The aging of America.

Often when I see a car that has rust, dents, and multi-colored doors, I often think, “that was once new.” Now it looks nothing like it did when it rolled off the assembly line. I know readers might be saying, “Duh” but what about the times you see a car that is over 25 years old and it looks like it’s brand new?

Which brings me to the real focus of today’s blog…how people change.

If you are on Facebook, perhaps you have reconnected with friends from long ago. It’s when you see their picture, and I know I have discussed this before, that they either have not aged at all, or well---they have changed quite a bit. More like a lot! It happened recently when I received the infamous request from a long lost friend. I looked at the picture, he was a fraternity brother of mine, and I had to vertically place two fingers along the side of his face to determine if it was him. It was. Whoa.

It’s not that he looks bad, it’s probably the 75 pounds he has gained in the past 30 years that made him difficult to recognize. This has happened numerous times with a lot of people I have again re-connected with---not always weight gains, but sometimes they look nothing like they once did. To me this is the complete opposite of what has been a fabrication on the internet--it’s when people place pictures and use names that are not real. However, with Facebook and other social media sites, they often times are the real thing. I think this is much better as it is an honest portrayal of who you really are.

I am not sure what our parents and our parent’s parents did when they didn’t have the technology we have today. In many respects I would think it was a better less worried life---of course this was a time when plastic surgery was not the norm, and Weight Watchers was really the only game in town. It was a simpler less superficial time. Why has it all happened? I think a lot has to do with the aging of Americans and the desire to take advantage of what celebrities have been able to do for many decades. Look young, healthy, and defy all odds of aging---combine this with technology, and you have Facebook, AOL, MySpace and all other social media.

The photo above was taken in Idaho at a car show; it was not a show highlighting new cars but one that showcased older models. (In many cases they look like they just drove off the new car lot.) It just goes to show, you can still look really good if you take care of what you have been given on the assembly line, from your parents, or in many cases your plastic surgeon.

Thanks for stopping by.