGLY LET THIS GO?

No one should ever allow anyone convince you that you’re too old to do this or that, be this or that.

If you can pull it off, you just raised the bar another notch.

Now they can kiss your ass.

It doesn’t matter that you don’t have the pitching arm you had back in the day.

Buy a skateboard.

Nobody lays claim to what older men can and cannot do, physical disabilities [i.e., old injuries] notwithstanding.

But there are always workarounds.

Physicians are always warning older men to be careful in the gym; to act “responsibly, in deference to their age.”

But those same physicians are at death’s door decades before their time.

Check the source.

For the moment, I’ll leave you with this inspiring article.

I have to go to the gym.

http://www.boredpanda.com/senior-citizen-ageing-stereotypes-age-of-happiness-vladimir-yakovlev/

Have a kick-ass day.

While Men Fight Their Way Up the Corporate Ladder, Many Women in Houston Fight Their Way Up the Social Ladder [usually fist-to-cuff]

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 14: Comes With Baggage Founder Lori Levine shows off her one-of-a-kind orange HermËs Birkin at the Comes With Baggage Fashion Editor Preview on May 14, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Comes With Baggage)

HermËs Birkin bag

http://nypost.com/2015/05/24/inside-the-bizarre-life-of-an-upper-east-side-housewife/

Wednesday Martin, author of Primates of Park Avenue, she found herself, she says, “going native.” She wanted to belong among the Upper East Side mommies who hired stylists and makeup artists for school drop-off and pickup, who got preventive Botox every three months, who perfected the flawless facade.

~ ~ ~

In many ways, this is the female version of my new book, Urban Dystrophy, now available on #Amazon.

Again, money is the buy-in, followed by a tightly-scripted narrative to which all aspirants must adhere – to the letter.

Think of it as high school all over again, but without the food fights.

Men know all about this.

In exchange for a residence at “900 Park Avenue,” women stand at the Devil’s Crossroads and relinquish their souls for a table at the right restaurant where people eat each other.

The ones who survive have the most checks on the list of must-haves.

Age comes to mind.

To wit, the author refuses to reveal her age.

All we know is “I’m in my 40’s.”

The reason for this is academic:

Not only are women expected to perform well under the scrutiny of white hot halogen, but because youth and beauty are expected to be indelible commodities, the farther away one drifts, the more perilous the journey.

No wonder Botox runs like rivers on the Upper East Side.

Mothers then pass these values on to their children, who attend the right schools, go on the right play dates, have the right tutors, and generally, explore all that “intensive mothering” can – and damn well better – provide.

People say celebrities are so different from everyone else, but when it gets down to it, money is what splits the herd.

Lifting Heavy Weight: The Older Man’s Fountain of Youth

A FEW BENEFITS:

1] Boosts Metabolism

2] Burns Fat

3] Super-Charges Hormones

4] Increases Mass

5] Improves Posture

I dunno. It kinda sells itself. And yet I still hear grumblings from older men about the dangers of heavy weight-lifting.

“You’re going to throw out your back! You’ll have an aneurism any minute now! Those hips can only take so much!”

The one thing that stands out for me about older, deconditioned men is there self-loathing.

Midlife Miasma: When Older Men Play the Comparison Game

No matter how much money you have, somebody else has more…not to mention better looks, prettier [and younger] wives, bigger houses, more cars.

It never ends.

You can’t win.

One guy in Aspen, Colorado lamented the fact that his net worth of 200 million paled in comparison to all the billionaires around him.

A new definition of pathetic emerges.

It also bears noting that some of the world’s most famous “serial killers” were wealthy enough to buy Rome.

I assume that guy in Aspen knows them all by their first names.

While life is rich and full when there is a sense of accomplishment, it is a lot fuller when you add friends and loved ones who truly care about you.

The more you get wrapped up in achievement-as-drug, you farther you drift from everything else.

POSTSCRIPT

The REALLY dark side of the comparison game is evidenced in older men of low achievement who play the “beat down” game.

They criticize doers [including their “friends”], finding whatever morsel of perceived vulnerability they can, and then magnifying it a thousand times in blitzkriegs on social media.

I’ve seen this more times than I can count, which is why many experts in the field of human psychology refuse to do “bonding” workshops with older men.

Their fierce competitiveness with one another, coupled with a total inability to explore any degree of vulnerability, makes it an exercise in utter futility.

No wonder women outlive us.

I’ll leave you with this:

November 2024
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