It's official--I'm old

[germdoc]

I know I'm getting old when I start to like Muzak...

Our clinic has an intercom system that plays some funky background music. It seems to be set on 2 interesting "stations"--orchestral or big band versions of music of the 50's and 60's, and mid-century pop standards. The song choices are quite unusual--lots of Beatles' stuff, a lot of jazz favorites, standards like "Moon River", "Stella by Starlight", etc.

(Right now I'm listening to a strings arrangement of Dizzy's "Caravan".)

The funny thing is that the arrangements are really interesting. A lot of them feature that cheesy Hammond organ sound that Frank Sinatra used in his songs from the 60's ("Summer Wind", for example), plus some tasteful guitar licks. It's several grades above the elevator music I remember from years ago.

I even turned the master volume up recently!

I'm looking forward to my AARP card next year...

[Uncle Cracker]

It's official--I'm old

Is this your official medical opinion??

[germdoc]

I asked for a second opinion, and my ex-wife said, "You're ugly, too"...

[cabinetman]

You're old when your day consists of riding in elevators just for the travel experience and the muzak.
.

[rcp612]

Welcome aboard!

[Bruce Cohen]

As my wife says "You know you're old when your brain is the second body part that stops working,"

For some perverse reason, she thinks that funny line!!! I'm not laughing

Bruce

[cabinetman]

As my wife says "You know you're old when your brain is the second body part that stops working,"

For some perverse reason, she thinks that funny line!!! I'm not laughing

Bruce

That right there is just funnier than all get out.
.

[phrog]

I asked for a second opinion, and my ex-wife said, "You're ugly, too"...

Dang Jeff, is that the reason she's an ex-wife? On second thought, don't answer that. As for growing older, I've always heard it's the better of two options. About the music, personally, I've always liked that kind of music, at least, as far back as I can remember, which is only a day or so. :-)
Richard

[OpaDC]

I started to write a reply to this but forgot the topic. Never mind.

[leehljp]

I asked for a second opinion, and my ex-wife said, "You're ugly, too"...

HaHaHa! Funny!

If you are old, I am ancient. And I sure feel like a dinosaur at times over here with all the hoops we have to jump through to get something done!

[germdoc]

OK, here is a random list of Muzak tunes over last day or so:

"What I did for love"

"Theme to the Godfather" (twice)

"Come fly with me"

"Theme from Romeo and Juliet"

"Misty" (a personal favorite)

"I dreamed a dream"

"Only you"

""The fool on the hill"--even Muzak can't screw up a good tune

"If a picture paints a thousand words..."

"To dream the impossible dream"

"Yesterday"

"The man I love"

I feel like I'm stuck in a time warp--a dentist's waiting room in some alternate universe, alternating between 1945 and 1972...

[Norm in Fujino]

Congratulations, I guess (warning: long pedantic talk)

I just turned sixty earlier this month. Sixty is an auspicious age in the Chinese culture sphere (including Japan), since sixty is the result of combining two systems of counting, "ten stems" (symbolic numbers) and "twelve branches" (today thought of as animal figures, but originally probably just another way of counting) in their least common multiple (for more than you ever wanted to know about these things see, for example Da Liu Ren, and Sexegenary cycle.)
Lots of things are counted by using this sexegenary system; for example, each year is assigned one of twelve "animal" totems (you've likely heard that this year is the "year of the tiger"), and after the twelve (A-L) are combined in a pair with each of the ten stems (1-0), it brings you back to the pair where you began, for a total of 60, like so:

12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890 1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLABCDEFGHIJKLABCDEFGHIJKLABCDEFGHIJKLAB CDEFGHIJKL

(For some reason those spaces got added against my will toward the end.)

Since this cycle is considered to have some kind of cosmic significance, the act of going through the entire cycle of 60 is thought of as a kind of "rebirth" or "starting anew."
Sooo, that means that I'm reborn this year, and I'm going to turn over some new leaves. Things have serendipitously coincided to give me sabbatical from the university this year, so I have some time to do research (and repair the house ), as well as going on another walking pilgrimage, if my legs hold up (big IF). To bring this all to a close, yes, I'm feeling older, but I'm also trying to give real meaning to that idea of rebirth.

[Knottscott]

I knew I was old when walking became exercise and relaxing became an activity of choice. Just wish I had appreciated being young more!

[JR]

I'm reminded when Paul Simon was guest-hosting Saturday Night Live once. The skit involved Simon in an elevator listening to Bridge Over Troubled Water in Muzak form. The elevator got stuck and Jon Lovitz appeared as the devil. Sure enough Simon had died and gone to he11.

JR

[phrog]

I'm reminded when Paul Simon was guest-hosting Saturday Night Live once. The skit involved Simon in an elevator listening to Bridge Over Troubled Water in Muzak form. The elevator got stuck and Jon Lovitz appeared as the devil. Sure enough Simon had died and gone to he11.

JR

If he had really gone to **** he would have been condemned to watching reality tv for eternity.