The first time I felt old-er was a few years ago when I bought a cup of coffee at a fast food place and the gal at the register gave me the senior discount, without asking if I was a "senior." I asked her how old you had to be to get the discount and she said, "I'm probably wrong but, like, 45?" I told her great and had a cup of cheap coffee. I was just past 50.

Hey, my friends and wife call me and old fart, but I don't think of myself that way. I just realized recently that most of the people I hang out with and eat lunch with are 20 to 30 years younger than me. They make cracks about my lack of hair on my head and white hair on my face and I make cracks about them being younguns. It's all good till people I don't know start making comments, unless they're willing to throw in a senior citizens discount. Then they can call me old all they want.

I think old is when I get tired of getting up in the morning and I don't see that happening for a long time. I'm only early 50's. My father in law is in his 80's and he's not old.

:50: Well, let's see now. When are you old? Ah, well,... what was the question again?

When you stop riding.

My great grandmother was 78 years old the year I was born. She lived to be 102, saw all of her children die, got to meet some of her great, great grandchildren. Saw our country move from horses to cars to landing people on the moon. I never knew her as anything but "old". Yet, I also never knew her as anything but actively alive and engaged in life with much to contribute to those around her. She baked the most wonderful cookies on her coal stove, which she used into her late 90s. She did all of her own house work, and had a garden until the day she died. So, I guess what I'm saying is that "old" in and of itself, at least to me, is not a bad thing. It is a remarkable thing, in that a person has the opportunity to taste, enjoy, and influence life for such a long time. It only becomes a problem when people make incorrect assumptions and judgments about others based on looks, functional ability, and age itself. Now I have a cousin who is two years older than me. He, has for the most part, given up on life and seems to be just sitting around waiting for things to end. He has no hobbies, spends most of his days waiting for work to end, goes home and watches TV until it's time for bed. He has no plans for what he will do upon retirement next year. To me, he's not old. Rather, he may be depressed, is definitely not engaged and doesn't seem to have much joy in his life. It would be wrong or incorrect to label him as old if were attempting to use that particular word to describe his lack of interest and engagement in life.

On a side note, I called my parents yesterday after the minor tremors from the earthquake outside Richmond VA (they live closer than I do). Where was my 80+ year old father with two knee replacements during the tremors? On a ladder trimming the upper branches of a 25 ft. tall tree. He said he thought the ladder was moving a bit because of the wind. Is he old? It depends on how your using the word.

The minute you stop focusing on living in the present.

Yeah, how do they know when you hit 50?

They ticked me off a few years ago and they'll never see a dime of my money so every piece of mail I get from them goes right into the recycle bin.

So by your standard I'm forever young.

Too late to leave a beautiful corpse for me...

I'd say more like when you stop planning ahead...

One sign of getting old is when your favorite radio station plays no songs recorded in the last 20 years. (radio? not mp3s?)

Another sign of getting old is when you say 85F is too hot to go outside, or that riding bikes is just for kids. Too bad there are so many old 20-year-olds.

"At what point are you old?"... Chances are that if you are asking yourself, or anyone else that question, you feel for some reason that you are "old". :) The term "Old" is so subjective to me though that it nearly has no meaning at all.

Example:... I ride a 1985 Fuji Mixte, I'm 50 years old. A gentleman I met on the trail who was every bit 10 years my senior, asked "why do you ride such an old bike". My answer was "what do you mean old, that's the newest bike I've ever owned". And it is, I love the Vintage stuff.

I've got a friend that calls me "Old Man", or "Old Timer", or "Old Fart" all the time... He's 2 years younger than me, three quarters bald, and what hair he has on his face an head is snow white. I've been told I could pass for someone in my late 30's or early 40's. My friend gets around fairly well. I have to walk with a cane due to degenerative arthritis in my hip and lower back (which came to be in my 30's). So, can you judge age by looks???

Something or someone will always be older than you. Something and someone will always be younger than you. Age is just a number and we all degenerate at a different rate... So why do people worry and judge so much by numbers?

Personally, I don't have that problem. I have things happen to me now that either never happened or haven't happened since I was a young wannabe rock star playing guitar in a heavy metal band. I don't know if it's the men to women ratio of Humboldt County, California (which seems to be about 2 to 1 at times), my noticeable experience (the predominantly white ZZ Top beard and hair), or that "taken" look you get after 20 years of being married, but the ladies (including the young ones) seem to chase me a lot more than they ever did before. Not that they ever really did that before, or that it does them any good because I am taken. I think it's funny. My wife is not as amused as I am by it at times... :)

I don't know. Several years ago my father-in-law's older brother visited us. He was in his early 80's and assured us that 80 isn't old. This was right before he fell off our deck. (Fortunately, my son was there to catch him so the only bruising was to his ego.) He's nearly 90 now and did recently concede that he might soon be approaching old age.

On the contrary. I have never felt old but the odd coworker comments on my pending (not) retirement. I don't look that old! :) I actually asked because I noticed several of the older posters here really take exception to age comments. Old is something I always hold as a target on the distant horizon, hope to make it there, but not for a long time yet.

I'll tell Mary Sperling that the next time I see her.

I will admit to be approaching being old when I do not take my kit bag with me when going out to watch my Rugby team play.

Or when I actually consider playing an a match under oldies rules to really be Rugby.

(The first does not count if they tighten up the registration rules and that is the reason I don;t take my kit).

Old age my friends, is not a feeling. It is a number. We can disagree about what the number is, but a number it remains. No one would disagree that a 1948 Chevy that still runs well is an old car that still runs well. It is not a new car or even a middle aged car. Why would we say something different about our own old age?

"Worn out" is a feeling and it's good to see that no one who has posted to this string feels worn out. I'm 71 and don't feel worn out either and I'm grateful for that, but 71 is 85-90% of an average lifespan. That's pretty old. Staying active helps keep me feeling good but it does not change the numbers.

Saying one is only as old as one feels denies objective fact and may reflect society's obsession with youth. That's unfortunate. Aging is inevitable and can bring wisdom, a past to be proud of, opportunity to reflect, leisure do things we want. If accepted, old age can bring contentment and even new happiness. Why would we want to avoid admitting to it?

I am totally missing your point. Yes, of course there is a number involved. Are you trying to say it is the same number for all of us? If so, you are denying genetics. The obituaries are full of folks for whom "old age" was 62. Others, genetically, aren't even close at 62. So, who determines that number? You? I sure hope not. Me - YES, I (and only I) get to determine my "old age" number. Hey, I'm not there yet. It may take a few years - oh, say 20, before I determine "my number" is up.

There are some who dwell on that number, and some that don't. I am not a dweller. I am a doer. How about you? Doer or dweller?

So, what is your point? We should all sit around and dwell on the fact (or not) that we are now in "old age" because we reached a "number." Not I. You are welcome to do that. Me, I will continue thinking I am young. It is MUCH more fun.

Hmmmmmm...... I wonder how one then explains the term NOS...New Old Stock? Which is it, both, neither, or something else?

As humans we seem to have this built in trait. We want to categorize everything. Sometimes those categories serve a useful function. Other times those categories are used to devalue or demean those within the created category. That's what this is really about, "my friend".

There was certainly no attempt to categorized anyone with the initial post. Age is a chronological fact and "old" is just a descriptive term albeit obscure. I find it interesting that we never really view ourselves as old yet others do. Maybe "old" is just a term of relativity.

Very eloquently stated... Old is as related to life expectancy as a number of years passing (on average), not as a measure of life quality, or personal life expectancy.

Some people just will never admit they are getting old... Whether it's ego, or fear, they just never will admit it.

[QUOTE=jdon;13130102]There was certainly no attempt to categorized anyone with the initial post. Age is a chronological fact and "old" is just a descriptive term albeit obscure. I find it interesting that we never really view ourselves as old yet others do. Maybe "old" is just a term of relativity.[/QUOTE]

Bingo!

BTW, comment not directed at you, more as a general statement of what happens in the larger culture.

You are old when your flexibility declines. Lack of mental flexibility often has a greater impact on when somebody becomes old.

One of the guys I ride with has a quote that "We do not stop playing because we are old, we become old because we stop playing". And I think the point of it is that "old" has a lot to do with attitude.

On the other hand, with the proper attitude, it's okay to be "old", too.

When my grandparents were aging, they went to lots of funerals. My mom was one of 8 kids. But here a while back, one of my uncles died, and none of those 8 kids or their spouses were there for the funeral. So to me, you know you're "old" when you're too old to go to funerals! Then again, maybe I'm judging them too harshly. They might have all been out rock climbing or running marathons and weren't able to make the funeral because of that.

Depends on what you are planning for: a new bike... or a burial plot?