Age...A State of Mind

What is old age these days? Is it still the little old blue haired lady from church like my grandmother once was when she was still alive? Or for some people, is it something different? My father is now seventy years old and works out every day on an Elliptical for an hour. He may be in the best shape of his life and can still hang with the best of them. He is an inspiration to guys like me who really have a hard time sticking to that kind of discipline.

This last week, I had a conversation with a creative director about our culture's perception of old age and what it means within our society. For most of us, it's not a pleasant topic as getting older just means you're that much closer to the end.

For guys like my dad, I don't think he's ever missed a beat. If the man were to drop dead tomorrow, I would certainly miss him but even at death's door he might give the good old grim reaper a run for his money.

Which brings me to the point of this blog which is to say that age is not a number. Age is a choice. You can either live life or buy yourself some stretch pants and call it a day. It's entirely up to you.

An icon of youth which should serve as an inspiration to us all is a woman by the name of Anna Mae Bullock. She was born on November 26, 1939 which would make her seventy two years young. Now most of you wont' know this name as it was her given name. Not the name Ike Turner gave her when she became Mrs. Tina Turner. And you should all know the stories of her life as they have been written about as well as featured in the full length movie, What's Love Got To Do With It, in 1993.

With as much historical press and fame as Tina has received over the years, you forget just how old she is. She is not that little old lady sitting in a chair knitting a sweater. You don't really think that almost 100% of the folks in retirement homes are her age. It doesn't cross your mind that when she was born, Adolf Hitler had just taken control of the German army. On the contrary as when you see Tina Turner, all of these realities go away and what's left is a vibrant seventy two year old young person.

You hear a lot of heart ache sometimes from older folks. How tough their life was. How hard they had to work. And I won't discount all of these facts as I'm sure it was. LIfe ain't no bowl of cherries. However, given what we know about Anna Mae Bullock and just how difficult it was for her on so many different levels, I would say she is the bar for all of us to reach towards.

This concert was filmed in 2009 which would mean Tina was seventy years old then.

Is she an old lady or is she a statement?

You be the judge.