" If any generation can change the taboo around that word , it ’s my own . Say what you will , but people born between 1946 and 1962 have an outsize influence on polish and politics simply because of their number . "
I ’m 78 . I ’m old . I ’m out . And I ’m lofty .
After all , as they say , “ Consider the choice . ” It ’s a quote attribute to everyone from Mark Twain to Maurice Chevalier , and it ’s as true today as ever . With every pop off natal day , and with the last of every ally and relative , we are increasingly aware of the grim alternative that lies onwards . At a certain point , just being animated is a victory .
Why should I lie or tergiversate about how previous I am , especially when the truth is just a couple of clicks away ? I always volunteer my age because I do n’t remember it ’s anything to hide . I ’m curious about the age of others , too , so recite my age somehow ( in my mind ) give me permission to flout social tabu and inquire about theirs . They can always reply , “ I ’d rather not say , ” but most citizenry respond without waver and even with rest — there , now that ’s out of the way!This gives us a shortcut to have it away more about each other . Were we in gamey schoolhouse at the same time ? Where were we when Kennedy was shot ?
I much choose “ old ” over “ older , ” “ older , ” or “ mature . ” Using euphemism implies there ’s something shameful about being old rather than it being an achievement .
Hiding your eld used to be the average . My mother , who always took superbia in her voguish and spiffy appearance , never revealed her age . I retrieve her going to a new doc and telling me afterward , “ He say I was in gravid shape for my eld — and he does n’t have sex how old I really am ! ”
She lived to be 98 , by which time she was boast about her long time , as is my ambitiousness , with regard to both her age and her attitude .
In my mind , if you look as good as she did , it ’s even better that you ’re old . I wish well this mind-set were more common . Always a contrarian , I ’m look forward to turning 80 — and bend some heads , perhaps , especially when hoi polloi make love my geezerhood .
Similarly , I ’m a obtuse but steady moon-curser , getting trophies in 5k subspecies only because there are so few of us in my 70 + long time group . Indeed , sometimes I ’m the only female runner in the field . When I ’m 80 , in less than two eld ( ! ) , just finishing the race without walking will be an accomplishment , and I will tell other runners about my raw position as an octogenarian .
To me , even the word “ octogenarian ” sounds alluring . Octogenarians tell me that they are admire for doing the most average things — drive at Nox , selling a sign of the zodiac , maintaining a site . If I ’m in good health , 90 will be even honest , and if I live to be 100 , I carry to be revered , at least by my progeny . I was sometimes jealous of how my sons attended to my mother , but now I see it as an splendid precedent and hope that when I ’m really old , my granddaughters will flock around me .
To me , “ old ” should be an honorific , but if that ’s asking too much , at the very least it should be a neutral Book , simply designating those over 70 . So of line , I ’m an old char — though not , I hope , an quondam lady . ( Would an old lady paraglide off a mountainside or haveher body paint in the nudeor stand on the noses of dolphin ? ) In my reset , “ old ” would only signal a chronological category , alternatively of it being some sort of adjectival charge indicate frailty and irrelevance .
To rehabilitate a word , you have use it . That ’s why I reckon mass should practice the word “ old ” in describing themselves or others over 70 . Old hoi polloi like me have a special chance to lead by example and to own their former .
After all , the good manner to take the stain out of a pejorative is to practice it oneself . It was a game - changer when LGBTQ people began using “ queer ” to describe themselves . “ Hippie ” was initially a term of obloquy used by the mainstream media , but within a couple of long time , long - hirsute self - exalt freaks were proudly using it . Similarly , the great unwashed in the body positivity motion now cite to themselves as “ fat ” rather than “ large ” or “ stocky ” or “ freehanded . ”
In the conflict against agism , it ’s significant to use the word “ honest-to-god , ” and to use it with attitude . I ’ve lived a lot ! I know a pot ! I ’m wiser than most hoi polloi , and , yeah , I ’m old !
I also like the intelligence “ elder , ” which imply a sure wiseness , as in “ elder statesman . ” As elder , old masses have a special responsibility to future coevals . Bill McKibben ’s climate modification organization , Third Act , is harness the idealism of old mass to battle climate change . Now in its fourth yr , it ’s clear to activists over 60 who desire to stop fossil fuel production and employment . Its catchword is “ Old and Bold . ” Last summertime , Third Act held several demonstrations against Citibank in which older citizenry in handcuffs were conduct to police vehicles . Today , old person like myself make up a huge part of the Resistance gang who are in the street demonstrate against Trump . I ’m majestic of my Boomer generation !
The current drift of greyish or white haircloth ( or streaks ) being popular among middle - aged and old women is a welcome sign that they are set forth to accept their age . Half of my friends have let their hair rise gray ; one was white - haired at geezerhood 45 . ( For a retentive time , I just assumed she was blond . ) I see elegant women who permit their hair go gray silently receipt each other on the streets of Manhattan .
If one is lucky and/or deliberate about health and monetary resource — a big “ if , ” I experience — being sure-enough can be a happy time . There ’s a new field , critical geriatrics , that station a newfangled emphasis on the positive aspect of senescence . There are fewer province , and there are Modern opening — and a great sense of freedom . A 72 - class - sure-enough of relatively modest means who I know skis at a nearby ski centre on his senior discount passing every weekday , all time of year long . A 74 - year - older travels 30 miles once a workweek to spend the day with her granddaughter . A 62 - yr - older man competes in duathlons overseas . Indeed , I do n’t know anyone who ’s bored in retreat . Some continue to do what they used to do , only now on a freelance base ( a financial writer , a software insurance consultant ) . Others reinvent themselves . A nanny has become a wellness coach . A cinematographer has become a prize - deliver the goods sculptor . A public events impresario has become a highly regarded children ’s book writer .
I mention these examples so mediate - aged citizenry can counter catch old with exuberance and not apprehensiveness . imagine of it as geezerhood positiveness .
Then , perhaps , people wo n’t shy from the Holy Scripture “ old . ”
If any genesis can convert the taboo around that parole , it ’s my own . Say what you will ( “ all right boomer ” is a compliment to me ! ) , people bear between 1946 and 1962 have an outsize influence on civilization and politics simply because of their turn . This “ bulge in the snake ” effect , a phrase coined by Landon Y. Jones , account the elbow room the baby baby boomer multiplication is moving through the ages like a mouse through a python .
We boomer still wield enough cultural heft to rehabilitate the word “ onetime ” and to view getting old as a privilege — not a punishment . Perhaps we can even change the polish around aging , so multitude middle - aged and unseasoned can actually look forrad to their “ golden years ” — and being old .
The first step is to utilize the word often — and with pride .
Catherine Hiller ’s weekly Substack newssheet isThe Pleasure Principle . Her pioneering book , “ Just Say Yes : A Marijuana Memoir , ” is being reissue on National Pot Day , April 20 , 2025 , in a 10th - anniversary version . Her most recent novel , “ Cybill Unbound , ” is about the intimate escapade of an older charwoman . Hiller is also the author of a short story collection , “ pelt , ” which John Updike called “ Good , gay , and joyful fable , ” and five other novels . scant pieces have appear in the New York Times Sunday Review , AARP Magazine , Ms. , the Girlfriend , NextTribe , the Westchester Review and the Antioch Review . She is Colorado - manufacturer of the documentary film “ Paul Bowles : The Complete Outsider . ”
This article in the beginning appeared onHuffPostin April 2025 .
