How to Define “Old”

~ Kana Smith

I asked for a printed boarding pass for our flight home.

“I’m old-school—I like paper,” I told the young gal behind the desk.

“Actually,” I amended, grinning, “I’m just plain old.”

When she shook her head in polite denial, I countered: “I remember people smoking on airplanes. I think that makes me old.”

The “Ohmygod!” that exploded out of her told me she no longer argued with that assessment.

The Cascade mountains from SeaTac airport

14 thoughts on “How to Define “Old””

  2. I think it is such a good topic and I don’t think you’re old😉 but I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. My father is 76 and sometimes worries about his age. It affects me too and I catch myself thinking, oh dear, he’s getting old.

    But then I visit a 96-year-old woman and see how well she’s still living her life. Suddenly I think: wait a minute — my father isn’t old at all. He still has plenty of time and so much left to experience. Just look at that 96-year-old lady!

    As for me, I still get asked for ID when I buy alcohol — and I’m 35! On the other hand, when I was thirty, a good friend of my daughter used to call me an “older lady,” which really made me reflect … My children used to think I grew up in a “black-and-white world”!

    As for me, I still get asked for ID when I buy alcohol — and I’m 35! On the other hand, when I was thirty, a good friend of my daughter used to call me an “older lady,” which really made me reflect … 😉 **“My children always thought I grew up in a black-and-white world

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  3. When I was carded in my twenties, I was miffed…for surely I looked like a grownup, right?
    Then when I was carded in my thirties, I was quite pleased.
    I was quite pleased again to be carded in my sixties, when I asked for a Senior Discount.
    Now I’m simply quite pleased to be walking upright.

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    1. Don’t forget being carded regarding the 75-year-old limit for people not having to remove shoes in airports. ;) We noticed, though, on these last two trips, that they’ve stopped doing that. Finally figured out it’s a waste of time, I guess…

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  4. When I was born, every car had a manual transmission, all the airplanes were propeller driven, all long distance calls had to be placed through an operator, and we had a coal bin in the basement from which coal had to be shoveled into the furnace. When I saw a TV for the first time, I didn’t know what it was. My desk at school had an inkwell, and it was a special privilege to be selected as the kid who refilled each one from a big bottle of India ink. When I got sick, the doctor came to the house. The iceman delivered big blocks of ice, carried on his shoulder to the homes of folks who did not have a newfangled electric refrigerator yet. And no, I did not live in some rural backwater, our home was in New York City.

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  6. Hahaha! I like paper too! When I go food shopping, I bring a paper list. When I see other older folks with paper lists, I stop and tell them how happy it is to see old school shopping LOL. I also remember smoking on the plane. I was a smoker back then, so I didn’t mind at all.

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  7. I remember the morning that JFK was assassinated. I remember when there were only three network channels on TV and one or two local channels. I remember when my dad and I used to change the oil in our cars and dump the used oil in the gutter on the street. *gasp* I remember before computers. I remember saving my allowance to buy a $5 record album on vinyl.

    But old? Nah. “Old” is 20 years older than me.

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  8. A perfectly timed mix of self-deprecating humor and generational truth. That final “Oh my god!” is priceless. It says everything without saying anything at all. Proof that being “old-school” comes with the best stories (and the best punchlines). 😊🙏🏻💛

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