I am in a strange never never land age group. I’m pretty gray and old and have friends that are gray and old. I’ll call this group the Geezers (and I will put myself in this category). But I also have friends that are still in their 20’s and 30’s (or maybe even very early 40s). I’ll call this group the Youngbloods. I thought I’d write a bit about the differences I see from my viewpoint; there are many.
If I text my Geezer friends I can expect a response in let’s say…hours, maybe. If I text my Youngblood friends…immediate.
If I post something on Facebook that is extremely witty and funny I can expect my Geezer friends will have read it, chuckled to themselves and if I’m very fortunate they may have hit the Like button. The Youngbloods will (within minutes) one up me with a more humorous status response and may even follow it up with a text and/or an e-mail. They are always on. They are the ultimate Pavlov’s dog. Vibrate their phone and you’ll get a response because it is almost an appendage.
If I tweet something on Twitter (this is a rare occasion) then I can expect my Geezer friends will never see this comment. They don’t use Twitter. If I tweeted “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up. For real.” my Geezer friends would never be able to rescue me. It’s just one social network too many for them. Youngbloods will re-tweet my tweet (whatever that means) and I’ll also soon have new Youngblood followers that I’ve never heard of all within the next few minutes. And for sure one of them would soon be at my house to pick me up off the floor (#OldPeopleFalling – now trending).
My wife is now using some new thing called Pinterest. It seems to be a “chick” thing so there is no way I’m even checking it out. It lets her pin her interests so others know what she likes (recipes, home decor, crafts, etc.). Ah, hello? Home decor? No, I won’t be logging into Pinterest. But it looks like this is targeted at the Geezer tweener group that is online. I don’t think the Youngbloods use recipes. They go out to eat. And I doubt they even have a home to decorate. So no sharing of that type of information on Pinterest for this group.
I sometimes find that my occasional addiction to wasting time online is “so annoying” to use my daughter’s vernacular. And I think it’s only because not all my Geezer friends are engaged. We all start to get into it, get bored or annoyed and then go away. Then we wonder what we’re missing so we go back. But eventually what I see happening in the future for me is to start using my cell phone to actually make calls again. That will be so crazy. I’ll actually be talking to people again (instead of hitting that volume button sending you to v-mail when you call so I can then turn around and just text with you instead). I suppose the only way I’ll know what has happened this past year is via people’s Christmas card poems. That wouldn’t be so bad, would it? The only things I’d miss are the Packer/Falcon/Giant football banter and the occasional crack me up post from a Geezer friend or two (you know who you are).
The irony of writing all this is that it is via a blog that goes into the Internet never never land and, unless forced, will never be seen by my Geezer friends. I get tons of views and I’m sure many are from my Youngblood friends and those new Twitter followers that I hopefully will never meet in person. I know people enjoy it as a few of my Geezer friends actually tell me or my wife this in person verbally. Its not like I don’t get comments (thanks Guru, thanks Mom) but it is cool to actually talk to people about it vs. most bloggers (who are likely upstart Youngbloods) who go back and forth with strangers via the web. Stranger comments would be “so annoying” too.
Running Update: I’m officially in Hal’s half marathon training program now. I chose the “intermediate” plan because I’m so far beyond that “novice” stage. All it really means is go run five days a week instead of four and mix in some speed work. Speed work is running really fast around a 400 meter track with jogging in between. This particular plan has it so I start with 5 x 400 and work my way up to 10 x 400 before the Nashville half marathon in April. No problemo.
Speaking of Hal, I have to admit that I got into it with him a bit over e-mail. He’s writing some article on the new Boston Qualifier standards and had asked for comments. I think I may have pissed him off when I fired off a long-winded e-mail and said trying to figure it out makes my head spin in confusion like the Aflac duck. Guru says he may just be getting testy in his Geezer age but I think I really ticked him off. I hope we can mend fences. I’d hate to do all this work leading up to April 2015 and then have Hal blackball me.
Anyone that is interested and up for it, a group of us are running the Silver Comet 10K on March 10th. Supposedly you can get a good qualifying time for this summer’s Peachtree 10K. However, I am just in it for the apres run party at my friend’s house near the finish line. And of course, the offer is always open to join the fun in Savannah this fall. So far, I have convinced five newbies to do the marathon with me. Just let me know and I’ll get you some details. The more the merrier in the Savannah apres run haunted pub crawl.
Still only 38 months and 26.2 miles to go…
Boston or Bust! 
I do not consider you a “Geezer” … you are still a Youngblood to me. And, running marathons almost once a month is not for “old” people!
Yes, I am a Geezer and you decribed me perfectly. I will never “tweet” and I would love to have a phone conversation with real people and not have to type anything!
I am a Geezer and would like to know what “apres” means without asking my wife. For the most part I agree with your synopsis but must say “speaking” is definitely a lost art.