Last week I went to see Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy.

The movie, by the way, was interesting. Very period with a cool pace and if Gary Oldman doesn’t win an Oscar it’s a real shame, but that’s not the point of this post.

The entire theatre, at 3:20 when I took my seat, was filled with seniors.

It was insane.

I was the only person in the theatre under 55 easy. I actually had to move before the movie started because these two women were talking on their mobile to a friend who was running late. They just kept chatting away all through the previews.

They seemed like lovely women, but “Ladies! It’s a movie. Don’t you think the whole Silence is Golden thing applies to your generation?”

I moved because I didn’t want to have to strangle them. They eventually met their friend and settled down five minutes into the movie. Sigh.

Later driving home I thought about how many seniors there are and will be in the next 5-10 years.

I’m a child of a Boomer, I think I’m generation…yeah, I don’t know but there are like 10 of us sandwiched in between the Boomers and the generation below me.

The point is there are a lot of seniors in movie theatres, driving in big cars, in the grocery stores…they’re everywhere.

They take longer and they don’t often follow the same rules everyone else does, but there was something about sitting in a theatre filled with that generation.

A generation that could completely relate the time period in the movie. A generation learning to use an iPhone and clearly not well versed in texting.

About six years ago we lived in an old neighborhood. Our house was built in 1955. We love the landscaping, but it was so hard to maintain and sometimes drove us nuts.

Our neighbors had the most beautiful pecan tree in their back yard. About a year after we moved in they cut it down.

The tree was well over 50 years old and they just cut it down and had it hauled off.

I was so upset. The tree was part of the history of our neighborhood, it was there before any of us arrived.

I mentioned it to our neighbor and she said, “It was just a mess and so hard to take care of. We are so happy to be rid of it.”

I thought about that when I left the movies and decided I’m alright with all of the beautiful pecan trees I shared the theatre with.

I’m okay if they’re messy and not always easy to deal with because they are my history, our history. I will not promise that they won’t drive me absolutely crazy, but I will promise to respect and help preserve.

My thoughts from the laundry room. Doze off.

age expression life movies older thoughts Uncategorized age life people thoughts