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The
Same Old Faceby
Peary Perry | |
You
know, each morning when I look at myself in the mirror, I see the same old face
that I've been living with for these past 64 years. Now, I must admit that the
old body has been reshaped and I no longer have that svelte 28 inch waist, but
then again who cares?
Aside from a few minor aches and pains, I feel
about as good as I did forty years ago. Of course, I can't run as fast or do as
much heavy lifting, but then again so what?
What does bother me is the
fact that I've started noticing that more and more younger people have started
calling me 'sir' and trying to help me out from time to time.
Take this
morning for instance; I went to get my eyes examined as I do every year or so.
The young lady performing the exam was nice and courteous, no problem. However
when I went to sit in the chair, she grabbed me by the arm and advised…."Be careful,
there is a step up here".
My eyes are very good and I saw the step before
she pointed it out to me. I guess my thought was, did I look that old and feeble
to her that she assumed I needed some help getting into the examination chair?
What was it that made her make this comment, or did she always say something like
this to folks my age? Maybe she was just trying to be helpful.
I am beginning
to get suspicious.
Yesterday, I stopped at the grocery store and picked
up some things. Little things, like bread, cokes, some cheese, light stuff…not
heavy. Couldn't have weighed over ten pounds, if that much. The young man sacking
the stuff, asks me….."Sir, do you need help carrying that out to your car?" Now,
I'm asking myself …was he looking for a bigger tip or did he really think I couldn't
make it out to my car by myself?
Getting older isn't so bad…as long as
you keep on doing it. As time goes by, things, especially our bodies change. Look
at Dick Clark and George Hamilton. They've changed as well. I don't feel any different,
I just wonder if I look any different.
I quit going to my high school
reunions a long time ago. All of those people looked a lot older than me and I
didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by asking something stupid like..." what
the devil happened to you?"
I was with my best friend several years ago
when we ran into an old boy who had been the most popular and best looking in
our high school class. He looked like he had been rode hard and put away wet.
I mean he looked really bad. Like someone said, he had a face that looked like
it had caught on fire and someone put it out with a rake. I didn't comment and
just shook hands with him and inquired about his life. My friend wasn't as gracious
and just kept saying things like…"This can't be you… what happened to you…you
look bad." It wasn't one of my best moments.
I felt sorry for the guy
and we left shortly afterwards. My best friend still doesn't believe that this
was the guy we knew in high school.
All of us will undergo a change,
as we grow older. I suppose it should come as no surprise to me that what I see
in the mirror each day might not be the same as what others see when they look
at me.
The positive side of this is that I'm still out here plugging away
at it every day. I shouldn't take offense when someone is trying to help. I really
should just grin and bear it and be thankful that I'm still motivating on my own
steam without needing anyone else's help.
For the time being anyway.
© Peary Perry
Letters
From North America >
September 28, 2006 column
Syndicated weekly in 80 newspapers
Comments go
to www.pearyperry.com | | |
