> Fifty is old? My mother's going to be sixty this
year and I still don't see her as old.

Exactly. My dad turned fifty-five last year and I
don't think of him as "old." And take Howard!
He's over the age of sixty, and I don't think of
him as "old" except in the sense that he's an
"old coot." (And lest someone chide me for
saying so, I believe those are his own words!)

Maybe perception of age isn't as much a
numbers game as we might think. Perhaps
it's more related to generational relationships.
I've always thought of my grandparents as
"old," even when they were only in their fifties--
maybe even more so back then because I
was so young. I doubt I'll ever think of my own
parents as old, even when I'm they're age and
they're in their eighties-- but I could be wrong
about that.