It was tough on me turning 80. The girls at the newspaper had already put my 80th in the paper. It was now a public fact. None have yet shown me the respect that I had expected to see. When my grandpa turned 80, we threw him a big party. Back then mama made me jump up and give him my chair when he entered the room. We were often coached on how we were to “act” around such relics as he and he enjoyed a high level of respect from us that I have sometimes pined for myself. I’ve waited in vain.

Things have changed. A little. Well, I still appreciate young ladies opening the post office door for me and sure, we old folks like to be noticed but you girls can relax. My flirting days are behind me. Well, you can still hold the door for me. But being 80 or more does have its drawbacks. Not too many moons ago I was up at the VA just standing in a line waiting to get checked in when I saw this “old veteran” eyeing me — like he knew me. He shuffled my way very slowly — like he was sizing me up. By now the 25 or 30 people seated and waiting were all watching us. I was getting nervous. Finally, he asked in a very loud wizened voice the burning question all we oldies hate to hear. “Do they still let you drive?” Then he shuffled back to his seat as though he already knew the answer. I wondered at that moment just how long I had to go before losing my driving privileges and exactly, why did he ask?

Addressing this great philosophical question just let me say this. I tell myself that I am an excellent driver. I do have an uphill job convincing certain members of my family that I am the excellent driver that I actually am. But — what do they know? They probably listen to my wife too much.

Other things, such as knowing when to stand (like in church) and when to keep seated is sometimes a problem. Like this. Sometime back while attending an OU girls’ basketball game up at Lloyd Nobel arena they had us all stand and applaud a breast cancer survivor. So, I stood, wondering how that could help. The next time out they did the same thing, or so I thought. Again, I stood up and