Are we in denial? Or is track just our destiny?
Some people can’t figure out why we run, jump and throw past the “good years.” An old Kansas journalist/author friend of mine, Rich Louv, tried to puzzle out why his fellow baby boomers do what they do. Rich’s latest column in The San Diego Union-Tribune raises some fascinating issues. And he says: “Like a lot of baby boomers, I figure that aging is a bad policy, so I don’t do it. Denial is destiny.”
Further, Rich writes:
“Here’s the good news about my generation. Most boomers don’t act or look old. We’re enjoying our peak earning years, so why should we get special treatment in a restaurant or a movie theater? After all, 50 is the new 30, and 60 the new 40, right? Well, kind of. Boomers want youthfulness, but on our own terms.”
One great example of this what-the-heck ethic is M50 Bob Crites, a masters vaulter in Texas whose claims to fame include no-heighting at masters nationals, the Reno PV Summit and even the 2003 worlds.
Doug “Bubba” Sparks shared a link showing Bob’s backyard vault set-up.
Bubba writes: “I’ve updated this section with Bob Crites. He’s got a great facility but he also sent me photos of his back yard from 1967-70. THAT is priceless!!”
And so is Crites and all his altitude-with-attitude friends.
So what’s wrong with denial?
Better than the alternative.
One Response
Funny I should read this today, when I was contemplating the fact that I’m no longer 18. Here’s a great comment from a friend with whom I ran track in college –when he viewed my “in-action” pictures from the Indoor Nationals in Boston, he replied, “I love to see a 45 year old woman sacrificing her body in the name of track and field.”
Here’s to future sacrifices.
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