(Guest opinion) Gene Stout: We weren’t always old

I’m OLD! And yes, to use our common response, “It’s better than the alternative.”

More importantly, I’m not alone. I was born the first month of the baby boomers (January 1946). We “oldies” are a growing bunch, an economic nightmare for you “youngies.”

I avoid getting down on the floor. Tough to get up. My once-taut skin now tends to hang off my arms and other places. I’m still getting around pretty well, but airports, etc. are getting awfully crowded with wheelchairs and beeping carts. My hands and arms are now cluttered with brown and red splotches, and I don’t like those new skin growths here and there. I use stair railings, especially going down. I sometimes need help with simple tasks that require formerly common strength or endurance. Memory? Unless it is decades old, forget memory