As we age our bodies start to react to the wear and tear of life. One morning we realize that groaning we hear as we get out of bed is coming from us. The aches and pains become old friends, suddenly we realize the great satisfaction our fathers got from making those same groaning noises and we find them equally liberating. But one thing that doesn’t get worn out or stop working as we age is our sense of humor.

Comedian George Burns, who lived to age 100 and only stopped performing after a fall two years earlier in 1994, was better known in the last 20 years of his life than he had been at any other time. George Burns became the symbol of aging well: keen wit, sharp mind, active and involved in life and still working at what he loved best.

Simply from a great respect for the man, the performer and because his material is still as funny as it was when it was new, I present these examples of his ageless humor (pun intended).

“Retirement at sixty-five is ridiculous. When I was sixty-five I still had pimples.”

“By the time you’re eighty years old you’ve learned everything. You only have to remember it.”

“You know you’re getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you’re down there.”

“When I was a boy, the Dead Sea was only sick.”

“People ask me what I’d most appreciate getting for my eighty-seventh birthday. I tell them, a paternity suit.”

“I was always taught to respect my elders and I’ve now reached the age when I don’t have anybody to respect.”

“I’m going to stay in show business until I’m the last one left.”

“Age to me means nothing. I can’t get old; I’m working. I was old when I was twenty-one and out of work. As long as you’re working, you stay young. When I’m in front of an audience, all that love and vitality sweeps over me and I forget my age.”

~ George Burns ~ January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996

We all remember Art Linkletter, beloved for his famous House Party and his Kids who said the Darndest Things. At 94, it’s Art who is saying the darndest things.

In his new book called How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life (co-written with Mark Hansen), he explores the “Art” (small pun) of aging. Far from the carefully worded questions to schoolchildren that he once delivered, this book is honest and forthright in dealing with the issues of older adults, including sex.

You can read an excerpt from his book at Grandtimes dot com.

June Allyson, star of stage, film and television, has died at the age of 88, her daughter announced on Monday.

Millions will remember June Allyson as the “girl next door”, the image of the perfect sweetheart and wife. The personal struggles never showed through that engaging smile.

Born Ella Geisman in New York on October 17, 1917, her childhood abruptly came to an end when at the age of 8 she was crippled in a freak accident when a tree limb fell on her. Her father having abandoned the family, her mother battled on alone to pay for medical bills and therapy. June struggled bravely and not only walked but learned to dance and started out upon a career that would span six decades.

For the past 20 years, June has been known to television viewers as the spokeswoman for Depends, a product for adult sufferers of incontinence. But she was much more than a mere paid spokeswoman. Kimberley-Clarke, the makers of Depends, established The June Allyson Foundation that supports research into the causes and treatment of adult incontinence with grants for research and educatioin programs.

June passed away in her home in Ojai, California on July 8, 2006.

Judge Judy thinks that Baby Boomers are in control of the world, and they just have to understand how to tap into that power.

 ”Baby Boomers run the world. People who are 55 and over don’t buy a Chevy. Most of the guys driving the little black Porsches have gray hair or no hair.” Baby Boomers have the dough, she explained, but “they don’t know how to exercise this kind of power.” To help empower her generation, the judge is considering launching a “gossipy high end” magazine.
Judge Judy

Apparently Judge Judy is more interested in how Goldie Hawn feels about being a grandmother?  (Is that really possible?  Wasn’t Goldie the bikini-clad icon on Laugh-In in the 60′s?)  Judge Judy may have a point because our age group hold a disproportionate amount of the wealth in this country.  But does that mean we are financially prepared to retire?  We may have clout, but what are we going to do about it?

 Baby Boomers!  You’re Still Relevant – Claim Your Power