![\"Christie](\"https:\/\/imagesvc.timeincapp.com\/v3\/mm\/image?url=https:\/\/cdn-s3.si.com\/images\/SWIM158_TK5_03393_rawWMFinal1920.jpg&q=60\")
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Now that’s<\/strong> my kind of “When I\u2019m Sixty-Four<\/a>”\u00a0aging gracefully…\u00a0\u00a0<\/i>(“‘Christie B<\/a><\/em>.’ – at 63…”)<\/em><\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n In\u00a0RABBIT \u2013 Part I<\/a> – from June 2015 – I reviewed Rabbit Remembered<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 That was the 2001 novella<\/a>, last of a series of novel-sequels to Rabbit, Run<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0 (The 1960 work by John Updike<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>The sequels included Rabbit Redux<\/a>, Rabbit is Rich<\/a> and Rabbit at Rest<\/a>.)\u00a0 <\/em>But RABBIT \u2013 Part II<\/a> is where things got interesting, at least in terms of aging gracefully.\u00a0 (I turn 68 next July.)<\/em><\/p>\n It started with a “personal tidbit” from the 1971 sequel, Rabbit Redux<\/a>.\u00a0 Set in the summer of 1969 (the same summer as the <\/b>Apollo 11 moon landing<\/a><\/em>), the novel told of a time “when father and son are settling the bar bill.\u00a0 Earl Angstrom had a Schlitz beer, and tells his son [Harry, the <\/b>protagonist<\/a>], ‘Here\u2019s my forty cents.\u00a0 Plus a dime for a tip.’\u201d<\/p>\n But the really interesting part was about how 65-year-olds were portrayed <\/em><\/strong>in 1969.\u00a0 For example,\u00a0Updike wrote of Harry (Rabbit)<\/em> Angstrom’s father looking old once outside the bar; \u201cliverish scoops below his eyes, broken veins along the sides of his nose.\u201d\u00a0 Harry then asks Earl about his money situation, and Earl responds, \u201cBelieve it or not there\u2019s some advantages to living so long in this day and age<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 This Sunday she\u2019s going to be sixty-five and come under Medicare.\u201d<\/p>\n Next Sunday Harry visits Mary (his mother) for her birthday and she greets him:<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sixty-five<\/strong>,\u201d she says, groping for phrases, so that her sentences end in the middle.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I was twenty.\u00a0 I told my boyfriend I wanted to be shot.\u00a0 When I was thirty\u2026\u201d\u00a0 [Harry:]\u00a0 \u201cYou told Pop this?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNot your dad.\u00a0 Another.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t meet your dad til later.\u00a0 This other one, I\u2019m glad.\u00a0 He\u2019s not here to see me now.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The point is that even though Mary has Parkinson\u2019s<\/a>, Updike\u2019s overall image of 65-year-olds in 1969 is of people who really are over the hill<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 (\u201cLiving so long in this day and age?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Really?<\/em><\/strong>)<\/p>\n Now compare that with Christie Brinkley<\/a>, shown in the lead picture above in 2017, at age 63.<\/p>\n On that note see \u201c60 is the new 30<\/a>,\u201d and also \u201cWhy<\/em><\/strong> 60 Is The New 30<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 The latter post noted the \u201c55-64 age group has shown the largest increase in entrepreneurial ventures, now accounting for more than 20 percent of all start-ups.\u201d\u00a0 (Thus literally \u201cstarting over when our grandparents would be strolling around golf communities in Florida.\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n Or see Is 60 the New 40<\/a>?\u00a0 That article noted that what elderly<\/em> \u201cmeant to the Greatest Generation<\/a>\u00a0doesn\u2019t hold for their offspring, the baby boomers<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 Then there\u2019s\u00a060, Not 50, Is The New Middle Age \u2013 Huffington Post<\/a>, and New research shows 60 is the new 40 \u2013 KING5<\/a>:<\/p>\n Increasingly, people over 60 feel more like 40, and now they have the science to back them up\u2026\u00a0\u00a0 The new research argues that since life expectancy continues to rise, age 60 should not be considered old.\u00a0 It\u2019s more \u201cmiddle age,\u201d because for many, there\u2019s a lot of living left to do after age 60, even embarking on second or third careers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Which brings us back to my Geezer\u2019s guide(s) to supplements<\/a>, Part I and Part II<\/a>.\u00a0 In those posts I noted that I “don’t want a\u00a0Schwarzenegger<\/a>\u00a0body.\u00a0 At age 67 [soon to be 68]<\/em>, I just want to stick around a while yet.”\u00a0 (And “maybe run into a cute ‘young'” 60-some-year-old, like Christie B<\/a>….)<\/em><\/p>\n And that brings up two relatively new online articles,\u00a011 Of The Smartest Things Anyone Ever Said About Getting Older<\/a>, and 9 Things People Aging Gracefully Do Differently | HuffPost<\/a>:<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing less attractive than someone desperately clinging to the last remnants of their youth.\u00a0 We think it\u2019s far sexier to be comfortable in your own skin.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n That last thought was a “leaf” from <\/b>George Clooney<\/a>, along with the main thing people aging gracefully do:\u00a0 “work out to get strong, not skinny.”\u00a0 (Not to get a “Schwarzenegger<\/a>\u00a0body.”)<\/em><\/p>\n Other thoughts:\u00a0 They stress less and forgive more, they learn something new every day, they stay positive, they get enough sleep – which for me includes daily naps “as needed” – and they eat and drink better.\u00a0 (They “learn what changes we need to take with our diets as we age.”\u00a0 Like Geezer supplements<\/a>, and kale and\/or spinach salads at night, not processed food snacks.) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n So here’s to\u00a0Seeing Old Age as a Never-Ending Adventure<\/a>.\u00a0 (From the New York Times<\/a>\u00a0– that “enemy of the people<\/a>” – on a thought that will be the subject of at least one future post.)<\/em><\/p>\n As far as those\u00a011 Smart Things About Getting Older<\/a>, here’s my favorite.\u00a0 (Or\u00a0as I said in\u00a0I pity the fool<\/a>, \u201cI pity the fool who doesn\u2019t …\u00a0push the envelope<\/a><\/strong>, even at the advance stage of his life.\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n The upper image is courtesy of Christie Brinkley Photos, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2017<\/a>.\u00a0 And about that When I’m Sixty-Four<\/a>.\u00a0 (Referring to the 1967 Beatles<\/a>\u00a0song released on their album\u00a0Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band<\/a><\/i>.)\u00a0 Born in 1954, Christie is now – in 2019 – 65 years old, while she was 63 at the time of the 2017 Sports illustrated photo shoot.\u00a0 So for this post I just split the difference<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n Re:\u00a0 How to properly spell “ageing.”\u00a0 See Ageing vs. aging \u2013 Correct Spelling \u2013 Grammarist<\/a><\/em>:\u00a0 “American and Canadian writers use aging<\/strong>.\u00a0 Ageing <\/strong>is the preferred spelling outside North America.” \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n I borrowed the “dancing on enemy grave” image from\u00a0Geezer’s Guide – Part II<\/a>.\u00a0 As to which enemy whose grave I “enthusiastically” look forward to dancing on, Part II said\u00a0\u201cLet the reader understand<\/a>!\u201d\u00a0 (Citing\u00a0Mark 13:14<\/a>: “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong – let the reader understand<\/strong> – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”)<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/0\/05\/Arnold_Schwarzenegger_1974.jpg\/800px-Arnold_Schwarzenegger_1974.jpg\")
In this post I review some earlier posts on gracefully ageing – or aging:\u00a0\u00a0RABBIT \u2013 and \u201c60 is the new 30<\/a>“\u00a0(Part I<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Part II<\/a>), <\/em>and\u00a0<\/em>A Geezer\u2019s guide to supplements<\/a> (Part I and Part II<\/a>, featuring “Arnold<\/a>,”\u00a0at right)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n![\"RabbitReduxbookcover.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/f\/fe\/RabbitReduxbookcover.jpg\")
Which led me to write:\u00a0 “Are you kidding me<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u2026\u00a0 Do you mean there once was a time when you could go into a bar, pay 40 cents for a beer and leave a dime for the tip?\u00a0 And not<\/em><\/strong> get thrown out or insulted?\u201d\u00a0 (The answer:\u00a0 “Yes, there was…”)<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/farm3.staticflickr.com\/2099\/5734174763_ed321a86af_b.jpg\")
So, to that end the “Geezer” posts\u00a0 listed 10 good supplements from Menshealth<\/a>, along with the question “Why do I bother with all these supplements?\u00a0 Simply put,\u00a0I want to live long enough” \u2013 among other things and if only metaphorically \u2013 “to\u00a0dance\u00a0on my enemy\u2019s grave<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.”\u00a0 (Illustrated at right.)<\/em><\/p>\n![\"henry](\"https:\/\/i.huffpost.com\/gen\/1632021\/thumbs\/o-HENRY-DAVID-THOREAU-570.jpg?6\")
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