INTERNET GRANDFATHER®

Birthday

                                            I just passed a birthday that many people regard as a significant milestone. I'm now at an age viewed as old when I was young. I confess that sometimes I feel old (as when I try to move). But most of the time I feel no older than when I was twenty or thirty years younger.

                                                       I deal with young people, who often don't know about movies, books and the like I enjoyed when I was younger, but I try to keep up with what they're watching and reading so they usually make me feel younger. I listen to stories about their lives and feel glad I'm not their age but I also feel glad that they're willing to listen to me, to receive advice about how they could make their lives better. Many of them have real-life grandparents who confirm the advice I'm giving.

                                                       When I look at cars on the roads, I can't identify most of them. When I was young, I knew every make and model. I'm fascinated by the internet and similar technologies and I'm glad I lived long enough to see it and the many other innovations that are now part of all of our lives. When I watch old movies, I enjoy them in a way that I doubt younger people can, but I'm also fascinated by the computer imaging and the ideas contained in modern movies. Even though there are rarely characterizations I can identify with, I think younger people are doing good work.

                                                       All in all, I'm glad to be my age and glad that I get to live in the now. But recently I did run across something that made me feel old. It's not something I ever thought about before and I don't know why it bothers me but it does. It's the current popularity of my name. I found a chart that lists the popularity ranking of my name since 1900. In every decade, the popularity has declined to the point that since the 1960s my name isn't even in the top 1000 most popular names.

                                                       Who would guess that my efforts to feel young would be betrayed by my name? I like my name. It doesn't seem like an outmoded name, a name that would be abandoned by modern parents. It doesn't seem to bespeak ancient times. Oh, well. I'm stuck with my name so I'll simply enjoy the technology that enabled me to know about its decline in popularity.

                                                        Don't let yourself become discouraged by things you can't change. Enjoy who and where you are. And look to the bright side of things that may temporarily bother you.

6-25-07