Every Thursday morning, Elderlyistic is published for anyone from 50 to my age who knows perfectly well that people get old, but has always assumed it happens to everyone else.
Click the logo below for Elderlyistic in Substack:
Click the logo below for Elderlyistic in Substack:
What Is Elderlyistic?
Elderlyistic is about the strange stretch of life that begins somewhere around 50 and, in my case, has now wandered into the mid-seventies. It is a period of roughly 25 years in which you are not exactly young, not necessarily old, and frequently surprised by what your body, memory, family, technology, doctors, friends, and bathroom mirrors have planned for you.
Time Travel
The odd thing is that much of it is funny. Not funny in the inspirational “age is just a number” sense. Funny because you still feel like the same person who drove all night, ate anything he wanted, remembered why he walked into a room, and could read the instructions on a shampoo bottle. Now the same man may need Google Maps, reading glasses in the shower, an afternoon nap, and three minutes to remember why he opened the refrigerator.
Family Life & Marriage
Elderlyistic lives in this territory. It is about getting older without turning aging into either a tragedy or a self-improvement program. One week it may be about driving, pets, doctors, technology, memory, grandchildren, or discovering that a bologna sandwich on white bread has somehow become a culinary event. The subjects are small because much of life is small. That is usually where the good stuff is hiding.
Social Security and Medicare
It is written mostly for men from about 50 through their mid-seventies, although women are welcome to observe the proceedings. These are the years when a man can still believe he is basically the same fellow he was at 35 while accumulating considerable evidence to the contrary.
All Grown Up
A new Elderlyistic appears every Thursday morning. Each one is written and illustrated by the author, which means you get an original story, an original drawing, and no guarantee that either one will improve your life.That is not really the point.
The point is to notice what is happening while it is happening, because this 25-year stretch is funny, perilous, occasionally ridiculous, and moving much faster than any of us expected.
