\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Is there any way to live decades and decades without getting old? I went to bed just before midnight Tuesday, at age 64. I tossed and turned for a few minutes and arose to take another look in the mirror, now at age 65. Instead of the Brad Pitt-type appearance I imagined, the new, more mature look resembled Mr. Moldy Face, Puffy Eyes and Turkey Neck.<\/p>\n
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 How could just a few minutes make such a difference? Does turning 65, as I did on April 21, make that much difference, other than 1) modifying the way people regard us elder statesmen, 2) entitling us to AARP membership and some restaurant discounts, and 3) guaranteeing that every illness and injury lasts longer?
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Rather than \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the elderly,” let’s call ourselves \u00e2\u20ac\u0153keen-agers.” Wednesday morning I went to work dreading the anticipated chorus of Happy Birthdays! Well that’s what I call loyalty–not a single person mentioned it. So, as painful as the experience was, I felt obligated to announce it was my birthday and to request the honor of their presents. Still no response. I halfway expected a reaction similar to that of my grandson and namesake who was supposed to wait six more days to be born so we could share a birthday. Instead, Arthur Roland Trujillo arrived on Tax Day, eight years ago. And he was given a party.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 The constant reminders of my being in the middle of my seventh decade of life come mainly from family. One son remarked at how amazing it is to see me mount a treadmill for a workout. Another son called and shouted out some over-articulated words: Hel-lo, fa-ther, hap-py bir-irth-day. A third son went over a litany of activities we used to do together, punctuating each one in a manner that implied I’d forgotten them.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Regrettably, forgetfulness, fragility and deafness are visited upon the elderly–that’s a fact of life, a rite of passage–but it’s not really as if something magic happened overnight to age this particular carcass unreasonably.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 The up side to this birthday is my wife Bonnie’s gift of a weekend flight to the other Las Vegas. Mere mention of the Nevada city invariably makes people assume we’re going there to gamble. No, we’re going to see a couple of shows and spend time sightseeing and relaxing.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 By the way, the only money I’ve ever put into a slot machine was about a dozen quarters, left in a paper cup by a previous patron. The machine inhaled them without shooting out anything. It may as well have been a charitable donation, but my tax preparer thought otherwise.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Our trip to Vegas ought to give me plenty of material for next week’s column. Meanwhile, I’ve been storing up a few Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down items.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0— Thumbs Up: A large field of applicants for the presidency of Highlands. Several dozen hopefuls ought to broaden the pool enough so that the final selection for this important job does not get made by default.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 — Thumbs Down: The disappearing ink on the stop sign facing eastbound traffic on the main road from Camp Luna. Motorists commonly pick up speed near the sign, even though cross traffic is sometimes heavy. Why are people mindful of every other stop sign in the county, but never of this one? If every violator were ticketed and fined accordingly, the city would be rich. By the way, several years ago, I rolled that stop sign and drove right past a waiting state patrolman. Sheepishly, I stopped, walked to the cruiser, tapped on the window and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I’m guilty.” The officer said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I saw you, but it’s the flagrant violators I’m after.”
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 — Thumbs Up: The Las Vegas Kiwanis Club for bringing a circus to town, to the delight of many.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 — Thumbs Down: The \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hidden” costs involved in attending the circus. Few people apparently were aware that the general admission ticket entitled them to enter the tent. But in order to see better, patrons needed to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153upgrade” their tickets for two to five dollars a seat. True, many entertainment venues have choice seating, but such arrangements are generally spelled out before customers buy the tickets, not after.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 — Thumbs Up: The New Mexico Press Women. This group includes Christina Romero, Vanessa Baca, Kathryn Cordova, Inez Russell and Sandy Schauer. Members of the Optic’s reportorial staff recently joined the press women in judging contest entries by some of New Mexico’s best and brightest high school journalists. The press women are educators, writers, editors and public information officers. Their support of and enthusiasm for journalism is admirable, as are the scholarships they award. Incidentally, the award Romero received, as noted in Wednesday’s Optic, was really national in scope, not just statewide.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 — Thumbs Down: The politically influenced bleeding-heart mentality in some courts that allows adults who commit sexual crimes against children to receive probation, while others who commit much less serious crimes go to the slammer. Often the wrist-slapping judges’ justification for probation and community service is that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153there would be no benefit for society to put this person behind bars.” Geez, it’s not as if they were model citizens to begin with.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 — Finally, a Thumbs Up to all the other keen-agers out there. We can do anything youngsters can do . . . just not quite as often.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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