Stupid Things...

Stupid Things I Won't Do When I Get Old is a book by Steven Petrow. As his parents aged, he started keeping notes with promises to himself, that he would not do things they did when he aged. He turned those notes into a book. Every chapter begins with one of his notes. The chapter then goes into great detail on the subject.

One was about old people's bad odors. The only elderly  person who I recall smelling bad was my rummy grandfather. I think his bad odor had more to do with his alcohol consumption than being related to his age. I also remember my aunt, in a nursing home, who surprisingly had bad breath. An older brother, does tend to smell unclean. He does not bathe, and wears the same unwashed clothes over & over again, accounting for his body odor.

I live in a Senior apartment complex. I also lived in one in California. Residents from 65 to 103 years old. None had a "old age smell, " about him. Petrow does include a scientific explanation for "old age smell," so I guess it is a real thing. 

He complains about younger generations disparaging Boomers, then begins to disparage them also. He blames boomers for lots of things, like putting the U.S. of A. into mega debt.  Well, did boomers decide to be born?  Maybe the blame belongs to the parents who gave birth to the baby boom generations? 

One chapter, he complains about elderly recitals of ailments. He vows not to do that. The next chapter he begins his recital of his ailments. I could not muster much sympathy for his sexual dysfunction, and other issues. He seemed obsessed with finding many sex partners, rather than spending time seeking love. 

He repeats himself, which is also a complaint he has about seniors. More, later.