# When I'm 64, and other reminders that you are old **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 27, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788 "2018-12-27T15:08:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/222 "2019-08-16T04:53:23Z")
Other reminders I am old: Woodstock turned 50 today. I remember when Texas was a solidly Democratic state. ---
**Author:** ![Taesahnim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taesahnim/32/84_2.png) [@Taesahnim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taesahnim)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/223 "2019-08-16T12:08:46Z")
I’m 70. I now look back on being 64 with nostalgia. My body hurt much less than it does now. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/224 "2019-08-16T12:48:24Z")
> [@Taesahnim](#): > > I’m 70. I now look back on being 64 with nostalgia. My body hurt much less than it does now. I’m 73. My body hurt much less at 70. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/225 "2019-08-16T13:15:24Z")
If anyone had told me when I was 14 that I’d be around to see he 50th anniversary of Woodstock, I’f have screamed “ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?” ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2019, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/226 "2019-08-17T01:26:36Z")
I had been contemplating how I knew I was old when I finally looked at this thread. Here’s my offering: When I interviewed at the school I now work for, I was asked if I could teach coding. My dad taught me BASIC in 1981 so I would always be able to use a computer. For the ladies: when you go to the doctor and no one asks if you could possibly be pregnant. Mr. CelticKnot says that when he was a teenager, rock stars were guys with a guitar and facial hair. Now he’s a guy with facial hair and a guitar, and the rock stars are all teenagers. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/227 "2019-09-08T07:52:11Z")
I’ve always thought the time difference between the 1880s and, say, 1919 vast. But it occurred to me today that the 1980s still feel like yesterday to me. It does not feel like nearly as much time has passed since the 1980s as did from the 1880s to 1919. I was already in my 20s when it turned 1980. The 1970s do feel like a million years ago, but not the 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/228 "2019-09-08T11:55:37Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > I was just in the bank and the teller counter there’s a machine where you “log in” to your account with your bank card. The digital print says “please swipe card”. I told the early 20ish teller that I remembered back in the day if you swiped something at the bank they’d call the cops and today you’re asked to do it. She gave me a blank stare as she obviously had no clue what I was talking about. The mid-late 50s teller next to her thought it was quite funny! I laughed! ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/229 "2019-09-08T12:27:30Z")
70 yrs old, I had to drywall the ceiling in my living room last week which included tearing out the old ceiling. So sore right now I can barely walk or raise my arms. I am thinking that may be the last major repair job I do. I no longer get all that excited about having a girlfriend and the thought of living alone is becoming more and more appealing. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/230 "2019-09-08T17:19:23Z")
Earlier this year I was at my dentist to get a tooth filled. Some minutes after getting novocaine shots he asked me if I was ready. I said I was, so he said just relax and it’ll go fine. I said: _no worries here…unless I hear you ask me “Is it safe?”_, at which point we both shared a hearty laugh. His assistant, a woman, much younger than us, had no idea what was so funny. Could be even her parents weren’t even born when ‘Marathon Man’ came out in 1976. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/231 "2019-09-23T16:19:28Z")
I never watch awards shows, but I love to look at the red carpet slideshow the next day. You know you’re old when you look at the slideshow of fashions worn at the Emmys (for example) and 1) you don’t know who any of the people are, and 2) you think the outfits are HIDEOUS. Especially the men’s clothes. 😛 A similar thing happens in the checkout lane at the grocery store, when you look at the cover of \*People \*magazine (a publication you used to LOVE, but it was too expensive to subscribe to, so you read it at the doctor’s office) and you don’t know who ANY of the people are. Except maybe Prince William and Kate. \*\*\*“Sandy and Buffy are FINALLY pregnant!!” The secret behind the Jeffy-Briony breakup!" \*\*\* Right. :rolleyes: Gotta buy that issue \*fer shure. \* ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/232 "2019-09-23T16:53:02Z")
When you no longer care how stylish a wristwatch looks, you just want one that you can read the time. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/233 "2019-09-23T17:43:49Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > You get the joke when a poster refers to manhattan as “the fucking hall monitor.” Did you mean Giuliani? (I’m half hoping not, and I’m just young enough not to get it. 😉 ) > [@panache45](#): > > There have been 4 presidents younger than me. It’s not quite here yet, but I can see a time when I’ll be insisting upon candidates younger than I am. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/234 "2019-09-23T22:10:08Z")
My niece, who was an infant when my wife and I got married, just had her first baby this weekend. My oldest granddaughter just turned 21. I recently had my 24th anniversary with my current employer. I got to thinking the other day that probably half the people working there now weren’t even born yet when I was hired. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/235 "2019-09-23T22:31:11Z")
I just realized today that for some reason I’d set my monitor to “Larger Text” instead of the default, which is the standard Retina display on an iMac. I’ve been considering reading glasses; I may start thinking about computer glasses, because I really _do_ appreciate the normal amount of space on a standard display rather than the scaled display. Also, damn, scaled displays are frickin’ _awesome_ these days. I don’t mean the normal 1:2 Retina scale, but whatever scale my setting uses. Very different compared to my circa 2000 PowerBook. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/236 "2019-09-23T22:51:48Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I’m not _that_ old\* but I remember 2 million. > > \*Or maybe I’m so old I saw 1 but have forgotten it. I cant seem to track it down, but Phil Ochs had a song with lyrics that said something like, “I’m gonna go to McDonalds, order a million hamburgers, and watch them change the sign.” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/237 "2019-09-24T04:29:14Z")
I’ve worn normal distance/close-up bifocals for years. I now have to wear close-up/_really_ close-up bifocals as well. My ophthalmologist recommended trifocals, but the middle band would be used for the computer, and it wouldn’t be deep enough. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/238 "2019-09-24T09:28:12Z")
Well, not exactly me but still, indirectly… The phone rang yesterday at 9:20 pm and my first thought was : “I hope my parents are OK”. It’s the very first time that the possibility of them having a serious health issue has crossed my mind, up until then, I had always thought of my grand-mother when this happened. The thing is my dad will be 73 in a couple of months. He’s still pretty fit but I’ve noticed some subtle cognitive decline. For instance, he’s a _very_ experienced, careful driver. If I’ve ever felt absolutely safe in a car, it was with him behind the wheel. Yet, in the past year and a half, I’ve found myself thinking “Ooops, what the hell is he doing ?” _twice_. It’s unsettling. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/239 "2019-09-24T09:51:07Z")
I was rear ended a while ago. While telling the story, someone asked me about the other driver. Part of my description of her was that she was an old lady. A few minutes later I recalled that, as we exchanged personal info post-crash, I noted to myself when seeing her driver’s license that she was a year younger than me. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/240 "2019-09-24T15:26:07Z")
Ringo Starr is a [GREAT-grandfather](https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2016081632997/ringo-starr-becomes-great-grandfather/). His granddaughter Tatia had a baby boy. ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/241 "2019-09-25T04:56:08Z")
Last night as I walked by some kid at a bus stop, he said “Hey, Grandma.” :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788.md?page=13)