I want to talk about age, not weight. One of the clerks at the market had sold alcohol to an investigator posing as under-age customer - a very bad thing for the store. So now she was required by management to ask every customer their birth-date and year if they purchased alcoholic beverages. Now I am so obviously over the top, I don't even get carded for the Senior discount any more, and here she insisted on my birth-date and year and ID before letting me have some wine. I couldn't help it, I said "Good heavens, not only juveniles, but geezers can't buy booze any more? What is this world coming to?" Cracked everybody up.

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading about all of you and your age and what you are all doing. It's sort of like a getting to know you thread. I'm 37 and I had a total knee replacement when I was 30 after a reconstruction from a bone tumor I had as a teenager fell apart. I was told I'd be restricted physically after the first surgery 20 years ago. Isn't it funny how when you're told you can't do something, it makes you want to do it all the more? After I finished college, I got a great job that is on my feet and traveled. I got married and had a baby. I never felt restricted at all until I was pregnant with my 2nd and my knee completely fell apart. Had an arthroscopy shortly after giving birth and was given the news that I needed a replacement and I'd probably have trouble walking the rest of my life. Well, that was just not an option and I sought out a doctor that could fix me, and he did. It was a tough year of rehab, but once it was done, I was ready to be active again, return to work, care for my babies. Once again, I had to prove that doc wrong, and after I completed my first triathlon, I sent the doctor who told me that a note and a pic of me crossing the finish line. I'm doing my 3rd tri next month. My only restriction is running, so I sort of jog/power walk the running part. And the only reason I restrict myself is not because I can't run, but I'd like to get more years out of my mechanical knee. I stay physically active because my family medical history is abysmal, my father died suddenly of a heart attack last summer, my mother is hypertensive, her mother had heart disease, and the list goes on and on. I don't plan on slowing down at all, I want to keep my heart healthy. Oh and thanks to Gibby, I am hooked on yoga now as well, she recommended a yoga video to me a while back, and now I can't get enough of it.

I was lucky enough to inherit my grandparents house and as I have been reading through this thread. It got me think about all the things I found there, most of it wasn't new to us but some of it was. -My grandfather was a commercial fisherman so I found licenses for him & every member of his crew. Various documents related to fishing in foreign waters. The bamboo poles they used, glass net balls, hooks, net needles for mending a net, catch records, etc. -The affidavit my great grandfather signed when his daughter (my grandmother) married someone (my grandfather) who wasn't yet a citizen & thier marriage license from the early 20's. -War ration books with the stamps in them, the really funny thing is that my grandfather's height kept changing over the years, from 6'0 to 6'3! -War damage insurance policies issued by the federal government. Our house is near several bases so apperently the government insured their home, & probably the whole neighborhood, from damage either from an invading enemy or from defending from an enemy attack. -Booklets for traveling through Europe after the war while the Marshall Plan was still in effect. My grandmother had a lot of family in Europe (we still do) so they were probably planning a trip back . Propaganda pamphlets from the American government about being quite in public places & just generally being careful because of "spies". -Various newspaper articles & scrap books form the 1930's to 1940's. A letter from one of my grandfathers to his mother that was heavily censored by the War Dept. because he was serving in the Pacific. I remember one of my great uncles (his brother) telling me that for a few years the family didn't know where grandpa was while his ship was in the Pacific. I still have his pea coat & wear it when it's cold enough. -One of my great uncles Korean War era army uniform & ID bracelet. -Coins from all over the world. -A Disney war bond issued to my mother (she was born in 1939). - A letter dated 1953 from the County Assessor that explained they would begin issuing Assessor Parcel Number for every property. A letter from the post office dated about the same time introducing the zip code system! Phone bills form the '40's & 50's were the phone number had a location exchange like "bayview123" -Antique silk velvet bedspreads that were hand painted with Rococo pastoral scenes. They were backed with canvas and weighted a ton. I couldn't image actually sleeping under them with out being crushed! -Match books with a picture of my mom when she was in her early 20's. I asked her about them & she said she would write her phone number inside & give them to guys she liked! A HUGE box of her shoes from the 50's & 60's, along with the coordinating hats, gloves & purses. -A black beaded "flapper" slip that must go over an other dress, because it is way to sheer & way to short to wear alone -The remnants of the living room curtains, I hadn't seen them in over 30 years. My grandmother must have been saving them for rags (whose grandmother didn't do that!) -Immigration paper work for one of my grandfathers and for my maternal great grandparents. -Some really beautiful handkerchiefs, including a silk one embroidered with a R which would have belong to one of my great grandmothers. -Letters from various family members in Europe and possibly a great aunt who lived in Massachusetts. I'll have to do some research on that branch of our tree. -My mother's first communion vail. A beautiful sterling silver rosary, the beads are open filagree work. Judging by the marks, I think it is from South America. -My grandmothers salt & pepper shaker collection. There was one set the was just the head & upper chest of a guy, but he's not wearing a shirt! An other really tiny set shaped like pineapple grenades or maybe just pineapples it's kind of hard to tell because they are so small. And so, so much more On a different note Burden, those marks might just be the "signature" of the carpenter. One of my grandfathers liked to do wood work and he would always sign the stuff he built, and his tools with a specific design.

There are some good things about getting old though. You can say any obnoxious thing and just have someone say well, s/he's just old! The older you get, the less peer pressure there is, by attrition. However, gettin' old ain't all it's cracked up to be. Hardly worth it for that senior cup of coffee at McD's. But then again, you CAN hide your own Easter eggs. You may have had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes be half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make ya dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. have bouts with dementia and poor circulation, hardly feel hands or feet, can't remember if you're 85 or 92 lost all my friends, but hey... still have the driver's license! And of course be careful when you make the same noises as the coffee maker. Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, The good fortune to run into the ones I do, and The eyesight to tell the difference. 'OLD' IS WHEN.. Your sweetie says, 'Let's go upstairs and make love,' and you answer, 'Pick one; I can't do both!' 'OLD' IS WHEN... Your friends compliment you on your new alligator shoes and you're barefoot. 'OLD' IS WHEN... A sexy babe catches your fancy and your pacemaker opens the garage door, 'OLD' IS WHEN... Going braless pulls all the wrinkles out of your face. 'OLD' IS WHEN... You don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go along. 'OLD' IS WHEN... You are cautioned to slow down by the doctor instead of by the police 'OLD' IS WHEN. .. 'Getting a little action' means you don't need to take any fiber today. 'OLD' IS WHEN... 'Getting lucky' means you find your car in the parking lot. 'OLD' IS WHEN... An 'all nighter' means not getting up to use the bathroom. AND 'OLD' IS WHEN... You are not sure these are jokes