Last week in class, our professor asked us a question and several students wrote answers on the chalkboard (yes, an actual chalkboard). One student asked, “who wrote in cursive?” and two people answered, “Gage”. It wasn’t me though this immediately started a conversation about the fact that I had such beautiful handwriting. I said, “my handwriting isn’t great, it’s just cursive.” It turns out only a couple of us in the room know cursive. I’m surprised there was anyone else. My grand-nephew brings me Christmas and birthday cards to interpret the cursive style print. Apparently, schools are beginning to teach cursive again, but I have to admit I felt a bit like I was writing in ancient runes. I’m glad we didn’t start a conversation about driving standard transmission cars. I would have really felt ancient.

And then there was a conversation this weekend. Friday, I drove to Austin to lead a True Colors (TM) workshop. On the way there, I got a signal that one of my tires was going flat. Luckily the screw in the tread was a tight fit so I managed to refill the tire and get home safely. I drove to the tire shop and left the car in the parking lot overnight. Once the tire was fixed, Peter and I were walking across the parking lot to my car. It was blocked in by the line of cars there to get their tires checked.

As I got in the car, the driver of the car behind mine said something to Peter. He told me later that the driver had asked how long Peter and I had been married. He was impressed to learn it’s been almost 37 years. Then he backed up so I could slip back through the line. When Peter told him thank you, he responded, “No problem, I have a soft spot for old people.” !!

After both of these I decided to look up just what is the definition of ‘old age’. According to Google AI, here are a variety of answers to this question.

• “Age 60: The United Nations marks the start of old age at 60.

• Age 65: U.S. groups like the National Institutes of Health and Medicare use 65 as the traditional marker for older adulthood.

• Age 50+: Organizations like AARP start offering membership and perks at age 50.

Public Perception

• Age 74 to 75: Recent surveys show that many adults now believe old age does not begin until the mid-70s.”

In spite of my use of cursive and someone in their forties (I would guess) having a soft spot for us old people, I am going with the answer from public perception so I’m not yet old – though I do have to admit, it’s sometimes clear my personal history extends much beyond that of my classmates.

But I’m taking heart from today’s quote because I am definitely learning a lot of new things by being back in the classroom. And it is as fun as I had hoped. So, I’m not old yet!

Take care,

Gage

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Quote of the Week

“The excitement of learning separates youth from old age. As long as you’re learning you’re not old.”

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow
“Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (July 19, 1921 – May 30, 2011) was an American medical physicist, and a co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (together with Roger Guillemin and Andrew Schally) for development of the radioimmunoassay technique. She was the second woman (after Gerty Cori), and the first American-born woman, to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalyn_Sussman_Yalow