IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO, BUT…
(…even if you live longer, you can still prosper…maybe)

In an article recently published in the –Atlantic – magazine, a Dr. Zeke Emmanuel declared his viewpoint that neither we, nor medical science, should spend so much time and effort to extend life much beyond 75 years. An arbitrary figure, no doubt, but at least more generous than what the Solyent Green folks allowed… back in those days.

His reasoning for his viewpoint is because, after 75 years of fair wear and tear, our systems have reached their natural limits; and, to use an automotive industry analogy, it’s the point at which our manufacturer’s warranty expires, leaving us on our own going forward from there. That is, the maintenance and repair costs to maintain our quality-of-life beyond that point begin to mount exponentially, to rapidly exceed whatever blue-book value any of us may still have.

Extending that automotive analogy a bit further, however, if we keep on keeping on beyond 75, we could consider ourselves as the human equivalents of the following categories: * As a functioning “used car”, even if our odometer has turned over…a couple of times. * If divorced, or surviving a spouse, able to claim a slight bump up in status from that to “pre-owned”, meaning, detailers have expertly managed to preserve our show room appearance, even if we’re creaking in some of our joints. * Further along we then phase into what folks call the “classic” stage. Something to be oohed and aahed at as we tool along at a sedate rate just under any speed limits. * Finally, we arrive at that ultimate high-end class called “antique, or vintage”, worthy of six figure bids at a Sotheby’s concours d’elegance auction.

Thus, to paraphrase the lyrics of a song in Gershwin’s – Porgy & Bess -…it ain’t necessarily so…but if you live longer you can still prosper…maybe. Of course, since I’m well past Dr. Emmanuel’s ideal life limits, that makes me what he calls an “outlier”. Whether that qualifies me for any prize for “elegance”, or, worth one of those six figure bids at Sotheby’s, I’ll have to leave for others to decide.

For my part, at the rate friends and kin seem to be fading away, all I can say is I’m starting to feel like one of those tall lone pine trees left standing…in a patch of clear-cut forest land.

C’est la vie!

CENTURION