Friday, 27 August 2010

The moment I realised I was middle-aged



Twice a day I walk the dogs, year round, rain or shine, summer or winter. One winter's evening, in the dark, I set off as usual. I came to the junction in the road where I could turn either left or right. Now I live in a pretty safe suburban area, but being female means having your risk-assessment software running, without cease, from the moment you set foot outside your door to the moment you get back inside.

Left, down the road, a group of young teenagers was loitering about chatting under a street light. To the right, a lone and slightly scruffy man was walking slowly down the road in my direction, hands in pockets.

I decided that the teenagers were more likely to present trouble, and turned right.

12 comments:

  1. Ah, very telling.

    An aside note, I played the My Chemical Romance video, and one of the ads that played prominently was for christianmingle.com.

    My Chemical Romance and a socializing website for Christian singles.

    Yep, that's a pairing, methinks.

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  2. Wow. Someone's marketing program has a serious bug in it!

    I just turn the adverts off, personally. I mean, the thought that I might accidentally find my way onto a christian dating site is too horrible to contemplate!
    ;-)

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  3. For you or the Christian daters?

    ;-)

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  4. Heh heh. I could date Christians and insist on reading them my stories. Imagine the spiritual havoc!

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  5. Lol. My friend went to school with a boy named Christian Victory. And also Norman Castles.

    Victory is a great name, but I'm not so sure I'd precede it with Christian.

    I knew I was old when I sat on the swing in a playground I'd frequented as a child, and a) my ass was too fat to fit the swing, and b) I got seasick when I went really high.

    And I was 20. Depressing.

    But yes, fear of teenagers is a sign, alright. I think it's less to do with safety and more to do wit hthe idea that they might shout something insulting and true at you :)

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  6. not sure when I realized I was middle-aged, but I sure know I am now!

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  7. Nah, Janine, I used to avoid teenagers when I was one myself. Perhaps I was one of them Young Fogeys.

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  8. Christian Victory? See, if you wrote that you'd be laughed out of town.

    I have a friend who works in local government, who found an elderly couple called Dick and Fanny Wiper on the electoral roll some years back...

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  9. Other signs of middle age: Your hip hurts sometimes. You think music in bars is played far too loud. You are looking forward to choosing bathroom tiles...
    *sigh*

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  10. On the other hand, Robin and Justine, a sustained interest in reading smutty books is counted as positively juvenile - so we probably average out to being in our prime!

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  11. Ahh, bathroom tiles...

    I've been scared of groups of teenagers since I was about six. The nature of the fear has probably developed but it's never gone away.

    But I defiantly resist any suggestion that I might be middle aged.

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  12. Plus, you do run round the woods playing chasing fantasy games, right? I'd say those teenagers would be scared of YOU.

    My friend's parents were Dick and Fanny Wheeler.

    I also knew of a Ulick McGee. Swear to god.

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