The Jack Benny Year

When I turned 33 it was called The Jesus Year among my friends. It turned out to be an awesome year. I was swept off my feet by the man I married. This year I'll turn 39, The Jack Benny Year, in honor of the man who never aged. I'll be pushing 40 for 365 days. I don't drink much but at this point, I don't want to walk up to a cashier and not get carded. Last time I got carded and I sort of want to quit while I'm ahead. Just feels better.

Two months ago I was standing at a bus stop and struck up a conversation with the girl standing next to me. She was telling me about her major and how she hated what she picked but she'd be sticking with it because at 25 all she wanted was to get out of college and graduate. Then she asked me what my major was. I told her I was not a degree seeker and had a nice little job. She then asked how old I was. For those few nano seconds, confronted with my age, I found myself trying to swallow the fact I would be pushing forty this year. It was not a reality until that moment. Do I tell my real age or make one up? I finally understood those people who hated to divulge their real age. The number just doesn't feel right, in fact, the number feels very wrong.

Geez, I'd been employed almost two decades, was born into a world that still had John Lennon, rotary  telephone booths and was a good fourteen years old when I worked with a computer for the first time. It was a brand new Commodore (very ancient now) that used a cassette for storage. I told her I was pushing forty. Let's be honest, what the hell is two months. No sooner did that sentence escape me that I thought, I might as well start saying I am forty, to get used to it and comfortable with the idea that I'll be in my fourth decade of life. Anyway, much to my surprise, her eyes got huge and she said, (get this) she actually said, "I thought you were nineteen!", Hahaha I laughed out of real genuine relief, happiness, whatever, it was a good thing, it was a really supermegauberfanatastic thing. Yeah, my new best friend in the whole world thought I was nineteen. Feeling really high on things and I'm sure grinning ear to ear, I managed to eek out polite doubt and said, "Aw c'mon, nineteen? Really? Nineteen, oh no way, I really look my age." I totally felt like Jack Benny in one of his skits. Then she said, "Well, maybe you look 20 or 21, at the most 23..." I had to shut her up, why have it all ruined. Out in broad daylight, little make-up on, no sunglasses, not feeling my absolute best,  she had guessed nineteen after looking straight at me for several minutes. I'll be holding on to that for a very long time.

I could tell she was starting to study my face really close but the bus arrived and I picked a seat next to someone else. I didn't want to see her to continue to stare. She got off the bus and I gave her a real huge smile and a wave and said, "Thank you so much, totally made my day!" I run into her from time to time, just in passing, but when I do I smile and wave (keeping my distance a bit, teehee) but seeing her is an absolute lift.