POTPOURRI
“How Old Are You… Really??”
Remember That Little Kiddies Ditty …
“How old are you today;
How old are you; How old are you;
How old are you today?”
Now, a Question Bluntly Asked …‘What is your age now??’ And, ‘How old did you say you were??’… Here are a couple of AGE FACTOIDS–
- Most Western cultures use the age system wherein if a person has lived for 7 years and 10 months his/her age will be 7 years.
- In other cultures, such as in East Asian, age reckoning is different. In some of those countries, a person begins their life at the age of 1 (by Western standard). Then another year is added to their age at New Year’s Day, even if this happens to be the second day of their life.
And in Many Western Societies … getting old is feared; thus, leading people to feel and appear young as long as possible. It is contended that having this mentality can change the way aging is perceived—
- Reggie Choi (71/72, petroleum sales consultant)
“I don’t know… I guess now that I’m transitioning from the exciting ‘Swinging 60s’ of life to the ‘Sunset 70s’ generation, I agree: ‘I don’t want to readily admit that I was born in 1951. Heck, young people today may start referring to me as a Korean War Baby!! Do you realize how long ago that was?? … 1951— OMG!!”
“And, yes, I do go to 24-Hour Fitness gym in Pearl City. I really felt I needed to ‘tone-up’ my body, and I even have a personal trainer (Melissa)!! At least I feel like just observing all those younger people doing their exercise routines makes me feel and think a little like a YOUNGER ME.”
- MARGARET Kim-Seo (64/65, hospital emergency RN)
“Hey, Reggie… RELAX!! Maybe you should just retire now and spend more time playing golf at the Country Club. Enjoy these years, and stop your worry… You know, I’m of the Post-Korean War Generation (b.1958), and I’m looking forward to retiring – perhaps next year. Anyway, I wanted to share this age calculation information with you…”.
“In South Korea (Seoul, where I was born), we have a different way of calculating one’s age (Korean age) – It works like this: ‘People are considered a year old at birth; and then they add a year to their age every January 1’. So, when a child is born; she/he is one- year old. On January 1, the baby is then 2-years old’… Sounds weird; however, true. My oldest sister (Nancy) was born December 31, 1946; and now reports her age as 76. Yes, she will be 77-years old this December 31, 2022!!”
- KaNani Lee-Machado (76/77, retired insurance sales)
“Yes, you can add me to the list of ‘I am getting-older believers. Time does march on; however, I do maintain a strict regimen as to a healthy physical and emotional self. I regularly exercise, visit my doctors, my beautician, and I dress in the fashions of today’s older females. I really do enjoy this phase of my life – PLUS, my husband (Jesse, 79/80) still gets jealous when other men (especially the older ones) smile at me!”
“I decided to fully retire at age 71-years, because I had already planned to draw that Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from my long-time USAA IRA account when I reached 71-years. This was all part of my personal retirement strategy. With the IRA distributions, MEDICARE, my health and other long-term care insurances, I was confident in facing health deterioration possibilities as I aged. Just remember, I was in the Insurance & Annuity business for some 40 years… I had a lot of time to prepare myself for my ‘GOLDEN YEARS’.”
- Clifford ‘Noble’ Madrid (80/81, investment consultant)
“I’ve always liked the phrase…’Go with the Flow’. So, when I turned 79-years a few months back, I adopted that ‘go-for-it challenge’ as my Life Philosophy. How old am I?? Well, I follow the ‘Running Age’ rule; so, today I am 81-years old since I was born September 1941 (yes, and I am of the Silent Generation, pre-WWII, those born from 1928 to 1945.).”
“But, let me explain further… As to aging, I subscribe to the belief that ‘I will never be OLD’; rather, ‘I will always simply be ONE DAY-Older than I was yesterday.’.”
One Final Age Thought/Query—
- Problem Statement…
A father tells his son, “I was your age now when you were born”. If the father is now 38 years old, how old was his son 2 years ago?
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STORY SUBMITTED BY:
E. Tiwanak
IMAGES PROVIDED BY:
Puanani/Internet
- (Problem Answer: Two years ago, his son is 17-years old.)
Heroes 5-0 