No Country For Old Men

By Jack Kean

If you are a movie aficionado, you will immediately recognize the title of this article as a recently-released movie. I haven't seen the movie, though it was on my "to see" list along with a dozen others that I also haven't seen. Explaining to anyone that two retired people can't find the time to see a movie is not possible, so I no longer try. Whether attending a movie conflicts with my rigid walking the dog schedule or my handyman chore list, as a former Saturday Night Live performer used to say, "It's always something."

Of course, it was the title of the movie that caught my attention. And I'm guessing you can figure out why. That's right, for the first time I thought of myself as an old man. I'm not really sure exactly when that happened. There are times in our lives when we realize things have changed, but we aren't able to pinpoint the exact time or event.

Somewhere between the beginning of senior year in high school and when Mrs. Edwards said I had passed chemistry (with some help), I realized my life was about to change. Somewhere between "Will you" and "I do," we all realize our lives are about to be unlike anything we've experienced before. Somewhere between "Happy Retirement" and "It's your turn to clean the bathroom," I realized my life had taken a serious turn.

So for some reason when I heard the title of this movie, it sounded like a movie relating to me. I didn't want it to. I didn't decide it was so. It just happened. I'm not certain how I feel about that. I'm not sure when or why, but there it is. Of course, in spite of the movie title, this is a country for old men. One is a candidate for President of the United States.

It dawned on me the other morning when I was hiding Easter eggs for my granddaughter, somewhere during the tenth time, that there are still important things for old men to do. We may not be heading companies or putting in 12-hour days or even going to work, but we still do important things, even if we are not presidential candidates. 

My best childhood memories are summer days with my grandfather. He told stories about his home in Canada, and I felt somehow more worldly. We picked wild plums, took walks and rides. Riding with my grandfather was always an adventure. In a 1949 Packard built like a tank, we were a formidable force on our gravel roads. His lack of precision in driving made those with a survival instinct move aside.

In an effort to add some random humor, I spent time on the internet looking for jokes on aging. I quickly discovered two things: the jokes aren't very funny, and they are repetitive. It's like there are two dozen jokes about aging, but they are repeated over and over. Maybe the jokesters think we'll forget. I did find the following on seniorresource.com, and it made me smile.

Random Thoughts and Middle Age Wisdom -- Attitude Shaping
I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific.

You have to stay in shape. My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She is 97 today and we don't know where she is.
--Hugh Cowan

Old men don't take themselves too seriously. We have left the rat race, though we are often unsure of who won. We dress funny because comfortable is what counts. We know the world is changing, but don't know whether for better or worse. And finally, who else would voluntarily live with old women?

Jack Kean is the author of three novels: Being From The South Doesn't Make Me Stupid, Deadly Sacrifice, and What If The Winner Dies? Prior to retirement, he was employed in law enforcement on the federal level. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law in Oxford. Jack is a native Mississippian, but he currently lives in Alabama, having moved there from Woodstock, Ga.