I happened to sit down this morning near an elderly looking man at the coffee spot, and of course straightaway he wanted to chat. It's normal in Bali, this chatting between total strangers. So we shared all the basic information--where are you from, how long have you been here, where do you live, are you married, how many children do you have--and then we talked some more about more specific things--the cost of housing, the benefit of renting a house as opposed to an apartment, and so on and so forth. He asked about my former career, and how old I am now.
"Sixty-four", I said.
"Ah, almost the same. I am 62."
You may remember that I started out by saying I sat down near an "elderly" man. Turns out that I am the elderly man.
Isn't it funny how we have this internal picture of ourselves that doesn't really jive with reality? In my mind, I was looking at and speaking to an elderly man, quite unlike myself. Lol. In fact, I am older than he! Moreover, to be honest, he appeared to be in better health than I. And yet, I had instantly considered him to be both an elderly and an older man.
I guess my rose colored glasses only function when the lens is aimed at me.
"Sixty-four", I said.
"Ah, almost the same. I am 62."
You may remember that I started out by saying I sat down near an "elderly" man. Turns out that I am the elderly man.
Isn't it funny how we have this internal picture of ourselves that doesn't really jive with reality? In my mind, I was looking at and speaking to an elderly man, quite unlike myself. Lol. In fact, I am older than he! Moreover, to be honest, he appeared to be in better health than I. And yet, I had instantly considered him to be both an elderly and an older man.
I guess my rose colored glasses only function when the lens is aimed at me.
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