NOT FOR SISSIES !

My beloved Aunt Mary was right.  Getting old is not for sissies.  But she found a way to make it seem not so tough.  She would take her actual age and reverse it and then live that year as though she was as young as her new age indicated.

For instance, when she was 82, she acted as though she was 28, and a Flapper again.  When she passed, she was only 39, in her mind.

Mary also had a wonderful outlook on her life. She was never visibly depressed and liked to belt out her catch-phrase:

"Things look swell when you use Prell!"

From time to time, I find myself also yelling this famous shampoo advertisement.  After which, whatever was bothering me does not matter anymore.

Of course, as one ages, life does get rather complicated and often very frustrating. For Instance, in my case:

SKIN PROBLEMS

(Grand and great-grand kids, listen up!)

I grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, a city with eleven miles of waterfront and several sandy beaches, where one could sun-bathe all day in the Summer, which is what I did after swimming, during our long vacation from school.

In addition, my pal Casey and I sun-bathed whenever possible, on the YMCA tin roof.

I had lots and lots of sunburn, but not much tan.

The result: Three forms of skin-cancer as I grew older.  Some of the malignancy was expunged at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the rest were removed by a visiting dermatologist.  

I was lucky.  I had good doctors who recognized the symptoms and it was caught early enough to be treated.

TIP

My advice to you is to minimize your sun exposure and always use a sun-blocker when you are on a tanning program.  Skin cancer can be life-threatening.

TOES

"Moses supposes his toeses are Roses,

  But Moses supposes Erroneously.

  Moses he knowses his toeses aren't roses,

   As Moses his toeses to be!

   (et cetera)

I love this little tongue twister that Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and somebody named Bobby Watson (not the All American from New Bedford) heard at an elocution class, where Gene sang these silly lyrics by Adolph Green, Betty Comden and Roger Edens in the movie Singin' In The Rain.

Toes are silly things, they insist on constant growing while other bodily items, like head hair has given up.  This would be OK, except that us old folks have trouble bending our legs for toe inspection and our diminished eyesight doesn't help the situation.  (And don't even ask about "toe jam!")

TIP

Obtain the services of a podiatrist early in life. Ask them what kind of shoes to buy.  Follow their instructions so that you won't lose friends later in life as you complain over and over as I do: "My toes hurt!"

Take an old Prepop's word for it.

BONUS TIP

Keep a diary or a calendar of your activity every day of your life.  Believe me, that information will come in handy when you are an old dude like me.

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