The Mr saw the trailer for the new Banana Splits movie. (Warning- this ain't your childhood Banana Splits...it's rated R.) I never watched it, but I knew of the earworm theme song, but I guess he watched reruns of it as a little kid since it ran into the late 70's and early 80's. The article said something about how the trailer would "ruin your childhood," and some idiot in the comments was like "you must be really old if it ruins your childhood" or something along those lines. Ahh the world wide web, making insults easy to hurl from your mother's basement since 1989.
When I was a kid, I knew the only people who were "old" in my eyes were my great grandparents but really only because my great grandma had been preparing me for her death for as long as I knew her. I remember being 8 years old, we'd go down to Florida, and she'd be all "well, this is the last time you'll probably see me because I'll probably die soon." She was 70...and, you know what? She didn't die for another 21 years when I was 29 years old! Actually, she died first, and my grandpa died a week later of a broken heart. Even when I was a kid, I never took to calling them old to their face (or behind their backs that I remember unless grandma did something to tick me off), never brushed off their opinions because they came from a different generation, as a matter of fact, I liked getting to know them (or any older person) through their stories. I guess I had more respect for my elders. I remember my two cousins when they were close would call my grandma an old geezer to her face because I think they were enamored with how funny the word was, but I could see the hurt on her face. (This is why I reveled in the story of them getting the blunt end of a wooden spoon when they spent an unruly vacation with them). I was always ticked at my aunts for not yanking them aside, making them apologize and to treat their grandmother with a little more respect. I bet they wish they could take it back now. No one likes to be called old, and yet those who aren't old yet think it's all in good fun. You try being over 40 with a body that betrays you in a new way every other month when in your head you still feel and think like you're 25.
I am an old soul. I've always been drawn to ladies church hats, gloves, sparkly clutches from back in the day, brooches, and just a sense of order to the way things should be done. I had an especially good time at my other great grandma's house when she'd let me raid her costume jewelry drawer and wear her hats. (You can imagine how surprising it was to see grandma's hair on a mannequin one day with grandma not attached to it!) I don't know if I lived to be some old lady that liked to dress to the nines that passed in the '70s and then boom old lady baby me was born, but I've always had a respect for those who experienced the basics before us, and I didn't mock them. I certainly never looked at my grandparents (who were just turning 40 when I started to recall memories) as old but when I recently read some 15-year-old refer to a thirty-year-old as "that old dude," my mind just reeled. It's not the first time I've heard it either. In this youth-obsessed culture, 30 is somehow old, and if you're over 30, you should be sitting on your back porch waiting for the grim reaper.
I want to smack these arrogant bastards upside the head with some knowledge because let me tell you, you are not guaranteed to make it to "old," sweet cheeks. A classmate in 3rd grade that a lot of kids picked on just because she was quiet and had a religion where she had to wear only skirts (I didn't, I felt bad for her and always made a point to be nice) felt pretty bad when she and her entire family died in a house fire that year. She didn't even get to see the 4th grade. My friend in middle school and our freshman year of high school was killed and stuffed behind a dumpster. She didn't even get to make it to ADULT, much less old. A classmate I was friends with in 5th grade had a routine back surgery at 24, got an infection, and died. She didn't even make it to the rates where your insurance starts to go down because they consider you more responsible. The Mr's childhood bully didn't even get to 40, and statistically, he still had the same amount of life ahead of him as behind him. So yeah, don't sit back with your text neck and self-important ignorance of what is old in your eyes because you should be so lucky to make it to old.
You are young for a BLIP on the radar in the scheme of your life if you live to a statistically expected age. There is a reason for the phrase.
You have to be young and stupid before you can be old and (hopefully) wiser but that doesn't mean you have to be disrespectful to those who were here first. I am more than happy to listen to the thoughts and ideas of people younger than I am if we can have an intelligent conversation about it with a little respect going both ways. You know, like every relationship should be.
Ours is the last generation that knew what life was like before the internet but used it in college. We do not have the same severe anxiety issues that technology has strapped kids and young adults at corresponding ages who have grown up with it. You can learn from us old folks if you take the time to listen. Trust me when I tell you, you will resent some little sh*t telling you that you're over the hill regardless of your age but especially if you're in your 30's and 40's when everything is making you feel that way anyway and don't need someone trying to make you feel like crap about yourself. Each generation has its voice, and they all have lessons to teach. Dismissing people based solely on age like they have nothing to contribute will bite you in the ass because if the grid goes down, we'll all be just fine and then suddenly you'll want to be pals.
Ageism is alive and well in a time where the "old people" outnumber the coveted age group by 2 to 1. There are 64 million of us 30-64 year olds compared to your 30 million 18-30 year olds so yeah, you might want to treat us with a little more empathy because if you're lucky, you'll be there one day too.
*Kicks over soapbox*
The Mr says to get off his lawn.
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There is a false sense of youth being everlasting when you're young, but just as you said it's hardly a blip on the radar if you're lucky enough to enjoy a long life. Putting down people older than you only serves karma and if you don't know how karma works you're in for an even bigger rude awakening when you find out. If you're under 30 and reading this and thinking that it somehow doesn't apply to you, I'm sorry to tell you you're wrong, but you are. In a much shorter time than you realize, society is going to move its attention away from your generation and you'll be next in line to realize how fleeting youth really is.
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