How times have changed

Snagged from InStyle

After I watched the Oscars, I was happy that Meryl won, finally, and I really enjoyed all the dresses and jewels that dripped from all those celebrities. But then I wondered if Jane Fonda had attended, since I didn't see any pictures of her, so I googled "Jane Fonda Oscars 2012" and the link from InStyle (under the picture) came up. Here are Jane and Gwyneth Paltrow at the Vanity Fair after party.

Just look at Jane! Did you know she is 74? And in love, it seems. I used to follow her blog but gave up on it, since I think she began to let someone else write it for her. It took a distinct change in tone one day and I realized I wasn't really all that interested in hearing what she (or whoever) had to say any longer. Nevertheless, she's a very fascinating person, and I read every word on her Wikipedia page. Since I will turn 70 this year, I'm look for mentors. Many of the blogs that I currently follow are written by women who are around my age or older, and I love thinking about what might be next in my own life.

The title of this post was born out of an event that happened to me this morning. I was walking to the coffee shop after my morning workout (my schedule on Tuesdays has me getting a bun workout that would make Jane proud) when I saw a man coming toward me, obviously engaged in a conversation. But there was nobody around him and at first I thought perhaps he had an invisible friend. He was gesticulating wildly, shadowboxing with the air, and I decided to give him a wide berth. It wasn't until I saw the bluetooth in his ear that I relaxed. Oh: he's having a conversation on the phone, with no visible phone OR recipient in sight. How times have changed.

In days gone by, someone acting like he was would have been hauled off to the loony bin. That made me wonder about people who are actually a bit on the unhinged side: do people see them on the street and assume they are talking on the phone? Yep, our assumptions can no longer be so cut and dried.

Another way that times have changed is that a hundred years ago, or even fifty, nobody who is the age that Jane Fonda is could have looked like that. I read that she has had plastic surgery on her chin, neck and eyes. Since she just wrote a book about aging, she didn't feel she could deny that she's had "work" done. And she continues to work out, but with an artificial knee AND hip, she probably isn't doing a lot of the stuff that's in her old exercise videos. That new book came out last year, called "Prime Time" about many aspects of getting older. I read her 2005 autobiography and enjoyed it, so I will give this book a chance once it comes out in paperback.

Another way that my own personal times have changed is that as I grow older and notice that the signs of aging are taking a distinct turn towards letting gravity have its way with me. Bags under my eyes, sagging skin in places I didn't even realize COULD sag, and a need to get more sleep at night... all these things make me realize that the trajectory is only heading one way. It's normal, I tell myself as I flap the skin under my arms around, or try to find a more flattering way to cover my neck. Just as an aside, I read a wonderful book a few years ago by Nora Ephron, "I Feel Bad About My Neck," which is available on that link from Amazon. A very good read. Maybe I should go back and read it again. As I remember, I laughed repeatedly at some of her observations.

I just remembered that I need to get some bird seed for my wild birdies before the storm hits that is heading our way. I'll go ahead and wrap this up now so that those little cuties will have something to nibble on in the morning.
:-)