GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY

I saw an old man this morning on the way to work and I couldn't help but stare and admire him. I'm not gay and I don't make it a habit of staring at older men while on the train but by god, at his age, that man looks amazing. Aside from the crocs sandals he was wearing (I can't understand how people can wear that oddly-shaped, technicoloured rubber sandal out in public, I don't care how comfortable you say it is. But I digress... crocs sandals are a whole other can of worms and we'll talk about that at another time), his turnout and bearing made him appear self-composed, assured and worldly wise.


crocs. comfy footwear? yes. to be worn outside in public? no....

The old man reminded me of my recently deceased grandfather and how well he looked when he was alive. In the final months of his life, he never missed his visits to his favourite barber in JB for a trim and a shave and in fact, even in his final days, he made sure we shaved his stubble and trimmed his eyebrows so that he'll look presentable despite being bedridden in hospital as he battled cancer.

Seeing that old man on the train made me realized how important it is to grow old gracefully. So now I pray that with age, I will not grow to:

- Believe that flimsy cotton singlets and striped pyjama pants are de rigueur attire in old age

- Belting up my pants above my belly, citing "better grip" as a reason for doing so

- Not caring that hair so long it threatens to turn into dreadlocks... are growing out of my nostrils.

- Stuffing those dreadlocks back into my nostrils with a Vicks inhaler. In public. And let it dangle precariously as I go about my business.

- Deciding that my colonge of choice in old age is... Axe Brand medicated oil