Mullings An American Cyber Column By Rich Galen

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Will You Still Need Me?

Rich Galen

Monday December 20, 2010

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When I get older, losing my hair,
Many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a Valentine;
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?

The Beatles released the song, "When I'm Sixty-Four" in 1967 when I was 21.

The song could just as easily have been titled "When I'm Fifty-Four" because when you're twenty-one, 54 and 64 are exactly the same age: Old.

Tomorrow, December 21, I will, in fact, be 64. And, I am not. Old.

I know a great deal about modern culture. I know that Beyonc� Knowle's first name is not pronounced "Be Once" as I once thought when I was only 63. I also know that the U2 front man, Bono, is not the son of Sonny Bono and Cher. I know that Bono (the U2 guy) pronounces his name "BAH-no," Sonny pronounced his name "BOH-no" and Cher's name is pronounced "Share."

I'm still not clear, however, on why Qatar is pronounced "GUD-ur," nor what the Kardashians bring to the cultural dinner table.

Since I've been old enough to know that December 21 is almost always the first day of Winter - the winter solstice - I have whined about it. It wasn't until I was in my 30's that I realized that the "shortest day of the year" didn't mean I didn't get a full 24 hours for my birthday; it meant that in the northern hemisphere it has the fewest hours of day light.

The winter solstice will arrive tomorrow at 6:38 PM in the Washington, DC area meaning there will be 9 hours 26 minutes 23 seconds of daylight. Six seconds fewer than today and about one second fewer than Wednesday.

Not only is tomorrow the shortest day of the year; but this year - for the first time in over 400 years - a full eclipse of the moon will take place. The moon will be in the Earth's shadow for about 72 minutes, so the shortest day will be accompanied by the darkest night.

Thank you, SO-so much. Anything else? Anyone have a tsunami planned? A good volcanic eruption? Maybe an earthquake or two?

One thing we don't have to worry about an asteroid colliding with the Earth. According to the Mayan calendar the winter solstice next year (which will be December 21, 2012) will be the end of time. What would have been my 65th birthday.

Even 500 years ago the Mayans knew I would never collect a dime of Social Security.

The thing about being 64 is there is nothing special about it, other than the Beatles' song. Yes, it is divisible by two, but only anniversaries evenly divisible by five really deserve notice.

Until Glenn Beck reserved the Mall for his rally this past August, no one was planning a big event to commemorate the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Having been born in 1946, I am at the front edge of the Baby Boomers. I was born more-or-less nine months to the day when my dad stepped off the troop ship in New York Harbor having come home from service in World War II.

Happily, I am not alone in that. Unhappily, I am not alone in that by a lot.

According to the American Medical Association:

"America's 78 million baby boomers will begin turning 65 next year at a rate of one every 10 seconds (3 million to 4 million per year)."

In an essay on the AMA's webpage, Dr. Artis Dee Hoven, MD writes:

"By age 65, around two-thirds of all seniors have at least one chronic disease and see seven physicians. Twenty percent of those older than 65 have five or more chronic diseases, see 14 physicians - and average 40 doctor visits a year."

Kind of gives that "will you still feed me" line a little more weight, doesn't it.

The best thing about being 64 is how long I've had to know people I love. My mom, the Lad, the Mullings Director of Standards and Practices, my siblings - my two brothers and our sister; and, high school, college, and adult friends.

Give me your answer, fill in a form:
Mine for evermore.
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four?

On the Secret Decoder Ring today: Links to much of what is above (including the lyrics to the Beatles' song), but the best thing is the Mullfoto of me when I was the News Director of WMOA Radio in the 60's.

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