How you know you are getting old

If we are lucky, we stay healthy while we grow old. Nevertheless, growing old is not pleasant, and I think the subconscious tries to ignore or suppress the fact that one is getting older. During certain stages in life one tries to “fight back” against this aging process by watching the diet, exercising even more, trying to “relax” a bit more and generally trying to think young. This is actually successful to certain degrees, and you tend to generally feel better.

However, I’ve recently noticed something that is unavoidable in bringing the fact of aging back home in a very personal sense. Much more so than ever before I notice when the passing of someone famous is written about in the news. This particularly touches a nerve when it is someone that you liked or found interesting in some way. Somehow the people you see on TV or movies leave the impression that they will always be the way they are. When these people die it certainly reminds one that we too are getting older.

People that have recently passed away, that struck a nerve with me were:

Jack Kemp

Dom Deluise

Paul Harvey

James Whitmore

Ricardo Montalban

Patrick McGoohan

Who are yours?