"Old Birds (Revisited)"
I just heard from a friend
who devotes a lot of his efforts to helping young musical artists.
It's a good thing to do, and he's a good guy,
as opposed to me.
But, there was a hint of the old pitch:
"Time to move over and let the kids have it".
That's not for me.
I'm not dead yet.
The term "senior" was sprinkled in there, too.
I have trouble with the term "Senior".
It's a euphemism for "old".
"Chronologically Challenged" or "Geezer/American" sounds nicer.
I like to think of myself as "Early Middle-aged"
(not to be confused with "Early American").
I'm still waiting for my mid-life crisis.
"Young" has never necessarily meant "better",
except when I was a teen.
This is a commercial society,
and there are more young customers,
so they are catered to, and more visible.
That doesn't mean they're better,
or more deserving than their elders.
What ever happened to "Paying your dues"?
They've never been able to put Misty and me in a pigeonhole,
and we won't fit into the "senior mentor" thing.
I wish I could work up more interest in it,
and be a nicer person.
Mark Twain never taught, or acted the mentor to young people.
He kept on creating his own stuff until he died.
That's us to a tee.
I'm probably selfish,
but I can't get all excited about helping young artists,
because they have a whole lifetime to work on their careers.
And it's not that I have anything against them as a group,
other than Rap Music.
I like about as many young people as I do old people.
It depends upon each, as an individual.
Age doesn't enter into my evaluations of people,
but it often seems to be a part of their evaluation of me.
We DO have an interest in helping older artists
who have been passed by.
We have to stick together.
Like old birds of a feather.
I mean early middle-aged birds of a feather.
Copyright © May 4, 2003 by Jack Blanchard. All rights reserved.
