More on ageing

More on ageing

Musings
Sonia Kelly

AM I getting obsessed with the topic of ageing? If so, I’m not alone. It’s hard to avoid these days, with the limits being constantly extended, so that 110 looks like being the normal life-span of the near future.
We’ll really have to get used to wrinkles and have to start regarding them in a different way. After all, they are really the story of one’s life made visible and should be worn with pride. An unmarked face is of no interest and indicates a life devoid of thought.
Sometimes you see flashbacks of older celebrities – particularly male celebrities – and can only marvel at how inane they looked in their youth.
In fact, as you get older you wonder how you could ever have endured youth – or the young, who now seem so brash and wrinkle-free. Their faces are not yet marked by all the worries attached to the concept of creating a family and the decision of whether to inflict or bestow (depending on how you regard an enforced stay on the planet) the process of life on another human being. It’s purely a selfish motive, hard to resist, as it’s bred into us to ensure the survival of the species.
But it does entail the selection of a mate, with all the problems this gives rise to. If successful in one’s quest, the ensuing babies must then be nurtured for years and years. This is often accompanied by anguish in one form or another. On reaching OAP-hood, all that is left behind – or not expected.
The struggle to acquire an income is no longer paramount, either, thanks to the government pension, so the boring topic of money can be expunged from one’s mind. This will include any career aspirations that might once have prompted action, leaving theoretically a stress-free future.
Let us now consider that power will soon be in the hands of OAPs (Old Age Power), when their numbers equal the young or immature. The Grey Panthers (as they are known in America) will be deciding elections, be in control of marketing by means of boycotting goods and will be able to dictate measures to counteract unacceptable social behaviour.
Meanwhile, it has to be said, that, in spite of having sloughed off the disadvantages of youth, some of our Grey Panthers do not lead ideal lives. Many of them are in isolation, and this does not make for a fun existence. Ideally, there should be special complexes available for older people - say a set of apartments around a glass-covered, flower-filled atrium, where the residents could meet and play sedentary games, hold meetings and do other things that take their fancy.
A cinema would be part of the complex, with mainly light-hearted films available, as laughter and happiness are desirable. A restaurant would also be essential, for what is more delightful than dining with friends? Outings would be arranged for their stimulating and enjoyable possibilities, always with the aim of lifting the spirits of the participants – not just humdrum, routine drives or boring games of bingo.
Perhaps some residents would have artistic inclinations. They might like craft-work or painting, or have musical talents. Playing in a group would seem to be a happy experience, judging by the way Sharon Shannon can’t keep the smile off her face, and giving public performances should generate cash to be spent on further life-enhancing projects. Who knows what would develop in such an environment? In any case, old age would become the goal of youth, and the young would try by all possible means to hasten their progress towards the heyday of senility.