Even though I'm not old or an 80s person, I feel sad that the people of the '80s now are at the least in their 20s and as old as their mid-40s!

If you were 18 in 1984, you'd be 40 today.  And the kids in The Goonies now range from about 31 to 38 years of age!  They were kids in the '80s, now they're almost freaking middle aged!  Sad sad sad.

Ummmmmm...... I would rather not talk about getting old.  (I'm turning 30 this upcoming July).  ;D

Ummmmmm...... I would rather not talk about getting old.  (I'm turning 30 this upcoming July).  ;D


That's too bad.  :\'(  ;D

Let me just say that 40 seems a hell of a lot older to me than 30.  At least when you're 30, you're still well into the first half of your life, male or female.  You still have 30-80 years to go.  When you're a 40-year-old woman, you're almost at the halfway mark and if you're a 40-year old man you're at least halfway to the grave!

I agree!  ;D

I agree!  ;D


Glad I made you feel better :)

Hey, with future technology, you could maybe live to 150!  That's 120 more years; you're only 1/5 of the way done!  ;D

That is, of course, if you WANTED to!  :D

No thanks!  ;D

Actually I'm not afraid of getting older.  I'm going to be 35 in April.  I look at it as an adventure.  Yah, I miss the 80's but I wouldn't want to live over my adolesence.  I'm looking forward to having age on my side.  Let's face it, when you're 20 something, you're not taken as seriously as someone who is over 30.  Once I turned 30, I noticed folks took me more seriouse than when I was younger not to mention I seemed to struggle more durring that time.  Since I turned 30 I've found that I'm really comming into my own.  Yeah, it's strange at times because I don't feel my age, infact I hear all the time that I don't look my age either, that's a plus.  I take it you guys are in your 20's.  Enjoy it, but getting older doesn't mean that it's over, many times it's a begining so embrace it.  One advantage of getting older it I have stories to tell instead of always listening to them.  I'm looking forward to the advantages of age not the so called "Curse" that it's precieved to be. :D

I just realized that donnie is 35.  My mistake.  You guys sounded much younger, excusse me. :-\\

I just realized that donnie is 35.  My mistake.  You guys sounded much younger, excusse me. :-\\


Actually, I'm 16. I live in a 1988 Tangent Universe though, so in 2006 I'd be 35.  It's kind of confusing.

That's too bad.  :\'(  ;D

Let me just say that 40 seems a hell of a lot older to me than 30.  At least when you're 30, you're still well into the first half of your life, male or female.  You still have 30-80 years to go.  When you're a 40-year-old woman, you're almost at the halfway mark and if you're a 40-year old man you're at least halfway to the grave!


I would say for right now, the "average" lifespan is about 78-85 typically. It's not even unusual -- especially for a healthier person -- to make it to 90. That number is always going up, so by the time a modern 20 year old gets there, I'm guessing it'll be like 100 or more.

I agree though. Sure, 40 is nowhere near "old", especially for today's standards, but it still just SOUNDS alot older than 30, even 35 does. To me, that's when middle age really starts.

My mind still thinks a 15 year old in 1985 would still only be in their twenties. It just sounds so young to me (comparitively speaking), that it does kinda freak me out that, in only four years, they'll be 40. I mean, I don't think of anyone born after 1966 or so to be "parentlike" -- they're more older brothers/sisters. This was the age of babysitters I had growing up.

Come on, Tiffany, the chicks who hung out at the mall and read "Teen Beat" in 1987 are around here. They're not supposed to be "adult" adults for another twenty years or something! ;)

Next thing you know, I'll be there too, which scares me most of anything. In many ways, mentally I'm several years younger than I am biologically, so that adds to why I don't "feel" ready for it, if that makes sense.

I would say for right now, the "average" lifespan is about 78-85 typically. It's not even unusual -- especially for a healthier person -- to make it to 90. That number is always going up, so by the time a modern 20 year old gets there, I'm guessing it'll be like 100 or more.

I agree though. Sure, 40 is nowhere near "old", especially for today's standards, but it still just SOUNDS alot older than 30, even 35 does. To me, that's when middle age really starts.

My mind still thinks a 15 year old in 1985 would still only be in their twenties. It just sounds so young to me (comparitively speaking), that it does kinda freak me out that, in only four years, they'll be 40. I mean, I don't think of anyone born after 1966 or so to be "parentlike" -- they're more older brothers/sisters. This was the age of babysitters I had growing up.

Come on, Tiffany, the chicks who hung out at the mall and read "Teen Beat" in 1987 are around here. They're not supposed to be "adult" adults for another twenty years or something! ;)

Next thing you know, I'll be there too, which scares me most of anything. In many ways, mentally I'm several years younger than I am biologically, so that adds to why I don't "feel" ready for it, if that makes sense.


Yea, I would agree middle age starts at 40. I think 30 is still quite young, and even 40 really isn't old either. I kind of think of most gen xers like older brothers/sisters, mainly because my parents are boomers and all my aunts and uncles are as well, and I have some cousins that are xers and my brothers and sister are as well. So generally I don't look at '80s kids as being old at all.

I would say for right now, the "average" lifespan is about 78-85 typically. It's not even unusual -- especially for a healthier person -- to make it to 90. That number is always going up, so by the time a modern 20 year old gets there, I'm guessing it'll be like 100 or more.

I agree though. Sure, 40 is nowhere near "old", especially for today's standards, but it still just SOUNDS alot older than 30, even 35 does. To me, that's when middle age really starts.

My mind still thinks a 15 year old in 1985 would still only be in their twenties. It just sounds so young to me (comparitively speaking), that it does kinda freak me out that, in only four years, they'll be 40. I mean, I don't think of anyone born after 1966 or so to be "parentlike" -- they're more older brothers/sisters. This was the age of babysitters I had growing up.

Come on, Tiffany, the chicks who hung out at the mall and read "Teen Beat" in 1987 are around here. They're not supposed to be "adult" adults for another twenty years or something! ;)

Next thing you know, I'll be there too, which scares me most of anything. In many ways, mentally I'm several years younger than I am biologically, so that adds to why I don't "feel" ready for it, if that makes sense.


Agreed.  In 40 years, people might average an 100-year lifespan, so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad about 80s teen turning 40.  They still may be around 60 more years.  I'm still sad that Molly Ringwald, for instance, will be 40 in only about 2 years.  It makes lamenting Brat Packers and Goonies turning 30 back in 2000 look like nothing.

And while I'm 8-9 years younger than you (turned 16 a few days ago, even I, while very far from old, have finally seen some real time), I feel the same way on many things.  For instance, to me anyone born in the '70s or '80s is like an older brother or cousin, even though I was born in 1990 (well, actually I was born around 1972, but I live in a 1988 Tangent Universe so I'm still 16  :)). They're like peers, above me but not in a different league.  There was a guy born in 1974 where I used to live, and he was really friendly to me and talked to me like an equal, you know he was like a homie even though he was about 15-16 years older than me.  I mean, he seemed like an adult but not like my dad or something.

Even adults born in the late '60s aren't totally like parental figures to me, although early '60s born people definitely seem parental to me.

I turn 34 this May, and I have to say that I am feeling it now. But thats for medical reasons...That being I damaged my spinal cord in a fight a few years back (I still think like a 16 year old)...But I dont think Im old...I get pains and aches, but I still play Wrestling with my daughter and my brother. I like to play all the latest, and older, games on PS2, Atari etc. Mentally I FEEL like a teenager.

Id not wish to relive my teenage years, once was way more than enough. I did some really stupid and dangerous things...I would, however, relive my childhood (say 4 through to 9). I guess thats why Im more a 70's lover than an 80's lover. Nothing to do with the music, movies, pop culture or events, more to do with MY personal life.

The 80's for me was an awakening. I did and tried EVERYTHING, and I mean everything. I dont remember many weekend nights. I do, however, remember waking up in some very strange places and unfamiliar surroundings.

I guess the 80's being so far back in time now is a good thing. The same with the 70's. I mean, now we can enjoy ALL that these decades had to offer when we want it. For example...At times I feel like listening to songs from 1973 and 1974, but I also throw in songs from 1979, 1980 and 1981. We can watch Star Wars and then, right after we can watch The Goonies. Can you imagine living back in 1977 (as I did) and having to wait to be able to listen to To Be Or Not To Be (THe Hitler Rap) by  Mel Brooks, or having to wait to find out what happens in the next Star Wars movie. Sure, it was fun back then, but now we can enjoy everything from 1970 to 1979 and 1980 to 1989.

It suck that Im getting older in one sense...It sucks that my grandparents arent around any more, and that people have moved on...But its good because when my daughter asks what it was like in the 1970's and 1980's, I can tell her my experiences, like riding my bike around the neighbourhood with friends all day and coming home only when the street lights came on. Ive seen some of the greatest bands and singers at their peak, Ive seen the Australian premiers of movies that are now classics up there with Gone With The Wind and the original King Kong.

Am I older? Yes.

Do I mind? Not really.

Why? Well, I LIVED through the 1970's, 1980's, 1990's and, so far, half of the 00's. For me it would suck having been born any time after 1986, and even being born in the 1980's wouldve sucked for me.





AN

Even though I'm not old or an 80s person, I feel sad that the people of the '80s now are at the least in their 20s and as old as their mid-40s!

If you were 18 in 1984, you'd be 40 today.  And the kids in The Goonies now range from about 31 to 38 years of age!  They were kids in the '80s, now they're almost freaking middle aged!  Sad sad sad.


Yes, it is true.

When something is good, one tends to feel sad if it comes to an end to never come back.

When that occurs, one can turn the situation upside down by creating a self-made total environment which would recreate the feeling of what has finished in the "outside world".

I may be wrong but I think that that is the idea behind the "1988 Tangent Universe" of Donnie Darko.

We have a body which contains thoughts and feelings. These, along with our physical actions, are the means by which we interact with our experience -the experience of the passing of time, for instance.

If one learns how to "stop the time" in a symbolic, artificial way, one can make passed -or even forgotten- thoughts and feelings be reproduced in one's experience at will.

  Older and slower...

Yes Donnie that is confussing. :D

That's too bad.  :\'(  ;D

Let me just say that 40 seems a hell of a lot older to me than 30.  At least when you're 30, you're still well into the first half of your life, male or female.  You still have 30-80 years to go.  When you're a 40-year-old woman, you're almost at the halfway mark and if you're a 40-year old man you're at least halfway to the grave!
Hello, I just turned 46..older is not all that bad. I have to laugh sometimes at what younger people think about fortysomethings like myself...My body may be just a little slower, but my mind is a sharp as a tack...I have to admit, being 46 and now a college freshman is a little strange.

Hey Donnie, I"m turning 39 in March and I just finished going through Basic and AIT at fort Benning for 11B (infantry).
I felt my age at times but wisdom, patients and maturity kept me ahead of the cocky KIDS, I was known as the old man  ;D
God Bless The young at heart!!

I turn 40 in May, but seeing how I will live to be,say....120, I am only a third of the way through life!!! ;D

Mentally, I feel like I'm still in my late teens and early twenties. Physically, I feel like I'm in my forties. I'm actually 31. When I was 20 and 22 yrs. old, I ran in the Los Angeles Marathon and finished in 6 hours both times. Now I can't even run 1 mile without walking.

Agreed.  In 40 years, people might average an 100-year lifespan, so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad about 80s teen turning 40.  They still may be around 60 more years.  I'm still sad that Molly Ringwald, for instance, will be 40 in only about 2 years.  It makes lamenting Brat Packers and Goonies turning 30 back in 2000 look like nothing.

And while I'm 8-9 years younger than you (turned 16 a few days ago, even I, while very far from old, have finally seen some real time), I feel the same way on many things.  For instance, to me anyone born in the '70s or '80s is like an older brother or cousin, even though I was born in 1990 (well, actually I was born around 1972, but I live in a 1988 Tangent Universe so I'm still 16  :)). They're like peers, above me but not in a different league.  There was a guy born in 1974 where I used to live, and he was really friendly to me and talked to me like an equal, you know he was like a homie even though he was about 15-16 years older than me.  I mean, he seemed like an adult but not like my dad or something.

Even adults born in the late '60s aren't totally like parental figures to me, although early '60s born people definitely seem parental to me.


I remember back around June of 1993, I was still 17 and hadn't even turned 18, took this class at a community college and there was this guy there that I became friends with.  I figured he was around 21 or so, but then he started talking about his wife and I was like "whoa dude, how old are you!?".  He told me he was 33, and for a moment I thought damn he is so old and he looks so young.  I remember thinking all of this SO CLEARLY.  Like it was yesterday.  I was still very much a high school kid, with high school thinking.  It was 1993 afterall.  I never interacted with anyone over the age of 23 or 24 tops on a peer level.  I was a kid and others were old or "older", they were the grown ups.  Not that I was trying to be offensive, but I remember back in 1993 that this was simply the reality. 

Now it only took a few moments for me to decompress to the idea of talking to anyone over the age of 23-24 as a peer, and before I knew it I was talking to this guy as an equal, even though he was 15 years older then me, possibly even 16 years older.  Up to that point, people over the age of 23-24 were the adults or authoritarians.  They were the teachers, cops and everyone else that told us we were no good punk kids and enforced rules on us.  Again, I can still remember this so clearly.  I remember being the 17 1/2 year old out of high school and interacting with a 33 year old as a friend for the first time.  So weird, yet so effortless after awhile. For the record, I never thought of anyone within 15 years of my age as an authority figure or "one of the adults".  At the bare mininum they had to be 16 years older then me for me to start thinking that.  And even then, it depended on how people acted...and looked.

I felt freaked back in 2000 to see people born in 1960 turn 40, for all the same reasons that Marty is getting freaked to see people born in 1966 turn 40.  Because when you think about, 10-15 years really isn't that long a time on the grand scheme of things.  It's not like when you are 10, and that's a long time.  After a while you realize that you can breeze through 5 or 10 years really fast.  To me, 40 doesn't sound old anymore, but that's because I'm 30. 

I remember back around June of 1993, I was still 17 and hadn't even turned 18, took this college class at a community college and there was this guy there that I became friends with.  I figured he was around 21 or so, but then he started talking about his wife and I was like "whoa dude, how old are you!?".  He told me he was 33, and for a moment I thought damn he is so old and he looks so young.  I remember thinking all of this SO CLEARLY.  Like it was yesterday.  I was still sorta a high school kid.  It was 1993 afterall.  It only took a few moments for me to decompress to the idea of talking to anyone over the age of 23 or 24 as a peer, and before I knew it I was talking to him as an equal, even though he was 15 years older then me, possibly even 16 years older.  For the record, I never thought of anyone within 15 years of my age as an authority figure or "one of the adults".  At the bare mininum they had to be 16 years older then me for me to start thinking that.  And even then, it depended on how people acted...and looked.

I felt freaked back in 2000 to see people born in 1960 turn 40, for all the same reasons that Marty is getting freaked to see people born in 1966 turn 40.  Because when you think about, 10-15 years really isn't that long a time on the grand scheme of things.  It's not like when you are 10, and that's a long time.  After a while you realize that you can breeze through 5 or 10 years really fast.  To me, 40 doesn't sound old anymore, but that's because I'm 30. 


Even being 16, while I feel, of course, FAR from old I do see time differently.  For instance, even though it seems like a while ago, I'm amazed it's been nearly 7 years since I first heard about Britney Spears!  When I was, say 8, 5 years ago was like eternity, since that was when I was 3 in 1993 and could barely remember stuff, wheras today it's just a while you know.

^point of my story is that you will get older too.  If it happened to us, then it will happen to you.  It will happen sooner then you think.  You will be around 24 before you know it, and realize that you are a mere 6 years away from 30.  Then you will know.

We thought the EXACT same things you are thinking now, about life, age, and things like that.

Growing older really does trip your reality up on it's head, and that can be uncomfortable, because you saw things this one way all the time, and then you realize that things are changing.  Then finally, all those things people older then you kept saying about how time has no mercy, how time waits for no man or woman, and how time can sneak up on you....it all FINALLY makes sense.  I know when I was around 15 and I heard stuff like this, I thought that these were just a bunch of sour people that had grown older, not fully comprehending that they saw the passage of time differently from me.   

^point of my story is that you will get older too.  If it happened to us, then it will happen to you.  It will happen sooner then you think.  You will be around 24 before you know it, and realize that you are a mere 6 years away from 30.  Then you will know.

We thought the EXACT same things you are thinking now, about life, age, and things like that.

Growing older really does trip your reality up on it's head, and that can be uncomfortable, because you saw things this one way all the time, and then you realize that things are changing.  Then finally, all those things people older then you kept saying about how time has no mercy, how time waits for no man or woman, and how time can sneak up on you....it all FINALLY makes sense.  I know when I was around 15 and I heard stuff like this, I thought that these were just a bunch of sour people that had grown older, not fully comprehending that they saw the passage of time differently from me.   


Oh no, I totally believe you.  I think around 14 or 15 you finally begin to become aware of your mortality.

In fact, I have a theory that your mental mid-life, that is how you perceive time, is around age 21.

For me the weirdest thing was growing up all my life with generation gaps basically only going ONE WAY.  I was young and everyone else was older.  People older then me had to figure my generation out, especially considering we were the future.  I was the young kid that grew up with all the cool technology and modern way of life during the 80s and 90s, and the strange, unrelateble issues that seemingly made my generation so complex (even though we weren't).

I started to feel this change right around the age of 23 1/2, and especially when I turned 24.  Then I realized that generation gaps can now go two ways, and that was something that I never experienced before. Before it was with literal kids or children, not with anyone old enough to drive, before that those kids were younger then me and stuck in elementary or middle school, and they were inconsequential.  But then when you see them turn 15 and 16 and out on the highway with you like adults...and they don't know all the stuff you grew up with.....it's like damn, what happened to reality.  You suddenly realize that your generation is not so special or cool, and we are all simply passing through this life.  It's all very...........humbling.   

For me the weirdest thing was growing up all my life with generation gaps basically only going ONE WAY.  I was young and everyone else was older.  People older then me had to figure my generation out, especially considering we were the future.  I was the young kid that grew up with all the cool technology and modern way of life during the 80s and 90s, and the strange, unrelateble issues that seemingly made my generation so complex (even though we weren't).

I started to feel this change right around the age of 23 1/2, and especially when I turned 24.  Then I realized that generation gaps can now go two ways, and that was something that I never experienced before. Before it was with literal kids or children, not with anyone old enough to drive, before that those kids were younger then me and stuck in elementary or middle school, and they were inconsequential.  But then when you see them turn 15 and 16 and out on the highway with you like adults...and they don't know all the stuff you grew up with.....it's like damn, what happened to reality.  You suddenly realize that your generation is not so special or cool, and we are all simply passing through this life.  It's all very...........humbling.   


And sad, but ultimately for the best.

^Yes, it is a part of life.  And you do get used to it, and realize that all things end and life moves on to more mature things. 

For you even though you may intellectually feel prepared for it at your age now (15 or 16), you have to truly feel it and go through it to understand it.  What I have gone through is certainly not "getting old", it's all been about not being a kid anymore and losing my young young life, that youth culture existence that ends at the age of 25.  Now not everyone carries that up to 25, if you are married at the age of 18, 19 or 20, (and especially if you have children at that age) then you will very well may start being "adult" and detaching yourself from the youth culture much sooner then others your age.

For me personally, I know that 5 years ago, my mid 20s were a rough time.  I didn't like not being a kid anymore.     

Actually I'm not afraid of getting older.  I'm going to be 35 in April.  I look at it as an adventure.  Yah, I miss the 80's but I wouldn't want to live over my adolesence.  I'm looking forward to having age on my side.  Let's face it, when you're 20 something, you're not taken as seriously as someone who is over 30.  Once I turned 30, I noticed folks took me more seriouse than when I was younger not to mention I seemed to struggle more durring that time.  Since I turned 30 I've found that I'm really comming into my own.  Yeah, it's strange at times because I don't feel my age, infact I hear all the time that I don't look my age either, that's a plus.  I take it you guys are in your 20's.  Enjoy it, but getting older doesn't mean that it's over, many times it's a begining so embrace it.  One advantage of getting older it I have stories to tell instead of always listening to them.  I'm looking forward to the advantages of age not the so called "Curse" that it's precieved to be. :D
Very well put! :)

  I myself just turned 35 back in November, and while it briefly freaked me out I quickly came back to my senses and said to myself, "F*ck it, it's just a number." My teen years sucked--I was completely socially awkward and not exactly popular when I was in school. The majority of my 20's weren't a whole lot better, I was somewhat into the drug scene and was working sh*tty jobs and generally didn't hold myself in too high regard. However, toward the end of my 20's I had this sneaking suspicion that my 30's would be a whole lot better, and boy was I ever right! For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm in complete control of my destiny, I'm making more money than I ever have, and I'm much more self-confident and more sure of myself now than I've ever been. Although I still feel like a big, goofy kid at heart, I've also learned that when it really gets down to it, the people who seem the most happy and who are the most fun to be around are the ones who stay young at heart.
  Once you reach a certain level of maturity (which comes sooner for some people than others, I think I'm somewhat of a late-bloomer myself), age becomes a non-factor when it comes to how you relate with people, and while I generally have a respect for the wisdom and life experiences of older people, I also find that now when I'm around people who are in their 40's, 50's and even 60's, they no longer treat me like I'm a kid and most of them respect me as an equal.
  Don't fear getting older. As Bratpac so eloquently put it, embrace it, because when it's all said and done it's just a natural part of the life cycle.

  I don't have children yet, but I know I'm gonna be a really cool grandpa someday.  ;D ;D ;D

Thanks Al-bee!
What you said is exactly what I was trying to convey!  I totally agree with you.  I was awkard too in school and my twenties were not that great either.  I'm young at heart as well.  I'm an STNA and I work at a nursing home, talk about seeing the future first hand.  I love talking with those that still have thier mind because thier living pages of history and many of them are still young at heart.  We've got these younger girls coming in and some are really good with the elderly, but most don't get it.  Your right Al-bee about the older ones treating you like equals, they do.  I know what the others are talking about bedcause I've been there too, but that what age can do for you.  You can say you've been there done that.  How ever I can relate to Donnie because when I was his age I was always thinking stuff that was mentally older than my peers, so in that sense I can relate.  Donnie as Al-bee put it, "it's just a #."  Al-bee I know what you mean about feeling you have some control of your destiny, I thinking about going back to school.  That's hilarious because I couldn't wait to get out!  Yes there is apart of me that still lives in the 80's but I don't want to be stuck there because I can't go on with the rest of my life like that.  Hey, Donnie I loved your refference to a tangent universe.  BTF is one of my favorite movies!  Thanks again Al-bee. ;)

Interesting topic. I've been pondering this aging thing recently, as I'm almost 29. I realize that's no big deal, but I definitely see the world differently than I did when I was in high school or even in college. While I was a little more mature than some of my classmates (relatively speaking), I feel I have grown up quite a bit since I finished school. I guess a full-time job, getting married and the added responsibilities that come with all that will do it for you.  :) Physically, I don't feel any different, but I've never been much of an athlete...so I guess it's more of the "out of shape" phase I've been in for several years.

I don't have a real fear of getting old, though it's sometimes hard to understand how things have changed since I was a kid. When I visit my old hometown, I catch myself looking at places and referencing things that *used* to be there!

BTW, does it ever strike you as a little weird when the kids manning the drive-thru window address you as "sir" or "m'aam"? That started happening to me a few years back. Sometimes, I want to tell them that "sir" is my dad and not me.  ;) 

Gmann,
Yeh, I don't feel like a ma'am, I still think of that as reffering to my parents.  I guess to a teen I look like I should be that.  By the way Donnie enjoy being a teen, it only happens once.  If I knew then what I know now I would've loosened up and stuck up for myself istead of letting everyone dump on me.  I've learned recently to not let people treat me as a door mat and it feels great! 8)

Thanks Al-bee!
What you said is exactly what I was trying to convey!  I totally agree with you.  I was awkard too in school and my twenties were not that great either.  I'm young at heart as well.  I'm an STNA and I work at a nursing home, talk about seeing the future first hand.  I love talking with those that still have thier mind because thier living pages of history and many of them are still young at heart.  We've got these younger girls coming in and some are really good with the elderly, but most don't get it.  Your right Al-bee about the older ones treating you like equals, they do.  I know what the others are talking about bedcause I've been there too, but that what age can do for you.  You can say you've been there done that.  How ever I can relate to Donnie because when I was his age I was always thinking stuff that was mentally older than my peers, so in that sense I can relate.  Donnie as Al-bee put it, "it's just a #."  Al-bee I know what you mean about feeling you have some control of your destiny, I thinking about going back to school.  That's hilarious because I couldn't wait to get out!  Yes there is apart of me that still lives in the 80's but I don't want to be stuck there because I can't go on with the rest of my life like that.  Hey, Donnie I loved your refference to a tangent universe.  BTF is one of my favorite movies!  Thanks again Al-bee. ;)
And on the flip side of that, I also find that when I'm around people in their early-to-mid-20's they seem to look up to me a little bit. I generally treat them with respect also, although if they start getting cocky with me I get a kick out of busting their balls a little bit (in a friendly way of course), just to knock them off their high horses. When I was back in Lincoln, I used to play poker on the weekends with a bunch of my brother's work buddies, most of whom were in their early 20's, and sometimes one of them would try to get smart with me, and I'd smack'em down!

During one of our poker games, this one kid went to reach out and stroke my goatee, and I immediately jerked back and asked him what the hell he was doing. "No, no, just let me feel it for a second," he said. So I let him, and he said, "Wow, it feels just like my girlfriend's p*ssy." So I stroked my goatee a couple of times, looked him square in the eye, and said, "You're right...it does!!!" Later on during the same game, my brother made some offhand comment like "Al's a genius" or something like that, which generally makes me uncomfortable since it's something I don't really like to advertise, and this kid says, "Really? If you're such a genius, then answer this question for me: Who was Michaelangelo's b*tch?" And I smiled and said, "Your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great...GRAMPA!"

I rule.

Gmann,
If I knew then what I know now I would've loosened up and stuck up for myself istead of letting everyone dump on me.  I've learned recently to not let people treat me as a door mat and it feels great! 8)


Boy, can I relate! My school days were pretty miserable, especially in middle school. I was a nerd and the bullies were always giving me hell for my clothes and stupid crap like that.  >:( While I seethed with rage (what a laugh, huh?), I generally avoided confrontation due to a lack of skill in the fight department. It's taken a long time to get out of that mindset, but I have made a lot of progress in recent years. The upside of such a negative experience is that one gains a real sense of...empathy...I believe that's the word I'm looking for at the moment.

If you're such a genius, then answer this question for me: Who was Michaelangelo's b*tch?" And I smiled and said, "Your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great...GRAMPA!"




That's so wrong...but great.  :D

I've never quite been in that senerio, but you're right about that flip side.  some of the younger crowd will ask me about what I remember about growing up.  How different it was and all.  I find my self saying in my day.  How freaky is that!  Just last October at my family reuion I was talking with my cousin Carry who's 18 year old was sitting and listening to our stories growing up.(My mom is the last of 16 children so I have alot of first cousins alone!)  We were remenicing about our childhood and all the things we remembered like party lines and such.  It was great but what I realized was her son looking at us with this look of wonderment.  Then his girlfriend came over and they listened to us talk and they wanted to hear more of our stories and they were asking questions about it.  That made me feel great and I have to tell you I did kinda feel a little old too. ;D

That's so wrong...but great.  :D
Hyde from That 70's Show has been a major influence on me.  ;)

My daughter loves that show.  It's alriaght.  I'd like to see more of that 80's show again.  I didn't get a chance to really watch it.  I'll talk later gotta go do that adult thing and go to work.  have a good one. ::)

My daughter loves that show.  It's alriaght.  I'd like to see more of that 80's show again.  I didn't get a chance to really watch it.  I'll talk later gotta go do that adult thing and go to work.  have a good one. ::)


Cheerio! Have a good day, Bratpac. Speaking of work, I'm wasting time here while I'm on the air. Don't tell the boss!  ;)

I remember back around June of 1993, I was still 17 and hadn't even turned 18, took this class at a community college and there was this guy there that I became friends with.  I figured he was around 21 or so, but then he started talking about his wife and I was like "whoa dude, how old are you!?".  He told me he was 33, and for a moment I thought damn he is so old and he looks so young.  I remember thinking all of this SO CLEARLY.  Like it was yesterday.  I was still very much a high school kid, with high school thinking.  It was 1993 afterall.  I never interacted with anyone over the age of 23 or 24 tops on a peer level.  I was a kid and others were old or "older", they were the grown ups.  Not that I was trying to be offensive, but I remember back in 1993 that this was simply the reality. 

Now it only took a few moments for me to decompress to the idea of talking to anyone over the age of 23-24 as a peer, and before I knew it I was talking to this guy as an equal, even though he was 15 years older then me, possibly even 16 years older.  Up to that point, people over the age of 23-24 were the adults or authoritarians.  They were the teachers, cops and everyone else that told us we were no good punk kids and enforced rules on us.   Again, I can still remember this so clearly.  I remember being the 17 1/2 year old out of high school and interacting with a 33 year old as a friend for the first time.  So weird, yet so effortless after awhile. For the record, I never thought of anyone within 15 years of my age as an authority figure or "one of the adults".  At the bare mininum they had to be 16 years older then me for me to start thinking that.  And even then, it depended on how people acted...and looked.

I felt freaked back in 2000 to see people born in 1960 turn 40, for all the same reasons that Marty is getting freaked to see people born in 1966 turn 40.  Because when you think about, 10-15 years really isn't that long a time on the grand scheme of things.  It's not like when you are 10, and that's a long time.  After a while you realize that you can breeze through 5 or 10 years really fast.  To me, 40 doesn't sound old anymore, but that's because I'm 30. 


I just realized, there's a clear difference in feeling nostalgic and feeling old. It's when the two combine that you really realize time is passing.

Sure, in 1995 I might have thought, "Damn, 1986 was a really cool year!" but I was still only a 13-14 year old. So I missed what may have been around several years earlier, or what I had done. But I didn't miss who I was, so I was simply feeling kinda nostalgic, not old.

Chris, you mentioned your 33 year old friend at the time, being what made you realize things were changing in your mindset. Now that I think about it, my defining moment was from about the same time of life too.

During my Junior year of high school, I started seeing/going out with this girl who was in some of the same classes as me. She was 15 when I was 17 1/2, this was only around a two year difference. Even though it's true that I always liked older girls/women (;)), I honestly never put much thought into the fact that I was the older one. It never felt that odd to me -- we had a decent amount of things in common, and despite that I was older, she actually had more dating experience than I had up till then.

Well, everything went fine. We weren't, ya know, seeing each other every single day or anything, but were relatively close in a "friendly" way. Her parents also liked me quite a bit too.

Long story short, I never put a shred of throught into it, until the beginning of my Senior year in late '99. I was practically turning 18 that day (my birthday is in early September) and I got a message that someone wanted to talk to me in the principal's office. She was there with her mom. It was a friendly conversation, and the mom assured me she felt I was "a very nice kid" but went on to say she didn't really like her daughter now seeing "a grown adult with a job". The latter comment was because I commonly bought her/gave her stuff.

I've gotta say, it was one those too shocked to talk moments. I was thinking, "Huh? You're making it sound like I'm some gross 45 year old trying to date a 12 year old!"

But then it hit me like lightning, it did kinda change things. Even though I'm one of those nice guys and am happy to have things stay that way (in other words, it was ENTIRELY platonic). Just in me being about to turn over the age of 18, that alone made a huge difference.

That moment I fully realized the rest of my life would never be the same. I'd now be in the "upper" side of things forever and felt like I'd have to walk on eggs with everything I did. No joke, I almost cried that day just because the concept scared the living s**t out of me as naive as that sounds - although I've kinda gotten used to it, so I don't mind as much six years later. :)

^I also remember in the spring of 1993, as a senior in high school I was a volunteer at a local hospital.  It was just something to do, I think I did it in the summer too.  Again, I was still 17 but I remember I was pushing some cart or something down the hosptial hallway and this lady was standing in the middle of the aisle with a little kid.  She moved out of the way and told her daughter, "Come on, let the man get through".  I was like "Let the MAN come through!?"  I had thought of myself as a boy all the time, and now I was being referred to as a man and sir'red, because I was now active in an adult enviornment....even though I was still a high school kid.  I had never been called "a man" before by anyone who wasn't a P.E. coach or something.  Certainly not in that way anyway. 

That 33 year old guy in '93 was another mindset changing moment as you say, just because I had never interacted with anyone over the age of 24 on a peer/friendship level.  But the weirdness didn't last, I sorta decompressed to the idea really fast.  It's odd now that I'm 30, just 3 years younger then that guy was back in '93.

Another changing moment for me occured in the spring of 1999, I was 23 1/2 years old and I told a guy that I knew that was around 50 how I felt old because I was moving into my mid 20s.  I loathed the idea of turning 24 later that year.  He said that he also felt old when he was getting close to 25, because up till then he was a kid, but then from 25 and on he realized he was going into always getting older.  That affected me because I hadn't ever thought that this 50 year old man was once young.  In my naively dumb young and stupid way of thinking, I always figured that he was just born as a 40 something or 50 something year old man.  He was always that old too me.  Then it hit me that he was once a young man and he went through the same thing I was going through, I understood it and FELT it.  I then realized that we are all passing through life, and that babies get older.   That was my 3rd mindsent changing experience I suppose.  It was at that moment in 1999 that I no longer thought of myself as a kid, and I wasn't even 24 yet.  Because in my early 20s, I thought of myself as still like an extended teenager, most everyone does when you're in your early 20s . It didn't help me that so many things in pop culture changed in 1999.  The boy bands and girl bands of that time made me feel aged, not really old as aged and made me realize that time has passed. 

It wasn't until 2001 though that I finally accepted the fact that I had become too old for the youth culture, and too old to pretend like was like some extended teenager.   ;)  But at 30, I kinda feel like I'm around your age, like I'm 24 or so.  Not a kid per se, but I feel like a younger man and I probably act it too.  Most people my age are married and starting or have started families, so I feel like I'm still a single guy that's around 24.    People always think I'm about 23 or 24 anyway, no one believes I'm older then 26.             

^I also remember in the spring of 1993, as a senior in high school I was a volunteer at a local hospital.  It was just something to do, I think I did it in the summer too.  Again, I was still 17 but I remember I was pushing some cart or something down the hosptial hallway and this lady was standing in the middle of the aisle with a little kid.  She moved out of the way and told her daughter, "Come on, let the man get through".  I was like "Let the MAN come through!?"  I had thought of myself as a boy all the time, and now I was being referred to as a man and sir'red, because I was now active in an adult enviornment....even though I was still a high school kid.  I had never been called "a man" before by anyone who wasn't a P.E. coach or something.  Certainly not in that way anyway. 

That 33 year old guy in '93 was another mindset changing moment as you say, just because I had never interacted with anyone over the age of 24 on a peer/friendship level.  But the weirdness didn't last, I sorta decompressed to the idea really fast.  It's odd now that I'm 30, just 3 years younger then that guy was back in '93.

Another changing moment for me occured in the spring of 1999, I was 23 1/2 years old and I told a guy that I knew that was around 50 how I felt old because I was moving into my mid 20s.  I loathed the idea of turning 24 later that year.  He said that he also felt old when he was getting close to 25, because up till then he was a kid, but then from 25 and on he realized he was going into always getting older.  That affected me because I hadn't ever thought that this 50 year old man was once young.  In my naively dumb young and stupid way of thinking, I always figured that he was just born as a 40 something or 50 something year old man.  He was always that old too me.  Then it hit me that he was once a young man and he went through the same thing I was going through, I understood it and FELT it.  I then realized that we are all passing through life, and that babies get older.   That was my 3rd mindsent changing experience I suppose.  It was at that moment in 1999 that I no longer thought of myself as a kid, and I wasn't even 24 yet.  Because in my early 20s, I thought of myself as still like an extended teenager, most everyone does when you're in your early 20s . It didn't help me that so many things in pop culture changed in 1999.  The boy bands and girl bands of that time made me feel aged, not really old as aged and made me realize that time has passed. 

It wasn't until 2001 though that I finally accepted the fact that I had become too old for the youth culture, and too old to pretend like was like some extended teenager.   ;)  But at 30, I kinda feel like I'm around your age, like I'm 24 or so.  Not a kid per se, but I feel like a younger man and I probably act it too.  Most people my age are married and starting or have started families, so I feel like I'm still a single guy that's around 24.    People always think I'm about 23 or 24 anyway, no one believes I'm older then 26.             


Is it just me, or was 1999 a hard year for Gen Xers.  Up to 1998, they were still the "young punks" of the world, today, they're not quite the "responsible, blowharded adults" but they're getting close. 

Is it just me, or was 1999 a hard year for Gen Xers.  Up to 1998, they were still the "young punks" of the world, today, they're not quite the "responsible, blowharded adults" but they're getting close. 
Do me a favor, and don't ever, ever, ever see "Wild In The Streets."  I'm afraid it'll put some bad ideas in your head.  ::)  ;D

Do me a favor, and don't ever, ever, ever see "Wild In The Streets."  I'm afraid it'll put some bad ideas in your head.  ::)  ;D


Is that about streakers?  ;D

Is that about streakers?  ;D
I have a thread about it in the "Before The 1970's" section that pretty much sums it up.

Is it just me, or was 1999 a hard year for Gen Xers.  Up to 1998, they were still the "young punks" of the world, today, they're not quite the "responsible, blowharded adults" but they're getting close. 


I think this very well may be true.  1999/2000 were likely hard growing pain years for Gen X collectively.  I didn't like 1999 because I was going to turn 24, I hated practically being 25 when it felt like yesterday that I was still 18. 

I remember 2000 was hard on my older cousin, because she turned 30 (she was obviously born in 1970).  All she did was talk about how she was "going to be 30".  Going to be 30 this and going to be 30 that.  I don't think she liked me talking about how I was going to be 25!  ;)

pre-1999, Gen X was still thought of as being kids...as a whole anyway. The very oldest Gen Xers were in their late 20s and early 30s by 1998, but as a whole Xers were still looked at as the kids. 
 

I think this very well may be true.  1999/2000 were likely hard growing pain years for Gen X collectively.  I didn't like 1999 because I was going to turn 24, I hated practically being 25 when it felt like yesterday that I was still 18. 

I remember 2000 was hard on my older cousin, because she turned 30 (she was obviously born in 1970).  All she did was talk about how she was "going to be 30".  Going to be 30 this and going to be 30 that.  I don't think she liked me talking about how I was going to be 25!   ;)

pre-1999, Gen X was still thought of as being kids...as a whole anyway. The very oldest Gen Xers were in their late 20s and early 30s by 1998, but as a whole Xers were still looked at as the kids.   
 


I think 1997 is when Gen Y overtook Gen X ... Gen X days are like 1982 to 1996.  The "Emo" generation started impacting things in the late 1990s, and will probably continue to do so until the mid 2010s.

^I didn't feel it or notice it until 1999.  Even though I was 23, I still felt like a kid in 1998, but I did NOT in 1999.

^I also remember in the spring of 1993, as a senior in high school I was a volunteer at a local hospital.  It was just something to do, I think I did it in the summer too.  Again, I was still 17 but I remember I was pushing some cart or something down the hosptial hallway and this lady was standing in the middle of the aisle with a little kid.  She moved out of the way and told her daughter, "Come on, let the man get through".  I was like "Let the MAN come through!?"  I had thought of myself as a boy all the time, and now I was being referred to as a man and sir'red, because I was now active in an adult enviornment....even though I was still a high school kid.  I had never been called "a man" before by anyone who wasn't a P.E. coach or something.  Certainly not in that way anyway. 

Yeah. You wouldn't think something little like that would make an impression, but it does.

I had my first after school job when I was 15 (basic janitorial stuff at this big comic book/semi arcade-type place I commonly went to), and I started experiencing it around then too. It's weird, but when people started calling me "sir" there was something neat about that. Like I was recognized as being more than some kid. But nowadays when I get "sir" or "mister" (my main job is in retail) I kinda think, Wait, I'm cooler and younger than that! ;)

That 33 year old guy in '93 was another mindset changing moment as you say, just because I had never interacted with anyone over the age of 24 on a peer/friendship level.  But the weirdness didn't last, I sorta decompressed to the idea really fast.  It's odd now that I'm 30, just 3 years younger then that guy was back in '93.

Another changing moment for me occured in the spring of 1999, I was 23 1/2 years old and I told a guy that I knew that was around 50 how I felt old because I was moving into my mid 20s.  I loathed the idea of turning 24 later that year.  He said that he also felt old when he was getting close to 25, because up till then he was a kid, but then from 25 and on he realized he was going into always getting older.  That affected me because I hadn't ever thought that this 50 year old man was once young.  In my naively dumb young and stupid way of thinking, I always figured that he was just born as a 40 something or 50 something year old man.  He was always that old too me.  Then it hit me that he was once a young man and he went through the same thing I was going through, I understood it and FELT it.  I then realized that we are all passing through life, and that babies get older.   That was my 3rd mindsent changing experience I suppose.  It was at that moment in 1999 that I no longer thought of myself as a kid, and I wasn't even 24 yet.  Because in my early 20s, I thought of myself as still like an extended teenager, most everyone does when you're in your early 20s . It didn't help me that so many things in pop culture changed in 1999.  The boy bands and girl bands of that time made me feel aged, not really old as aged and made me realize that time has passed. 

In my experience, out of those who I've talked to about whatever I might be going through, they either totally "get it" or they don't. In your case, this guy did get it.

From the story I told in the last post, being 18-21 was probably harder for me (even though that age is still late teen-ish) than 24 is, just because of the pure shock in becoming an adult overnight. That was also in '99, so I know what you mean on that too.

It wasn't until 2001 though that I finally accepted the fact that I had become too old for the youth culture, and too old to pretend like was like some extended teenager.   ;)  But at 30, I kinda feel like I'm around your age, like I'm 24 or so.  Not a kid per se, but I feel like a younger man and I probably act it too.  Most people my age are married and starting or have started families, so I feel like I'm still a single guy that's around 24.    People always think I'm about 23 or 24 anyway, no one believes I'm older then 26. 


I hear that. In some ways I'm very mature, but I probably have, on average, about a 19-ish personality most of the time.

One factor in feeling older is, I think, being in committed, serious relationships, esp. marriage. Maybe I haven't felt myself get much older in the last 6 or 7 years because I've never had a "serious" serious girlfriend yet. Don't get me wrong, I've had several, but it has always been fairly casual friendship/dating stuff.