With all due respect, you kids (anyone under 60) shouldn't believe the lies that old people tell you!

Age is NOT just a number.

You are NOT as old as you feel.

60 is NOT the new 40.

Should I go on? Your body will tell you first thing in the morning when you try to get up that, yes, you are old. The medicines in your cabinet tell you that you are old. Doctor visits tell you that you are old. Now I can go on and tell you all the ways you will know you are old but we weren't told so why should I spoil your fun (and moaning and groaning) as you find out.

But, and this is a big but (not to mention that most of you will get a big butt as you age!) getting old is great in many ways such as you know that worrying is a waste of time!

Let's not talk about all the 'specials' you get such as reduced restaurant bills at Denny's or the fact that you can rant and rave in restaurants, after you have cleaned your plates, about how bad the food is, how horrible the service was and the manager will pick up your check just to get rid of you. You can got to supermarkets on certain days and get 20% off. (And there are a lot more financial advantages off-set by higher medical bills!)

Complaining is an art for old people as is telling the young know it alls that they don't know anything until they become old people who do know it all.

Biscuit, Mimi and Dallas, in the picture, are constantly told that 'you don't act 14, as they say out loud, 'how old you really are in dog years?'. (Let's just say Rian is over 14! LOL)

I constantly hear, "You don't look/act like you are 82/83 years old!" in a surprised voice. Then when I tell them I am actually 20, being a Leap Year baby, they are silent!

What does a 82-year-old man look like? I live in a community of about 300 seniors and, let's say, a third are men. I can line up 5 guys in around 80 and one will have a walker, another will be carrying an oxygen tank, the third will have just returned from a jog to the beach and back while the 4th will be in a wheelchair being pushed down to The Point. I am the 5th--the one who drank too much as a youth and had to stop (January 21, 1981, when I was 45) because I was having blackouts. I'm the guy who smoked 2-3 packs of cigarettes a day for 60 years and stopped (July 21, 2008) when I had to have an aorta valve replacement. I am a guy who ate all the wrong foods for years and lost 100+ pounds in March 1967 when I was 31 and for the last 50 years have been fighting between 11 and 25 pounds (depending on the month of the year).

I have PAD, fight high blood pressure and cholesterol, am a pre-diabetic, have AFIB, COPD, take blood thinners among 13 other meds, see a primary doctor a minimum of 4 times a year plus 6 specialists at least once a year and take a home test every two weeks to get my INR count.

"You don't look 82!" Thanks but you haven't seen my insides! I look in the mirror and I see the kid that will be 21 on Saturday, February 29, 2020, but when I get up in the morning or walk the steps up to my apartment or go to climb a step-ladder to hang a picture I know what 82/83 looks like!

Hey keep on saying "You don't look 82!" and I will say "Thank You" because I have learned how to accept a compliment without adding 'but'.

Oh yes, I promise to never say "When I was your age.....".