Maybe it’s a magazine you subscribed to. Back when I was in my late twenties/early thirties, I subscribed to a quilting magazine and a new cross stitch magazine…and almost immediately the AARP stuff started arriving in my mailbox. After about four months of this, I sent one of the membership cards back, explaining that I had a good twenty years to go before I was eligible. The mail from them stopped soon after. I figured it was triggered by a subscription to a magazine they felt would only appeal to older people.
Hey Magiver – it is very possible that “old dude” and “old boy” are just slang terms that that kid uses. I had a good friend who called everybody “old boy” – it can almost be like “homeboy.” Saying, “What’s old dude waiting on?” is way different from saying “What’s that old dude waiting on?” It’s just a slang thing, I would almost guarantee it.
A few months ago, I was having a rough night at work, topping off a rough day at home. I clocked out at 7 am, and popped across the street for breakfast - just wanted to hide for a little while, instead of going home. I ordered my coffee and biscuit, paid, collected my meal, and sat down with my paper. Started wondering why my bill seemed smaller than it should’ve… yep, the cashier applied the senior discount. I’m 40… Ugh!
And just a few weeks ago, I was shopping for baby items. The 19-year-old cashier asked whether I was shopping for a grandbaby. Not entirely impossible, but I was 8.5 months pregnant at the time! (My mom was with me during this shopping trip, so I just pointed at her and said “No, but my mother is.”) I guess I could take it as a partial compliment, since I didn’t look pregnant? I’m going with that explanation: makes me feel better!
My business offers discounts to various groups of people - members of certain auto clubs, military, over age 50. The nearest I can come to a tactful way to ask whether someone qualifies for our senior discount is “Does anyone in your party qualify for our Over Fifty discount?” Most people laugh and happily agree to accept the 10% discount, but sometimes I miss the mark by a year or two. There really isn’t a good way to say “I assume you’re old.”
Yes. I will agree with you here. ‘ol boy’ is a slang term that is used on any man of any age. It has zero to do with the age of the person.
I got my AARP card when I was 38 – because my spouse, who’d just turned 50, got his.
But I feel your pain. A few months ago the grocery cashier (obviously much older than I) asked if I wanted the senior discount. I’m 42, and look it, if not younger!! I do have some gray hair, but I don’t look 55!!
Hey now! I’m 23, and everyone in their 40’s looks like a senior citizen to me 