What about today’s geezers? Does anyone outside of our own brotherhood take us seriously? Are we more, or less relevant? It depends on a number of conditions I suppose. Once upon a time in the more “natural” and “traditional” cultures, older, penis-endowed humans were honored, even revered as “Elders”. Today’s geezers are more often figures of ridicule and the butts of jokes and jibes. In the more enlightened times of yore, entire communities often relied on them for wisdom and advice. (Yes, of course the crones were honored as well, but I can’t truly see the world through the lens of their plumbing, so I have to go with what I know, or at least have experienced directly, though I am not entirely sure what it is that I truly “know.”) These societies were often close to the land, closely ordered, and small and tribal, as well as frequently small-minded. It doesn’t work that way anymore. Things have changed except for the small-minded bit. We are certainly no longer close-knit and/or small scale. These days we’re lucky if we even know the names of our neighbors. I realize I am painting with a broad blunt brush here, but in general in the USofA, we are fragmented, segmented, divided and separated by, among other things, a common language. Other conditions exacerbate the situation as well. We are also relentlessly gnawed on by a predatory political, social and economic system that feeds on and needs disunion among us to continue. As a result we have large numbers of strident, illiterate, mostly amoral agglomerations of human beings of all ages and genders who indulge in the grossest, most excessive behavior imaginable with virtually no repercussions or consequences for their majority of their unappealing, unappetizing actions. These agglomerations may feel and see themselves as forming “special interest” groups. Certainly the AARP falls into this category. But others are little more than gangs that claim to have unique and even god-given rights, e.g., the NRA, the Tea partiers or any political group for that matter (including both the Republican and Democrat parties). But essentially many of these groups are in fact, more often than not, posturing, blustering, boisterous, brutal, bigoted thugs, pumped by fantasies of their own invincibility. Occasionally their machinations are subtle and go unnoticed by a distracted and easily distractible (as well as easily bribable) media. It all makes for a raucous circus of circumstances and situations. It can be entertaining. If you can look at it all in the right frame of mind. We have a societal/cultural landscape of infinite variety that frequently yields up events, enterprises and notions that have a truly spectacular hilarity about them. For instance, given the tenor of these tension-taut times, our “government” has been easily duped into believing its own boosterism. It is almost fanatical in its belief that the USofA is a divinely inspired and ordained engine of truth, justice, and freedom. Now that really is hilarious. Anyway. I have strayed once again, as geezers are wont to do, from the trail I thought I was following.
Ah, here’s the trail again, I think; it seems like familiar territory anyway. As recently as 60 years ago, old guys might at least have been given some deference and respect just because they had triumphed into their 6th decade, beating the odds of physical decay and mental erosion. Not so any more. In terms of daily, ordinary idolatry, we live in a culture that reveres youth. It also gives a lot of preferential treatment and accolades even to men in their early middle age (EMA).This is really unfortunate since EMA is the age in a man’s life when he is usually insufferably smug, censorious and self-righteous. It is a time of life of the male of our species when we are even less susceptible to self-correction and self-awareness than we were when we were in our insufferable teens and 20s. Us geezers have been there already so we know these things. Many men, especially in the USofA, like this time in their lives so much that they try to extend it for as long as possible. We see this most especially in entertainers, including politicians, and Hollywood actors. It takes a lot of chemicals, a lot of “special effects” and a lot of stunt doubles to pull this off this kind of pretense, which is something us ordinary guys can’t manage at all, ever. We don’t have access to this celluloid fountain of youth. Examples of guys trying to peddle an imager of never-ending sexual prowess and machismo are too numerous to mention. Occasionally there is some mind-bending example of a man not knowing when to admit to his diminished stamina. Nelson Rockefeller springs to mind as one.
I do feel some pity for millions of EMA men. These days those years of their lives seem to be a time when more and more of them suffer from “erectile dysfunction.” I realize it may have just been one of those taboo topics when I was caught up in EMA, but I don’t recall that it was a widespread “disorder” back in the 30 or 40 years ago. But perhaps it was and I just didn’t know anyone who was open about it. It must be not only embarrassing, but downright psychologically devastating to be unable to get it up when you are only in your 30s or 40s or even 50s. Can you imagine the indignity of having the wherewithal to toot around in a BMW or some other symbol of rooster-like manliness but you can’t get your cock to a standing position without a couple of splints tied to it, a penis pump and a Cialis cocktail? I can’t imagine it actually and I don’t believe for a minute that I am endowed with an excess of testosterone. Time for a short bray: I got damped down some for a brief while in my 60s when I took some prescribed rialin; the ED lasted only until I stopped taking it. Now I am in my 70s and I still enjoy woodies often and regularly. As to my stamina I can’t be entirely sure. I also can’t vouch for the viability of my sperm either. That’s yet another problem that seems to be afflicting men of EMA. As for me, I am not planning to have a blob of them do a test swim though. I don’t feel compelled to sire again, despite my occasional ambitions to have the goat-like randiness of Pablo Picasso. As to the causes of ED in those EMA menfolk: Maybe it’s something in the food they eat.
Being an elder should be a kind of honorific position. It comes with the territory of being old(er), of having reached a certain chronological goal post. But it should be assumed as a right, no matter no minor or tenuous. It shouldn't require self-addulation or self-promotion, and it definitely shouldn’t require accumulating power, property and wealth. It shouldn’t require a particular skin color, ethnicity or religious conviction. But like many things in the USofA, it often does. And of course anything and everything is up for sale. We all know how that works, don’t we? And bye the bye, (or is it buy to buy?) if you are black, brown or seen as anything other than white, and/or if you have no financial wherewithal, IOW, if you ain’t got the dough-re-me, you are probably SOL on all fronts, including having even ordinary status no matter what your age. Fall into any of a number of shaded categories and it is likely, probable even, that you will be treated even more unfairly, maliciously and contemptuously by the System. Yet entire cadres and boardrooms of toxically rich, old white blowhards, like Donald Trump and that Koch duo — I’ve always wondered if those two, or maybe all three, share a common penis — have purchased their status as listened-to elder statesmen. Personally I’d rather listen to fingernails scratching across a blackboard than listen to their self-aggrandizing prattle. (As to that other old tail-chasing Donald, Mr. Sterling from LA, his opinions are almost beyond the reach of satire. They lay bare the true character of a man way past redemption. A man whose wealth and swagger have allowed him to flame across the national consciousness and conscience bedecked in silk Armani suits rather than the cone-topped KKK outfit he should be wearing. But I guess we all can see that costume clearly enough now.) But I promised myself I wouldn’t wander too far afield, too often from matters at lest somewhat related to geezer-ness. Apparently it’s a promise I can’t keep, like promising to think always in a rational way or stay inside the lines when I walk and talk.
All of this rambling is not meant to plead for or press the case for treating all of us geezers as omniscient or even sane and sober elders. It is merely my wandering observations on the days of our lives as the world turns here in this particular spot on the globe. Perhaps I should cue up the martial music and run the Viagra ads for any younger readers. "Just saying'."
