How old is old?
We could easily put signs like that up in our town: “The woods are as swampy, tick-filled and mosquito-infested as they were last night. Don’t try hiding in them, no matter how drunk you are.”
Anyway, it took town police, state police, three state police canine units, and a state helicopter (for one unfortunate who apparently got lost in said woods) to round up 62 individuals, all between 16 and 20. There’s going to be “some splainin to do” in my little town before school starts in September, of that you can be sure.
I’m telling you all this for two reasons. First, I want you to know that most people, 16-20, still run into the woods when cops appear. And none of them get away. Second, the ruse the teens tried to use on police was classic. It seems they posted a sign near the road announcing “Happy 50th (B-Day) Frank!!!”
Brilliant, eh? Like garlic to a vampire. A veritable force field against law enforcement. After all, 50-year-olds are ancient and honorable citizens with barely enough strength to lift a beer to their lips, much less do anything wild or unlawful. Why would police investigate, oh, 30 cars parked along the street and Lady GaGa blasting into the summer night with a sign like that to deter them?
It might just as well have announced a “Wake for the late Ebeneezer, age 110. Disregard the loud music.”
So, how old is old?
Recently I read an interview that the Wall Street Journal’s Kara Swisher (on her Boomtown blog) did with Marc Andreessen, whom she referred to as a “
As a refresher, he founded Netscape and created Mosaic, a revolutionary product that launched the browser wars. Not to minimize Netscape’s impact or Andreessen's genius, but he eventually had his head handed to him by Microsoft (where a legend did reside) and the company disappeared. He then went on to found two companies—I’ll give you a second to think of them. . .
Right. I’ll help. Loudcloud (Opsware) and Ning. Legendary. Just like J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford.
Now at least we’re starting to bracket this age thing. Running cluelessly into the woods at 20; legendary at 38; ancient and honorable enough to ward off the cops at 50.
So, how old is old?
I mentioned last week that TechCrunch didn’t want to hear the opinions of Barry Diller and John Malone about Twitter since they were “already dinosaurs in a fast changing world.” Diller is 67. Malone is 68.
The guy who wrote the TechCrunch article is 39. Old enough to be legendary, at least in Silicon Valley. Yet I would put Diller or Malone up against him running any company, anywhere. Even a Web 2.0 company burning cash and without a business model. So would you.
Paul McCartney long ago worried about being 64, and he just turned 67. He may be worried these days, but not about turning 64.
Remember when the owner of the Red Sox, John Henry (age 59), married his 30 year-old fiancée earlier this year? (See here for related blog post.) Yet another guy not worried about turning 64 either, I’d wager.
Tom Watson is 59, too, I might add. He's more concerned about maybe shooting a 59.
In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman was 63 years old. When I read the book, I thought that poor old Willy was 163 years old. “After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive,” quoth Willy.
I hung out last week with two 64-year-olds. One runs a food production company, the other a real estate company. I would put them in charge of anything, anywhere, anytime. They’re too old to even qualify as Baby Boomers, and yet they’re hardly planning for retirement. Instead, they’re trying to figure out interesting things to do over the next 25 years. And they’ll kick your butt if you compete against them.
So, how old is old?
A century ago middle age began at 30. Old age started at 50.
In Sinclair Lewis’s 1922 Babbitt, George Babbitt was still selling real estate at the ripe old age of 46. He went on, if you remember, running into all kinds of woods, so to speak.
I know guys at 40 who are running marathons in 2:30 and at 50 who are running under 3 hours.
Yet, in John Updike’s Rabbit at Rest, Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom dies at 55, his life crumbling around him. He’s a mess and ready for the grave. Hardly able to lift a beer to his lips.
So, how old is old?
Remember Eric Hanson’s Book of Ages? (See here for related blog post.) Hanson told us Muhummad was 60 when he conquered
All of which leads to a few simple conclusions:
1. The new middle age starts at 45 and goes to 70. I know entrepreneurs at 55 who clearly have two or more deals left in them. Hard deals. That’s not crumbling like Rabbit Angstrom. They're a spry middle age.
2. You don’t give up at 70 by any means. (Look at Walter Conkrite.) I’m afraid, though, we’re still a biomedical generation too early to think of 70 as middle age. But it’s coming.
3. Every time you’re about to say “legendary,” try “iconic” first. The “iconic Michael Jackson.” The “iconic Marc Andreessen.” Kind of flows off the tongue, and preserves the (other) L-word for guys like George Washington and Babe Ruth. Or at least Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Oh, and Walter Cronkite.
4. If you’re 17 and attending an underage drinking party, try running down the street when the cops arrive. They will be so confused you are bound to escape. And then you, too, will be legendary.
5. Whatever Tom Watson is doing, try the same thing.
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