Aging Gracefully

$5.37. That's what the kid behind the counter at Taco Bell said to me. I dug
into my pocket and pulled out some lint and two dimes and something that used
to be a Jolly Rancher. Having already handed the kid a five-spot, I started
to head back out to the truck to grab some change when the kid with the Emo
hairdo said the harshest thing anyone has ever said to me. He said, "It's OK.
I'll just give you the senior citizen discount."

I turned to see who he was talking to and then heard the sound of change
hitting the counter in front of me. "Only $4.68" he said cheerfully. I stood
there stupefied. I am 48, not even 50 yet?" A mere child! Senior citizen?

I took my burrito and walked out to the truck wondering what was wrong with
Emo. Was he blind? As I sat in the truck, my blood began to boil. Old? Me?

I'll show him, I thought. I opened the door and headed back inside. I strode
to the counter, and there he was waiting with a smile.

Before I could say a word, he held up something and jingled it in front of
me, like I could be that easily distracted! What am I now? A toddler?

"Dude! Can't get too far without your car keys, eh?" I stared with utter
disdain at the keys. I began to rationalize in my mind. "Leaving keys behind
hardly makes a man elderly! It could happen to anyone!"
I turned and headed back to the truck. I slipped the key into the ignition,
but it wouldn't turn. What now? I checked my keys and tried another. Still
nothing. That's when I noticed the purple beads hanging from my rearview
mirror. I had no purple beads hanging from my rearview mirror.

Then, a few other objects came into focus. The car seat in the back seat.
Happy Meal toys spread all over the floorboard. A partially eaten doughnut on
the dashboard.

Faster than you can say ginkgo biloba, I flew out of the alien vehicle.
Moments later I was speeding out of the parking lot, relieved to finally be
leaving this nightmarish stop in my life. That is when I felt it, deep in the
bowels of my stomach: hunger! My stomach growled and churned, and I reached
to grab my burrito, only it was nowhere to be found.

I swung the truck around, gathered my courage, and strode back into the
restaurant one final time. There Emo stood, draped in youth and black nail
polish. All I could think was, "What is the world coming to?" All I could say
was, "Did I leave my food and drink in here?" At this point I was ready to
ask a Boy Scout to help me back to my vehicle, and then go straight home and
apply for Social Security benefits.

Emo had no clue. I walked back out to the truck, and suddenly a young lad
came up and tugged on my jeans to get my attention. He was holding up a drink
and a bag. His mother explained, "I think you left this in my truck by
mistake." I took the food and drink from the little boy and sheepishly
apologized.

She offered these kind words: "It's OK. My grandfather does stuff like this
all the time."

All of this is to explain how I got a ticket doing 85 in a 40. Yes, I was
racing some punk kid in a Toyota Prius... And no, I told the officer, I'm not
too old to be driving this fast..

As I walked in the front door, my wife met me halfway down the hall. I handed
her a bag of cold food and a $300 speeding ticket. I promptly sat in my
rocking chair and covered up my legs with a blanky.

The good news was I had successfully found my way home.

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Just in case you weren't feeling too old today.


The people who are starting college this fall were born in 1991.


They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.


Their lifetime has always included AIDS.


The CD was introduced two years before they were born.


They have always had an answering machine.


They have always had cable..


Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.


Popcorn has always been microwaved.


They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.


They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.


They never heard: 'Where's the Beef?', 'I'd walk a mile for a Camel ', or 'de
plane Boss, de plane'.


McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.


They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.


Pass this on to the other old fogies on your list.


Notice the larger type?


That's for those of us who have trouble reading.


P.S. Save the earth.. It's the only planet with chocolate.