But How Old Do I Look?

Today at lunch, I was sitting with three women, two Americans and a British girl. We started talking about age and how young Annelize, my officemate, is. Stephanie, one of the Americans was in my office the other day, talking, and she mentioned that she had graduated from high school in 1980. I said that I was in high school in 1980. Then I turned to Annelize and asked what she was doing in 1980. She wasn't born yet. We'd both suspected as much. Actually, I might have known that from when she went to the Eighties party a few weeks ago.

Anyway, the British girl asked me how old I was.

"Forty."

And I got two of these "Forty? I wouldn't have guessed that. I thought thirty-five tops."

So with male pattern baldness and with a lot of white in my beard, I'm still taken for younger. It's probably my attitude - and that I moisturize regularly.

Years ago I had a friend who was in his late forties, but looked like he was in his thirties. It was mostly the way he dressed. I wanted to say, "Well, no one seriously expects a 46 year old to dress the way you do. They assume people in their 40's dress like adults."

When I was 25, some 18 year old kid asked me how old I was.

"Guess," I said.

"Uh, thirty?"

I was mortified, and since that day I have never asked anyone to guess my age.