[barbjim]

:dontknow:
As I near the decision to retire I find it amusing the number of names that are used to refer to me (my generation). Just a few that come to mind:
Baby Boomer: One of the nicer terms :2cool:
Middle Age: My question is how do I know if I am middle age if I do not know my ending age. :dontknow: :'(
Blue Hair: I assume this refers to us women who picked up the wrong bottle of clairol
Retirees: I guess that is the done retired folks :-*
Over the Hill: Who determines that? How how is the Hill anyway. Seems Hallmark thinks any age from 30 to 80. crap
OP: Abbreviation for Old People. What is old? I think that depends on your current age. I think my Mom is Old and my kids think I am old and their kids think they are old.
Silver Tsunami: That must refer to a whole bunch of us having a good old time kicking up our hills.
Senior Citizen: Does that refer to me or everyone older than me?
Active Senior: Last time I looked if you are breathing, you are performing an activity of sorts.
Can you think of any others. I know you guys in the Villages, probably refer yourself to one of the Village People. wav

[nONIE]

Good question JimBarb,

I really think we are only as old as we think we are. I know that my brain still thinks Im 21 but sometimes my body disagrees with my brain and thats when I can get into trouble.
So the question is: Do we listen to our brain or our body?

I think I like baby boomer the best! ;D

[Muncle]

I've kinda always preferred "You insatiable sex machine" but that's just a personal preference.

Totally off subject aside --- I grew up close to the Ozarks and have known many "country folk" through the years. I've known Jim Bobs, Billy Genes, several Johnny Boys, Charlie Macs and similar of the male persuasion. God knows how many Mary Sues, Betty Anns, Carol Lynns, Bobbie Jos, Connie Pats and other dual named females I've encountered over the years. JimBarb, however, is a first for me. Is this short for James Barbara? I know some families have unusual naming traditions. Some take the names from the Bible or any other book that's handy. A friend's mother was named Ency. When I asked about it, I was told the only book in the house was the first volume of an encyclopedia. I know Johnny Cash made a fortune with A Boy Named Sue, but James Barbara must have been tough growing up with.

[barbjim]

Actually I am just the Barb (no pun) in the marriage. Jim is the other half. Since we have not yet moved to the Villages to assume our own individual identities, I am posting as a team.
We will be visiting on April 9 through April 12. Is the Vintage Car show going on at that time. It appeared to be listed at Lake Sumter with a trio of singers. Wasn't sure if that was the trio's name or if it was an event with a trio. It is very easy to confuse a baby boomer, blue hair, active senior, OP.

[redwitch]

I've always kind of liked being an Old Fart (wonder if that will be censored). Of course, when Jess is mad at me, I'm just the Witch (the old is a given).

[barbjim]

We also say old fuddy duddy. Our family has always been into the scatological humor of "Pull my Finger" so Old Fart has always been sitted on the Throne.

Originally Posted by redwitch

I've always kind of liked being an Old Fart (wonder if that will be censored). Of course, when Jess is mad at me, I'm just the Witch (the old is a given).

[Sidney Lanier]

Call me what you will, but I do remember that when I was a kid, my parents were OLD when they were in their 40s.... I remember once hand-making a birthday card for my mother, on the front of which I had drawn an outdoor scene with a plane skywriting "Happy Birthday 42 Years Old," and while she appreciated the card, she was a little offended that I had put her "advanced" age on it! So if they were OLD in their 40s--and certainly by their 50s--I guess you can call me "O Ancient One" (or most anything else, for that matter)!

[renielarson]

I'm just an ole' pain in the a**

[Boomer]

I just searched the AARP site for an article that I never did find. It was a long time ago.

The subject was the word "geezer" which seems to always apply to a man. As I recall, the article was one of those one-page things. It went on a bit about the etymology of "geezer."

It seems like it said something about "to geez" as having to do with giving unsolicited advice. It also had another part to its word history that said "to geez" meant to gaze lasciviously.

It gave an example of an old guy who lived next door to a cute young woman who mowed her grass while wearing a bikini. When her mower sputtered to a stop one day, it gave the neighborly geezer the opportunity to rush over to her yard and geez according to both definitions.

I have no idea why I remember so much about this little article that I read probably 4 or 5 years ago. I also could be making the whole thing up. I really don't know for sure.

I did look up "geezer" in an online thesaurus just now and it had "fossil" which was bad enough, but then it said "mossback" which is just disgusting.

btw Sidney, haven't you heard? 60 is the new 40.

And another btw - Speaking of words like this, has anybody seen any "cougars" around TV? I guess in TV that would be a relative thing.

Boomer
(That's what I am and I'm stickin' with it.)

[handieman]

Mr Muncle Uncle "insatiable sex machine" is taken however lets do this! You want North or South of 466??

Handie :joke:

[renielarson]

1rnfl

Oh my gosh...that was hilarious, Handie!

[chelsea24]

I suppose in the neighborhood I grew up in I would have gone from a tough broad to a tough old broad! Or a fisty old broad, or a batty old broad, or a crazy old broad. In any case, I'd be referred to as an old broad! But, lovingly of course. ;D I like baby boomer. And I agree that 60 is the new 40! Absolutely! It's all in the way you feel about yourself and the way you look at life. hmmmm, maybe 60 is the new 30! ???

Handi, we'll all look forward to meeting you at the April luncheon and we just know you're going to look just like your avatar! LOLOLOLOL NOT! :joke:

[Muncle]

B3
Here 'tis:
http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/yourlife/geezer.html

The Rime of the Ancient Geezer

By Jaime O’Neill

September 2005

It's official. I'm now a geezer. I went through the induction ceremony last week. Younger people may not know this, but on the first full moon six months after he turns 60, every man is required to attend the Admission to Geezerdom Ritual welcoming him to his Sunset Years.

The word "geezer" comes from the ancient Sanskrit verb "geez," which originally meant "to smile disgustingly while chewing guava." By the time the word found its way into the English language, however, it had lost much of its original meaning but had found new connotations in the colder climes of Britannia.

The earliest English usage of the word is found in Chaucer, in which the Knyghte visits his father who "doth verily geez hys sonne whan he cometh and whan he goeth." The Oxford English Dictionary next cites the use of the word in Shakespeare's King Lear in a scene where the jester describes Lear as "one who doth geez most nunkily."

As a noun, the word originally meant "one who geezes." It also has a history as an adjective ("The geezy lawyer fussed over his client") and as an adverb ("Santa spoke geezily to his elves").

The earliest English usage is found in Chaucer, in which the Knyghte’s father ‘doth verily geez hys sonne whan he cometh and whan he goeth.’
Being a newly minted geezer, I have taken a great interest in this word and its meanings. When I was younger, I just assumed it meant "an old guy," but its etymology proves to be much richer than my once-simple understanding led me to believe.

The odd thing is that though I am, officially, a geezer, I don't feel much different than I did in earlier years. One notable geezer activity is leering at young women. Now, I've done this my entire life, but it wasn't an activity I associated with geezerdom until my recent birthday. Recently, my friend Steve caught me ogling a young woman, and he commanded me most sharply: "Stop geezing that bimbo!" The act of geezing is, therefore, related to age. Ogle young women when you're 35, but do it after 60 and you are, alas, geezing.

But there are a number of other meanings to the word, as was explained to us new inductees by the Grand Geezer during the initiation ceremony. In fact, he geezed us for hours on the subject, which is to say that he went on at boring length about a subject of interest mostly to him. As it turns out, that is yet another meaning of the word. Geezers geez younger people by boring them senseless, which was how Chaucer used the word in the example cited above, or as I am doing here as I explain the etymology of the word. Consider yourself geezed.

It turns out, though, that in one of its many usages, the word "geez" is related to the word "schmooze." Note that both words end in a "z" sound, and then note that geezing is just schmoozing done by an old man. When you're a young man boring co-workers with tales of your weekend trip to the hardware store, that is called "schmoozing," but when you tell the same tales as an old man, that's called "geezing," and the activity itself will confirm your reputation as a geezer.

Yet another definition of the word means "to correct younger people, incessantly." For example, if your son-in-law is working on something, it is your responsibility as a geezer to tell him he's not doing it right and to explain to him that things were, in any case, done much better in your day.

Other definitions of the word "geez" as a verb include: driving while signaling for a turn that never comes ("He drove straight ahead while geezing for a turn"), making cutely suggestive, repetitive witticisms to waitresses in coffee shops ("Doris came over to his table, and he geezed her while nursing a cup of coffee"), forgetting the names of one's grandchildren, and the ages of one's children ("He loved his offspring, but he was inclined to geez their names and ages"), and wearing house slippers to the supermarket ("He geezed his way down the aisle in search of an item he couldn't remember").

I would like to continue to acquaint you with the breadth of meaning this fascinating word holds, but I see my young neighbor outside trying to fix his lawn mower. His pretty young wife is also out there in a pair of shorts. I can geez them both in one visit.

Jaime O'Neill lives in California.

[chuckster]

Love it!!.. If BS were music, you would be a brass band :bigthumbsup:

[Sidney Lanier]

Geezerhood, eh? That's hilarious! Never saw 'to geez' as a verb, though.... Then again, Shakespeare added countless words and phrases to the English lexicon, of which about 1,600-1,800 are still integral parts of the language!