Informality

A little while ago I asked you, Mr. Ayres, how old you were. I had innocent enough motives, simply wondering how old you were because you were getting your PhD and I knew someone getting there’s, so I wanted to compare the ages. However, when you were asked, you wouldn’t tell me. I wasn’t offended by this, not everyone likes to share their age. But then I began thinking about the reason you wouldn't want to share your age. Normally the people who don’t are older and uncomfortable with the fact that they are getting so. You don’t look old though, and unless your one of those creepy Palm Springs wives who enjoy immense amount of plastic surgery, I doubt you are old. So why not share your age?
Seeing as how the first option didn’t fit, I moved onto the second which is the fact that you’re my teacher, and some teachers don’t like to share their age either. But those are usually the ones who were taught to respect their elders, and were made to be polite, and now, like some sort of bitter senior whose head was shoved in the toilet freshman year, demand the same respect simply because they can. But you don’t strike me as one of those types either.
So either I’m wrong and you are a plastic surgery addicting trophy wife, or a spiteful, sour man, or maybe even a combination of the two, or there is another reason. When I asked you why you wouldn’t tell me how old you were, you responded with a joke. Usually when people respond with a joke its because they feel insecure, and this is their way of hiding it. You may be an insecure person, I can see that more than the other two options, but I don’t think is the reason for the joke because you joke about everything I have talked to you about.
So why?
I asked some people who I know that are older than me, a few teachers, a few fellow employees( I refrain from using the term colleagues because it hardly seems suitable for the Culvers profession), a few old people I wanted to offend, you know, just to see what they would say. Everyone I asked answered, unabashed by the response they gave.
Isn’t it amazing the transition of a culture. What would have been deemed and inappropriate question 30 years ago is completely commonplace today. And why is that? Is it because kids today are ungrateful little brats? Yes. That’s what I would attribute it to. Are parents were druggies, at least some of them, not mine unfortunately, and they grew up wanting a more relaxed world, and when they didn’t make us respect them, we didn’t.
But why?
As I give thought to the matter, I find four causes for the apparent misery of old age: first, it withdraws us from active accomplishments; second, it renders the body less powerful; third, it deprives us of almost all forms of enjoyment; fourth, it stands not far from death.
-Cicero