How old.is Old

My fiancé keeps refering to some of her 60 year old family members as "young"

I just read an article about a baseball player who obtained oral cancer (at 50 years old). And it stated how much of a tragedy it was that he got it since he is so "young"

I'm gonna go out in left field here and humor the notion that 50.....isn't young I mean for havens sake there are still parts of the world where life expectancy is in one's mid 30s!

Is it our fear of death? Do all my family members, society, and all of you really think you are gonna live to 100 and feel cheated if you dont?

Sorry buds but anything over 50 years of age is a Definitly a FULL life.

I'm kind of hopeful, at 51, that 50 is around 3/4 full. But then again, my half full glass is draining . . . .

Meh, it's all relative.

I feel like an eight year old wearing a grown up suit most of the time. My GF was born in the late 80's, and I was driving then, and she is more mature than me... But honestly, I think it is kids. Having kids ages you. The government should probably ban it as a health risk. Say no to children, it ages you faster than Australian sun.

when you are 15, 30 is old.
when you are 30, 50 is old.

when you are 70, 50 is young.

Right on. Age is relative.

one cut said:

when you are 15, 30 is old.
when you are 30, 50 is old.

when you are 70, 50 is young.

Click to expand...

Me

one cut said:

when you are 15, 30 is old.
when you are 30, 50 is old.

when you are 70, 50 is young.

Click to expand...

THIS. Age is somewhat relative in these days of high feeding and modern medicine. Fifty is middle aged. Has been for some decades. And yes, I resemble that remark. I will say that after I managed 50 without waking up having to daily use a walker, oxygen, Life Alert, Geritol(is this still made?), hair dye, or steroids, I am doing alright. So know, 50 is not youth. But is nowhere near advanced age either.

I do admit though that after about 49-50 years I started feeling weak compared to my youth. I think one of our founding fathers said something to the effect that after fifty one is not much apt to trust his body. I think he was very wise! It is important to keep active and hit some weights. On the other hand, if you have any head at all, you will start to see things with a clarity you simply do not have at twenty-five or thirty years of age. It is God's sense of humour. He makes sure you really don't know jack squat when you are young enough to be really dangerous with the knowledge and when you have a better perspective at fifty, you are too seasoned to do much about it. Even if you wanted to. My granddad was an old Nebraska farm kid who raised five kids. Four of them boys. My dad told me he used to flip this little euphemism at them when they were in their early 20's; Fer you boys won't know nothin' til yer 50. The longer I live the smarter gramps seems.

Depends on what you mean by "old". I agree that it's all relative. A 65 year old who skydives avidly may be "older", but "old"? Not to me. I saw a video last week of a 100 year old man, setting a world record for oldest man to run the 100 meter dash. He is definitely "wayyyyy up there", but is he "old"? Not to me. I know some 30 year olds that are older than that 100 year old man, in relation. 1-100... All just numbers. It's how they're used that defines us.

Some days I feel old, but most days I do not. Recently I've had the pleasure of reconnecting with friends from my youth, and we all marvel at the time that has passed, and how delighted we are that we're all still alive and well. And not in jail. In my head and heart, I can feel as I did when 18, but 40 additional years have broadened and enriched my eager, young self into someone better, I hope. Life is a gift, it can end at any time, but I hope to live a couple of more decades, at least.

I'll concede I'm on the back nine now, but grudgingly. To your health, each and every one of you!

My mother-in-law had a heart valve replaced at age 88. A few weeks after the surgery she said "this is great - I feel like an 80 year old!"

brianw said:

Me

Click to expand...

Beat me to it.

You know we get older everyday. Do you realize that the only time in our lives we like to get old is when we’re a little kids. Do you understand that? If your less than ten years old, you’re so excited about aging. You think in fractions…I’m four and a half…You’re never 36 and a half.
But you see, your four and a half, goin’ on 5. You see, that’s the key here. See, you’re “goin’ on.” You get into your teens. Now you’re so excited that you jump to the next number. How old are you? …I’m gonna be 16…You could be 12…but, your gonna be 16.
Then comes the greatest day of your life – You become 21. But you see, even the word sounds like a ceremony. You become 21…YES!…But you TURN 30. It makes you sound like bad milk. He turned…so we had to throw him out.
Now what changes? What’s different? You become 21, you turn 30, and then…your pushing 40. Stay over there! See how its all slipping away?
You become 21, you turn 30, your pushing 40, and then…you reach REACH 50. (“Sob&#8221 My dreams are gone!
So then you become 21, you turn 30, your pushing 40, you reach 50…and you MAKE IT to 60. “Whew”…I didn’t think I’d make it.
So…you become 21, you turn 30, your pushing 40, you reach 50, you make it to 60 and by then you built up so much speed…(smack) you hit 70.
After that, it’s pretty much day by day. After that you hit Wednesday. When you get into your 80’s you hit lunch…It turned 4:30. My grandmother won’t even by green bananas.
When you get into your 90’s, you start going backwards…I was JUST 92.
And then folks…it’s an amazing thing…if you can make it over the age of 100, you become a little kid again. I’m 104 and a half.

-Larry Miller

Yeah, pretty relative, but there are obviously a lot of improvements in how well people age. I'm on the cusp of 50 and am in better shape than I've ever been (and I've been in decent shape most of my life). I mountain climb and can chuck a 100 lb log quite a distance (and do regularly while engaging in lumberjack tasks around my place). I have zero aches or pains or stiffness (except normal muscle soreness after hard weight lifting). What's more interesting though, is that my dad (upper 60's) can do all of these things as well . I think he can chuck big logs farther than I can, actually. It's about keeping busy and active. One does start to get into some amount of unavoidable frailness in the upper 70's (in most people), although that can be mitigated somewhat by strength training and other weight bearing exercise.

This all said, I do agree with you in some ways. At this age, I do feel like I've lived a full life. If I had to die tomorrow (whether I knew it or not), I would feel like I've done a lot and seen a lot, because I have. This doesn't lessen my desire to live longer, of course. But yes, I do feel pretty content and wouldn't feel cheated if had to cut it off at any point, really. I don't feel like I've got a ton of unfinished business at this point, but am more content with just living and enjoying the daily aspects of life. If that means I'm "old", then so be it.

ouch said:

You know we get older everyday. Do you realize that the only time in our lives we like to get old is when we’re a little kids. Do you understand that? If your less than ten years old, you’re so excited about aging. You think in fractions…I’m four and a half…You’re never 36 and a half.
But you see, your four and a half, goin’ on 5. You see, that’s the key here. See, you’re “goin’ on.” You get into your teens. Now you’re so excited that you jump to the next number. How old are you? …I’m gonna be 16…You could be 12…but, your gonna be 16.
Then comes the greatest day of your life – You become 21. But you see, even the word sounds like a ceremony. You become 21…YES!…But you TURN 30. It makes you sound like bad milk. He turned…so we had to throw him out.
Now what changes? What’s different? You become 21, you turn 30, and then…your pushing 40. Stay over there! See how its all slipping away?
You become 21, you turn 30, your pushing 40, and then…you reach REACH 50. (“Sob&#8221 My dreams are gone!
So then you become 21, you turn 30, your pushing 40, you reach 50…and you MAKE IT to 60. “Whew”…I didn’t think I’d make it.
So…you become 21, you turn 30, your pushing 40, you reach 50, you make it to 60 and by then you built up so much speed…(smack) you hit 70.
After that, it’s pretty much day by day. After that you hit Wednesday. When you get into your 80’s you hit lunch…It turned 4:30. My grandmother won’t even by green bananas.
When you get into your 90’s, you start going backwards…I was JUST 92.
And then folks…it’s an amazing thing…if you can make it over the age of 100, you become a little kid again. I’m 104 and a half.

-Larry Miller

Click to expand...

That is classic!!

I am 50 I feel like life is just starting.

I believe that the 50 yr old being young thing is relative to life expectancy here in the US. I haven't looked the numbers up, but I assume it's pushing 80. Combine that with countless articles/stories about people who are 90-100+, and you can see how someone could view 50 as being "young". In the case of the BB player, 50 is "young" to pass. Especially for someone who at least at one time was a professional athlete (viewed as a pinnacle of health...whether true or not).

I was blessed that my paternal Grandparents lived a long life (though unfortunately I did not appreciate that until much later). My Grandmother was 96 when she passed. On my Mom's side, her parents are pushing 80 and seem to be aging very quickly. My wife's grandmother made a comment about wishing she'd be able to live long enough to see our daughters turn 16, so she knows at 80+ the time is near.

As some have said, it's relative. But in relation to death, I think anything below 80 is considered "too soon". And that number maybe should be closer to 70.

"Too old" is when you feel and act it. My Grandfather passed at 82, but never seemed "too old", as he was contrary and ornery to his dying day. I know some people at work that seem "too old" in their 30s and 40s: dour, taciturn, too set in their ways to change, etc.

Depends if you are talking about a jug of milk, a cask of scotch, or a bottle of vintage port.

Lots of wisdom in this thread. I hope to be "making it" to 60 next year, but I'm much younger than I was five years ago because of many lifestyle changes. When I see guys in their 20s spending their leisure time in front of screens, i.e., computers, smart phones, TVs, and video games as their bodies and minds deteriorate, I certainly don't envy them. When I go to my gym in the middle of a weekday, I'm often the youngest person there.

Everyone who has posted here seems to agree on one thing: the number of years is not a value judgment. Except, of course, I got to see all of the cool bands.

jazzman said:

Except, of course, I got to see all of the cool bands.

Click to expand...

Haha!

Polluted said:

My fiancé keeps refering to some of her 60 year old family members as "young"

I just read an article about a baseball player who obtained oral cancer (at 50 years old). And it stated how much of a tragedy it was that he got it since he is so "young"

I'm gonna go out in left field here and humor the notion that 50.....isn't young I mean for havens sake there are still parts of the world where life expectancy is in one's mid 30s!

Is it our fear of death? Do all my family members, society, and all of you really think you are gonna live to 100 and feel cheated if you dont?

Sorry buds but anything over 50 years of age is a Definitly a FULL life.

Click to expand...

Hey Polluted, the older you get the younger I get. Think about that for a minute.

Best Regards Ron