by Dossie M Terrell

Created on: September 11, 2009   Last Updated: May 20, 2010

There have been many remarkable innovations and unbelievable discoveries man has been able create and unearth, but I do not think he will ever be able to reduce or obliterate the progression of age. More importantly, it is amazing the length many baby boomers will go to retain that last infinitesimal vestige of youth.

It was on the Oprah Winfrey show that I first heard about the retrogressive theory of aging. Oprah had turned 50 and felt the need to express repeatedly how terrific she felt. She declared indisputably, before her huge television audience, that 50 had become the new 40, or maybe it was 30. And that was that.

When she first made the proclamation, i thought it had to do with the condition of her body, but as the conversation with her guests proceeded, I realized it was a mindset or an outlook. For me, her assertion served to validate a certain level of immaturity and unbecoming behavior in some folks.

As a baby boomer, I am certainly not against positive thinking or in this case positive projection, but there are up and down sides to aging that cannot be disputed. I am a firm believer that everyone should be active and in pursuit of something positive as long as they are alive, but that zeal for life should be tempered with what is age and socially appropriate. Moreover, each year has its own worth and should be celebrated rather than denied or squandered in wistful thinking and yearning.

No matter what the mind conceives, there are some activities that cannot be done equally as well by a 40 and a 30 year old. A trip to the beach anytime during the summer will prove this point. Even if the body has been carefully maintained, there will be evidence of deterioration on some level and this is not a bad thing as that is the way nature made mortals. We all have our seasons and ten years can make a difference.

As one ages, there are things that are distinctive for particular age groups and to act contrary displays either a level of immaturity or an inability to accept reality. There is a certain tolerance for certain wayward behavior in 20 year olds, but not quite as much for 30 year olds and by 40, there is none. With the progression of the aging process, society expects greater responsibility and there is also the expectation one has accumulated a certain amount of wisdom. The age retrogressive theory wants to reverse the natural process at best and at worst negate it.

There are many examples of folks who have maintained their

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