by Lenna Gonya

Created on: January 21, 2010

You know something’s wrong the first time that some twelve year old at the check out counter or the ticket booth looks at you, pops her gum, adjusts her nose ring, and says, “Like, do you get the senior discount?”

Before that, there was the waitress who said, in a soothing, caretaker voice, “And what can I get for you dear?”, and pats your shoulder.

And the 18 year old doctor who starts his sentence with, “At your age. . . . “

You suddenly realize that you haven’t recognized any musician or group since 1980. And who the heck are these people at the Academy Awards?

My brother is twelve years older than me, and we worked together for years, so I knew the tell tale signs. People began to call him “young man.” I was sad for him and sadder still that he didn’t seem to catch on to the implications.

Well, I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. I was part of the “Pepsi generation”, the boomers, the hippies, the flower children- (well, I wasn’t exactly because I’m from a small Midwestern town, and we were really rural). But we were with them in spirit.

One of my classmates still runs in the Boston Marathon, so I thought I’d start with a little more exercise. I didn’t really know if I could still run. All of my life I had run. We ran as kids. We ran after our kids.

I waited until no one was around, and then trotted up and down the back sidewalk a few times. The first thing I noticed was that the hips moved funny now. You might even say- stiff.

Next, I wondered if I could skip. To the amazement of our dog, I skipped through the kitchen, the family room, and back to answer the phone. My husband was calling from work.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Yes,” I wheezed, “I was skipping.”

There was silence. He didn’t ask.

In my home state of Ohio, our senior discount card is called the “Golden Buckeye”, and, a few months ago, it arrived. There it was, in all it’s shiny glory, with my name embossed right on the front.

After a few days, in the spirit of saving money, I decided to suck it up and use that card the next time I had the chance.
I was checking out at the grocery store when I was reminded of that card after the clerk asked, “Well, young lady, would you like to use your senior discount card today?”

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