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 Let's Talk
Denise Rolark Barnes
Columnist Page
Friday, December 24, 2004; Page 23
Let the Truth Be Told – 50 is Only the Beginning
The other day I sat at my desk and found a book titled, “It’s Great to be Old: 401 Reasons to Stop Lying About Your Age.” The book was placed there by the editor of The Washington Informer. She is an extremely capable young woman and we are blessed to have her as the leader of our team. The operative word in my description of her as it relates to this edition of Let’s Talk, however, is young.
No, let me be honest, this column is not about her and being young; it’s about me and getting old. On December 26, 2004, I will be 50 years old. There, I said it and for the folks who can’t believe I did it, well it is done and I am mighty proud of it.
The forward to the book she shared with me expresses my sentiments about aging exactly: “Welcome to old” the author writes. “Getting old isn’t bad. It’s good. In fact, it’s great. For one thing, you’re not young and stupid anymore. For another, young people have to act nice to you. So congratulations. You’re old. It took a long time to get here, but it was worth the wait.”
There are quite a few famous people who joined the 50 Club this year and it is a pleasure to be among them – Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington, Al Sharpton and Condoleeza Rice. In addition, Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, Vickie Winans, John Travolta, Bruce Springsteen, Jackie Chan and Godzilla turned 50 this year.
I promise not to disclose the names of almost everyone I know who discovered this year that we are all “Brown Babies.” The landmark Supreme Court case – Brown vs. the Board of Education – which desegregated the mostly segregated schools we later attended was decided in 1954, the year we were born.
We are also smack-dab in the middle of the Baby Boomer generation – those born between 1946 and 1964 – and the first generation to come of age following the Civil Rights Era. We have transitioned from a era when we were “Black and Proud” to one that hails diversity yet remains devoid of equality.
This holiday season, my name was on the top of the list of guests invited to two great Christmas parties hosted by… AARP. It is wonderful to go to a party in the middle of the day and still get your groove on. I tried my best to keep up with the line-dancers, but that long version of the Electric Slide proved to me that I haven’t been getting out enough.
Speaking of AARP, according to CEO Bill Novelli, over the next decade, the number of Americans age 50 and older will increase three times as fast as the total U.S. population. Among the top metropolitan areas projected to have the highest percentage of growth among 50 to 64 year olds in the next decade is the District of Columbia.
Novelli offers additional good news about turning 50: People turning 50 today have half of their adult lives ahead of them. They are beginning to use that milestone to question what they want to do with the rest of their lives instead of viewing it as a time of decline. For many it is a time to enjoy new-found freedoms, make new choices, and dream new dreams. In America, there is a whole new paradigm for life after 50 - especially when we consider the numbers.
One of the more than 76 million boomers turns 50 every 7.5 seconds.
With every coming year, over 4 million men and women will join the ranks of 50+ America.
This is changing the fundamental age distribution in our population. In 1900, only 13 percent of the population was age 50 or over. In 2000, it was over 27 percent. And, by 2020, it will be over 35 percent.
Obviously, this is the club to be in, meaning, yes, I did pay my AARP membership dues. Now I can enjoy the wonderful discounts AARP offers just by turning 50.
In just a few days, I will not view my life as half over; instead, I see it as half begun. For me, the best is yet to come and I thank God for it. He blessed me with great parents who took good care of me during my formative years, and He gave me the early wisdom not to destroy myself with the choices the 60s and 70s offered during my teen and early adult years. I have tried to take good care of myself by eating well, exercising, working in a profession I love and surrounding myself with great people including my family, friends and colleagues.
So, as I pass the major milestone, I want to also thank my editor for reminding me that, yes, it is great to be old and I will never lie about my age.
For Denise Rolark Barnes send email to drbarnes@washingtoninformer.com |
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