Fountain of Youth? Meh. My 59th birthday is approaching and I don't even care if I live that long.
Well said Tom, The Lounge is such a lively place thanks to to The Lounger's input.
Many many moons ago, about 45 at a guess, years not moons, my sister-in-law was visiting us on a particularly hot, sunny Sunday. Too hot to cook, we all dined out. At the riverside restaurant, my sister-in-law, all four-feet, eleven inches of her, a tad more in heels, knowing that I'm paying and won't accept her and her husband's 'share.' So she insisted on buying us all a round of drinks. At the bar, the proprietor served her, he asked her age, she's was 32. "You don't think that I'm 18?" She said, in delight surprise, "I love you." And kissed him. Not one of your gentle, social etiquette pecks on the cheek. She gave him a full blooded, lipstick stained, smackaroonee, right on his lips. He got quite flustered, but took it in his stride, adding: "Tell me again, how old are you?"
When I got my free bus travel concession it really p*ssed me off. Old? Me? Don't be ridiculous. But what I didn't know at the time is that it can be used anywhere in the country. In London you can no longer pay your fare as you board the bus, your ticket must be pre-bought. Most bus travellers by an Oyster card, a pre-paid, use as often as you like, travel pass on public transport.
I've told this story here before, but years ago I went to a movie theater with the guy who has been my best friend since grade school. We approached our respective windows at the box office and simultaneously requested one ticket, and his ticket was $1.00 less than mine. When he asked why, the person at his window who was also the theater manager replied, "Oh, I gave you the senior citizen discount." My friend, who is five months younger than I am, was not pleased. The manager tried to explain that he recognized my friend as a regular customer and that the "senior discount" was simply the easiest way to apply a discount to the ticket sale, but my friend wasn't having it and got angrier as we walked into the theater lobby. Since the manager has also "given the nod" to the young lady at my ticket window to give me the same discount, the price difference issue was resolved but my friend couldn't seem to understand why I wasn't bothered by what had happened. I told him, "What do I care? Now I have an extra buck in my pocket that I can spend on popcorn, or a soda, or whatever. I couldn't care less about what they call it." That calmed him down a little, but I could tell it still bothered him throughout the movie.
Better yet, make them with a lifetime limit. They expire once you hit 100. If you make it that far and can still go to the store, everything is just free.
