If I hear one more time how YOUNG (used usually as a put-down) John Edwards is, I think I'll scream. I have heard it from at least a dozen talking heads. They can't all really think he is 29. John Edwards is NOT young. He is 50 years old. You get your application from AARP when you turn 50. Commercials for life insurance say they "even insure people aged 50 to 80." So that must mean they think 50 is old, right? But John Edwards is young. And, no, they aren't just speaking in a political sense. Bush is still in his 50's and no one ever says he's young, and never have as far as I remember. If you are mid to late 40's, BELIEVE ME, you are very close to 50, and it will seem like overnight when you reach it. Of course, 50 is middle-aged (and so is 40), no more, no less. But our society is so schizophrenic on age--it doesn't seem to know young from old.

John Edwards was young to be running for Vice President of the United States. A 28 year old gymnist is old to be in the Olympics. I'm 45. I don't think I'm old. I doubt that I'll think I'm old when I'm 50, or 60, or even 70!! We put way too much emphasis worrying about what other people think. You think John Edwards is NOT young, I think he IS young.... and so what???????? It really only matters what John Edwards thinks. Marketing strategys can try to swing the way that we feel and think..... but they can't determine how we FEEL. I'm young, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Actually, I think it's more that John Edwards "LOOKS" young for his age. Although, at 52, I still think that I'm young! I think it's all in the way that we perceive ourselves and the message we send about ourselves. I'm pretty active. I bike, roller blade, coach a girl's soccer team and don't crab about aches and pains all the time. Then there are those who are my age or even younger and always comment about getting older and not being able to do things they used to do and their minds going and blah, blah, blah. The present themselves as old and so people tend to look at them as old. I'm with you Leanne. I'm young and I'm sticking to it too!

Thanks girls for the pep talk. I needed that! Yvonne

WELL put, Leanne! I'm also 45 and don't feel old, will not ALLOW myself to even THINK I'm old! I believe when you start thinking things like that, you GET old!!! My boss drives me crazy when he says: WAIT until you hit 55! Shoot, I will hit 55 eventually, and WHEN I do, I am STILL going to feel 45! :roll:

Exactly what I was saying too Kleeo. If we perceive ourselves as old and present ourselves as old, we feel old and others look at us as old. Presentation is the key. If we stay active and alive we feel better and younger and vital and others will see us that way too. Take care, Donna

John Edwards is 50?Wow,what a hottie for his age!! I can remember back when i thought 30 was old....i remember when i was in my early 30's and thought 40 was old.....now that i'm 40, i think like 90-95 is old.I don't really consider old being an"age"....i have seen many teenagers or young girls in their 20's that seem "old" and some women in their 60's that seem young.I think it's all a matter of perspective and one's attitude towards life that makes them young or old.

Wait, I didn't mean Edwards is old (his cuteness helps him look so young, too). I still maintain that 50 is not young, however. Not unless you are going to live to 125, anyway. Age is definitely a personal perspective, which was my point. One person thinks 50 is young, one thinks it's old, but face it, unless you will live to well over 100, 50 is middle-aged. It is not old; it is not young. But I do object to those commercials saying it's practically senior (!) and the stupid AARP sending those applications! Of course, it is just business. Also remember that most things in healthcare specify things "for 50 and older." Like flu shots are highly recommended for "people 50 and older." I just think 50 is too young to be included with the seniors, dang it! And, naturally, physical age is really individual; just look at the Real Age website or his books on the subject where one person is chronically 45, but physically 30, due to being in really good shape. But society lumps everyone altogether. I don't know why, but lately those commercials (and the AARP which wants to change its membership age to 45) have really gotten on my nerves.

I walk daily, because of my fear of fat. I'm also in chronic pain, so until one suffers from this you can blah, blah, about pain and age all you want. I worked my tail off physically. And, I'm middle aged and in pain. Big whoop. I swear people are so afraid of aging in this society it frightens me. I dunno, delusions, too many commercials. The grim reaper is coming, whether you deny the aging process or not. I went through a lot of these issues in my thirties. I do believe it's critical to stay active. I do, through chronic back pain. Plus, I'm the sunscreen and Retin A freak. So vanity doesn't escape me. I still aging happens, whether you deny it or not.

I left my glasses upstairs. Oh, aging, such joy. Jeepers since Bush lost the election I need a new soapbox.lol Don't take me TOO seriously. I'm to hyper for the rocking chair, yet.lol

Pardon typos, I must get my beauty sleep now.

I kept in excellent shape, so I'm terribly frustrated by this myth. Actually some of these major athletic types are an orthepedists dream in middle age. Although when I mentioned my avid gardening for ages, the physical therapist told me my condition may have been worse if not for the activity. I sunscreened and Retin A'd my hands since 28. I saw that aging monster early. I have no age spots, but my fingers are bent with osteroarthritis at 47. If I wasn't being "active" perhaps the hand arthritis wouldn't have surfaced until later. Kind of ironic. My hands being bent with age after I was trying to hold back the inevitable with Retin A and sunscreen. Hey, stay slim in America, you have half the battle beat.

Oh, Dixie John, he's a cutie pie.

Actually, I was doing some back stretches in line at the pharmacy and an elderly woman mentioned "back pain?" I said, "Yup." She proceeded to tell me about how she danced her butt off at her grandchild's wedding, but a few days later was in awful pain. She was quite lined, but the joy etched in her face was lovely. I don't watch TV much, nor movies for that matter, so I'm no longer bombarded by the American images of youth and beauty regarding women. These constant images create insecurity, not to mention eating disorders, which I understand are becoming more prevalent in the menopausal. Don't try and wrestle that Retin A and sunscreen out of my pale mitts, however.

One more product that I absolutely adore are those Crest White Strips.

I strive, but don't always succeed on not judging people based on their looks, or that they project some kind of "youthfull image." I rather agree with Katherine Hepburn's quote when asked about aging, "I think we rot and it's a damn shame." Takes coming to crips with ladies.

grips, not crips, they're some kind of crazy cali gang. lol It helps to have glasses on. Too late, too tired to get them Stay safe

Unfortunately, that isn't an option for a lot of people who have diseases, many hormonal, that make them gain weight, and diseases whose treatments also make them gain weight. It's so easy to assume that SuperSizing and lack of exercise is always the culprit in the US, but it's also not always true. If you saw Jerry Lewis in the last few years, you can see how he went from a skinny actor to a chunky patient - on steroids. Many people, like myself, have bodies which have produced too many steroids all on their own. And we balloon up, just like Lewis did. Even when the steroids are removed, the weight doesn't always go away. So, it's not quite as simple as just telling everyone to "stay slim". For some, it's a medical impossibility.

Mary O, I agree there that are many people who are overweight from medical conditions and medications. Also, genetics are difficult to fight, regarding obesity. There is also far too much food and far too little activity in the average American's life. Type 2 diabetes has skyrocketed! This has become a public health issue and not just a vanity issue.

And I DO know that Bush won the election. That was just a pure Freudian slip, because I'm devastated wish he lost. I went to bed after typing this thinking, did I say Bush lost. Oh, how I wish. Well, back to the aging issue ladies.