Being 50 isn't like Its not your grand dad's 50 this will become normal behavior in Oh,all this without Viagra,think
it use to be.
or your father's in fact...
about 10or20 years or less.
about it.
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by Joe B. The Near 50 Guy Again Yes,it’s a few months away and I should shut my hole about it right? That makes sense in a perfect world but we ain’t ‘livin in a poifect world folks. Women had the 27-30 or more years old-unmarried= old maid without marriage or having male friends at all was between slim and none although there were exceptions its also few and in-between in the mid ¡6th to early 20th centuries. (its conjecture on my part but I’m sure there are statistics for those wishing to know more about single women,men, marriage,divorce,widow and widower’s. While men didn’t have that particular problem but still as now died earlier but our compensation was the control of young girls and women’s lives I most aspects of their lives either as fathers,boy friends,husbands,even as son’s treating women as the dim,weaker sex roles foisted upon them. For many it was "the good old days" when men held dominion most males used that power meanly, often to women’s detriment. We treated emotion, physical pain as intangibles to conquer. Many a strong man died from hidden medical ills, dangerous working conditions,or in conflicts with other men and war thrives on the blood of youth then mostly young and male. Gone and good riddance to those supposed good days. Recently we men have gone through our own numbers of dread. From 30’s to our own dreaded 40 marks and fitful to fabulous 50’s which I may have confused with the "Fabulous 1950’s decade. One way young men may have bypassed these thresh hole passages is to have an even more traumatic experience at younger ages. In these conflicts youth comes age under fire, death-from-above, All of this makes impressions on young minds of how short, bloody, fleeting,life really is and how some survive,many die that afterwards most of the young seasoned warriors – those mustered out never wanting to see war again but need to lead complete anonymous lives, or seeks out a more adventurous life. When young men,women go through their baptism of fire they are changed in ways friends,loved ones, family,and lovers can never,dimly understand. Only those who’ve shared with them or others from past conflicts know what inner turmoil,fear, exhilaration,horror,or sadness of lost friends and the cost of taking orders,honoring the fallen,and wounded in body,mind or both means. After that everyday is a blessing or living on borrowed time. Numbers of age mean little for surviving war, cruise ship,train, airplane,car crashes, kidnapping,car-jacking, drive by shootings,armed robbery on the streets,or serious life threatening illnesses. Women and men are now living a little longer, age is a number that can impede or be a freeing sensation. A women’s greatest empowerment seems to be when reaching their early ‘30’s and ‘40’s especially in the 40’s past child bearing,years and though hot flashes,bloating, (water retention) and knowing their cycles of months,days,of moons. They know their strengths,weaknesses and have experience with men and need not worry about pregnancy and can purely enjoy sex without second guessing themselves knowing their own power. Women don’t need wars, conflict,their own bodies are battle fields,their complex biological functioning more than anything are micro wars in miniature they must constantly battle with is it no wonder that men seem like children in their petty daily lives. As a black male entering young middle age I wish to travel,learn, and mostly have lots of safe sex if marriage is in not in my future being a single long lived, experienced male may one day have the equivalent of cool as we live longer to find youth as an extension of healthy living maybe regain youthful vigor. Our perceptions of youth,old age,are changing rapidly and I would like to have friends of all ages,backgrounds,feel comfortable in anyplace they and not feeling out of place because age or lack of years who know I might have to create Club Age Neutral from 18 to 95 of course being chronologically 95 can the equivalent to 35 to 45 year olds and they closer to 25! Its going to be weird for a while but I’m getting use to not falling apart and learning to re-youth myself. I’ll explain that next time folks. Snail or Email Joe at: Email: askjoe@poormagazine.org |