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Aging as a Conversation II

Monday Jul 16 2007

By Elizabeth Russell
Bio

View the first post in this two-part series.

The conversation about age begins when we are born and continues throughout life. It may be written or spoken. It may come from our mothers (who heard it from their mothers) or it may come from people who have studied other people in order to make profound pronouncements. Whatever the source, it is all conversation. And labels are one element of the conversation—labels we give to everything, labels that carry weight and are endowed, over the years, with meaning such as young, old, immature, stodgy, etc.[Read More]

Written by admin at Fearless Aging

Tagged with: adolescence adolescents aging conversation

Aging as a Conversation

Friday May 04 2007

By Elizabeth Russell
Bio

We think of aging as something that happens to us, something as inevitable as waking up in the morning. But what if our way of speaking about aging actually influences our experience of it?

Satchel Paige once asked, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?” Because he was black, he wasn’t allowed to play major league baseball until he was well past retirement age for ball players. When he finally got his chance, no one knew for sure how old he was and he wasn’t telling. Who he was and the performance he gave on the field were more important than how old he was. [Read More]

Written by admin at Fearless Aging

Tagged with: age aging conversation old