When you meet an aged person do you...?

I see them as they are now, but hear them as they perceive themselves.

When I was in my thirties I knew a very active guy in his 80s. He flirted with women 40 years younger than he was like a 40 year old.

I saw Leonard Cohen last night, he was just as he was in the Chelsea Hotel in the 60s having sex with half the women there.

As I’ve aged, my view of “old” people has changed drastically. I used to ignore them more often than not, but nowadays, knowing that I’m beginning the transition from being “older” to being “old,” I find myself filled with empathy for them. When I see an old person struggling to do something at, say, the supermarket, I always try to help.

@zenvelo I am jealous I would love to see Leonard Cohen live.

I see them as they perceive themselves as well. We had a resident almost 103 double amputee and hard of hearing. But she had a sharp mind. Kept busy handwriting notes and letters, she was still selling some of her books. Knew how to dress and was always was ready with a laugh and a smile.

I have tons of wonderful stories about inspiring elders.

Most of my friend are 50 or older. My parents are in their 80s. I don’t know what an “old” person is these days, but I feel like there are a lot of them in my life, and guess what? They are ordinary people! Surprise, surprise! You can actually talk to them like normal people. You can tell jokes. You can do all the normal things with them. Hell, you can even take on old people as lovers! I know. Big shock!!!

Getting old will happen to all of us, if we are lucky. It is better than the alternative, in most cases. There are more old people now than there ever were, as life spans keep on getting longer. So get used to us. We’re going to be around for a while. And you, too, will one day become one of us, fates be willing.

I see them as my age or any age really. So many older people tell me their minds still feel 30, 40, etc… but their bodies feel older, so to me, they’re just like me but in rebellious bodies. And usually much wiser, not all, but some.

I guess I see them as they are now, but I wonder about what they’ve lived through. I couldn’t stop thinking about history if I tried.

Recently one of my classes had a retired professor who’s famous for his pedagogy come and teach a guest lecture. His hands shook, and he had trouble remembering his train of thought sometimes, but he was charming, engaging, and witty, and he taught us a lot. And he came just for the fun of talking about teaching and sharing his wisdom with apprentice teachers. It was very inspiring.

I love the African proverb “When an old person dies a library burns to the ground.”
I know that personally, the older I get the smarter I get. When I look at older people I am often in awe of the experience and wisdom they hold and try to glean some of it from them. I love old storytellers.

I see them as a person. I hope I don’t treat them any differently than I would any other person. The same goes for young people. I remember being at a hospital for some tests and listening to a nurse speak to an older man sitting next to me. He was sitting reading his newspaper and seemed fully in command of his faculties but she spoke to him as if he was a child. It actually made me quite angry on his behalf. I didn’t say anything but I did go back to work and talk about it. Unless I have reason to believe the person has dementia or something, I treat people of any age as I find them. There are some grumpy, rude old people and grumpy, rude young people. There are also beautiful, wise and funny older people and younger people.

When I lived in Florida there were oldish people all around and they still had all sorts of energy and love of life. Living there gave me a real appreciation for the fact that older people were once young, and older people still feel like their young selves even if they look older and might have some physical or even mental problems. I understand it even better now that I am older, even though I am only 45.

I met a woman a year ago who had more wrinkles than I have ever seen in my life. Her face sagged and wrinkled, her hair was bleached an odd shade of blond, and she had on bright pink lipstick and too much black eye liner. As I talked to her I realized she had an amazing life. Lots of travel, spent a lot of time on her boat, and I did imagine her young and all the life she had lived.

My peers; I see them young and the age they are. When I think about them in my mind I picture them in their youth, but when I see them in person I am not shocked that they have aged. Maybe when we are much older it will be more shocking to me.

I “see” the inner person and yes, at age 53 I am starting to feel a lot of empathy and compassion for this hell called aging.
I am not in a good frame of mind right now as I am undergoing a big life transition and the older we get the harder it gets to bounce back from stress and adversity.
I especially do not like the idea that older people are seen in this society as has been, space wasters. There is an entire LIFE in that persons background, and inside we all still feel as if we were in our prime.

America is a youth obsessed culture that devalues the aging in many ways.

I tend to see what’s behind the exterior. If they feel younger, I see them that way. If they are grumpy curmudgeons, I see them in that light (but I do ponder what may have made them that way). However, I always wonder what stuff they’ve seen during their long lives.. the changes in the world around them. And how it was for them at that time.