Good news! Aging is cool! There’s even a website that says it’s so. Agingiscool.com. Really. Their slogan is “Stay Strong. Stay Smart. Stay Social.” The couple that founded the organization wants to help us stay strong, smart, social, and above all –– cool.
They look like they are in their 30’s so I’m a little skeptical about them laying the “cool” moniker on aging boomers. I might have thought I was cool in some ways through my 50s, but once you get past the half-way mark in your potential lifespan are you really cool in any way anymore?
If it combats ageism in some way, I guess I’m okay with it. Meryl Streep is pretty cool. Dr. Seuss was very cool. Nancy Pelosi? Come on! She’s very cool. Harrison Ford, Patrick Stewart and Robert Redford still have the cool thing going on. And Helen Mirren? Doubled down cool for that lady. Did someone say Betty White? She’s 97 and still too cool for school.
Cool has always been a perception thing. You act cool and people think you’re cool. Pretty soon you believe it too. And what is cool? It’s an attitude. Above it all sometimes or just against the grain. The key thing is to make it look like you don’t care. Be natural. Nonchalant. Not easy to pull off and sometimes just a burden, being cool is a state of mind.
Between dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, don’t we have enough state of mind issues at this stage in our lives. I’m less worried about being cool and more worried about any sign that I might be losing my mind. Forgetting what someone told you yesterday and not being able to recall names and facts as easily as you once did can give one pause. Definitely not cool.
In the final analysis, and I hesitate to use the word final in this particular context, cool is in the eye of the beholder. Oh, the hell with it. It’s cool that we’ve even made it this far.
You be cool now.
Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.
