Okay! So I know that I’m not young. Sixty-two, after all, isn’t an age that is synonymous with the term “spring chicken.” But here’s the rub! Often—too often—I’ve read newspaper accounts about sixty-plus individuals whom the reporters refer to as “elderly.” Come on, now! This, to me, is a stretch. If 50 is the new 40 and 60 the new 50, I am hardly elderly! In fact, I’m so young in spirit that I’m sure that the “new 50” is too old a classification for me.

I’ve learned the hard way, however, that in this youth-minded society that my opinion and experience have little or no value because at 62 I’m old. (My contemporaries, however, know where I’m coming from and what I have to offer. Luckily, we’re growing in numbers!)

Job Search

Recently I went in search of more freelance work. (I’ve been a writer for more than 40 years…a good and award-winning writer.) First stop was an advertising agency looking for “someone who really knows how to write!” According to the vice president who recommended me—she’s five years my senior—the agency has problems with most of its writers. “The kids coming out of college these days don’t even know how to write a sentence correctly,” the VP told me. “We need someone with your experience and abilities.” I was sure I had this writing gig in the bag. Wrong! The 30-something human resource person was kind to me during the interview, but stressed the need of being able to write copy that would “hit” the agency’s under-40 market demographics. “No problem,” I said. My assurance that I could do the job, and do it well, wasn’t enough. I never got a call!