URNotAlone

I Am SICK of

January 28th, 2008 7:54 pm MST

I am not old! I am 62 years of age... I may look 61 -- I doubt it -- but I am not old!People 4 or 5 years younger than I am call me "old" -- what's that about?I do not take Geritol, drink Ensure, take Viagra, or use Depends. I do not walk with a walker, or even a cane.I do not suffer from Alzheimer's disease, dementia, senility, or even substantial memory loss -- even though there are some things I would rather forget!People say, "You are only as old as you feel." Good thing the saying is not, "You are only as old as you are treated", or I would be 120!The reason I don't like "old jokes" is NOT because I am thin skinned, or overly sensitive, or because I lack a sense of humor. It is because I hear them ALL DAY LONG!You log on to the Chat Room, and think of some incredibly humorous thing to say about "The Old Guy", and let it rip, like you just wrote it...Meanwhile, I have heard the joke before, or one very much like it -- sometimes more than once that very day! Then you log out. Along comes the next person with the same joke a few hours later ...Then another person -- a little later, same joke... When I have had enough, there then follows, "C'mon! Lighten up! It was just a joke! Where's your sense of humor?"You really want to know where it went?I'll tell you : When people treat you with courtesy and respect and consideration most of the time, it is easy to tell when you are being teased, and when a person is being funny.   But, when a person does nothing but make comments about your age - ALL negative, funny or not -- it is hard to believe that in this one instance, they are "just joking" Think about that for a moment, please.OK?People my age get called names all day. We get "kidded" all day about forgetfulness, impotence, incontinence, our medications, and whatever the "non - elderly" can dream up ALL. DAY. LONG. I seriously doubt you will make a comment I haven't heard, any time soon.The same people who have called upon to be less sensitive, thicker skinned, and more understanding, have responded to my reactions by saying, "Well, if that's how you feel -- then I won't talk to you at all!" [ How's that for irony! ]And the best part -- Oh, the best part! -- is that, with all of that being said -- people still talk to me like I am a naive teenager: Just tonight I was "informed" that " 'Becky' is short for 'Rebecca' " and " 'snatch' is slang for a woman's vagina "  Just tonight! As if I never knew those things!People are funny, aren't they? Even the youngsters...