She gave me the meanest stare I've had in a while. I smiled
nervously and looked away, continuing my walk down the street, still
feeling her gaze burn into the back of me like a stab from behind. The
person in question was a small old lady, wrapped in around 2,000
blankets with a headscarf on and sat in a wheelchair. She was ancient
and wearing the type of glasses where each lense looks like the bottom
of a thick beer bottle, only serving to magnify her stare as it bored
into me. I could tell what she was thinking - 'impertinent youth'. Now I
can hardly be classed as a youth anymore, but I guess with my massive
wooly hat, scruffy jeans, huge Skullcandy headphones and an
over-the-shoulder satchel, she could have been mistaken. And afterall,
anyone would have appeared young compared to her.....
It
got me thinking though, when we reach that kind of age (if we do), and
we look at people in their young years, how will we think of them? Will
we long for those years back, mutter that youth is wasted on the young
and complain that people take their health for granted? People advise
that we should grow old gracefully, but to be honest, I don't think
anyone does! So much emphasis is placed on looks and being youthful,
that every single wrinkle and grey hair is attacked with about a million
advertising campaigns and products to destroy it!
So
there I was, walking as fast as possible away from this crazy old women
in a wheelchair who was giving every young person a look to rival the
type of harshness usually reserved for Victoria Beckham. I trundled
along with Kelis's 'Acapella' bouncing around my head from the
Skullcandy's and tried not to think too much about getting old. It's a
scary thought for me - I'm not up for it at all.
On a brighter note, I'm feeding my travel bug again soon!!