You know you’re getting old when...

Some of you may not find this a light-hearted topic depending on how many decades you’ve racked up but it can be if you really try.

Those growing up with computers probably cannot imagine life without them. They probably cannot imagine days when there was no Ipod and MP3 player or when people had to get off their butts to turn the television on and off.

I am awed by how far we have come from the days of a-track, vinyl, cassette players, boom boxes (which people carried on their shoulders) and walkman. For those of you who can remember the transitions, you are dating yourself.

Let me give readers a test. It will be called “You Know You’re Getting Old When…”

I posed this question and it was quite amusing to hear what the twenty-somethings had to say.

A 29-year-old man had a few responses, “When your friends have kids,” “When you get mistaken for your brother’s father,” “When you stop celebrating your birthday and start lying about your age.”

A 23-year-old woman said, “When your friends start getting married and having kids,” “When you look at photos of yourself from years ago and you notice differences,” Another young woman said it was a sign of getting old when people started reading the death notices.

A woman in her fifties said, “When some parts of the female anatomy start heading south.”

Apart from the obvious signs of age — like the grey hairs which not even a permanent hair colour can permanently disguise, there are certain things which do indeed remind me that I am not quite yet a senior citizen but senior indeed.

This is evident when I attend one of those shows with the retro acts eg REO Speedwagon, Joan Jett or more recently, the Peter Cetera/John Waite/John Secada concert and remember when they were on the charts, when they were debuting songs. When they were young!

When they were on the Casey Kasem Top 40 countdown —“keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.” The first album (vinyl) I ever bought for myself was Escape by Journey.

Several of the bands from my youth have disbanded, members have died or they have broken up and reformed like New Kids on the Block.

The youngest member Joey McIntyre used to be short and had a high-pitched adolescent voice when he sang the band’s debut single “Please Don’t Go Girl” and Bobby Browne (ex-Mr Whitney Houston) was also a boy when he sang “Candy Girl” with New Edition.

The biggest joke is at the retro parties comprising music I remember from when it was new.

Do people remember the pre-jump and wave days when the Calypsos people sang in the tents were the same people danced to on the streets for Carnival?

You know you’re getting old when you can remember the days when there were no four-letter words heard on your television set or can recall when actors on television wore corduroy, bell-bottom pants, plaid and satin shirts.

Someone said another sign of age is when styles from your day start coming back.

Thankfully, I have not yet seen a resurgence of acid-wash jeans or fluorescent coloured clothing.

You know you’re a senior when you can remember Electric Company which actor Morgan Freeman used to star in and Sesame Street’s original cast including Mr Hooper or if catch phrases like “whatcha talking ‘bout Willis” and “Dynoomite!” or “Elizabeth, I’m coming to meet you honey” conjures up memories of night-time comedies.

Has anyone noticed that cartoon characters on television have gotten uglier? Maybe it’s a sign of the times some of them look like Picasso drawings.

Who can remember when Sunshine Snacks first introduced its corn curls in nineteen seventy something? You know you’re getting old when it seemed like certain things (red mango, red plums, sour cherries) tasted better when you were young.

I’ve noticed that with age, the body starts to give trouble. It’s like some internal mechanism is turned on telling it to start causing distress. That aside, a reminder of getting older is seeing babies grow into teens or into young ladies and gents. The worst is if some youngster calls you “tantie” or “uncle”.

That’s another thing which signals you’re getting there.

Youth is relative — a 50-year-old might call me “young” and a 12-year-old might call me “old” but youths scarcely appreciate the past because they live for the present. When you start noticing the differences between then and now that’s when you know...

Quote for box

`I’ve noticed that with age, the body starts to give trouble. It’s like some internal mechanism is turned on telling it to start causing distress.’