As an old man, I hear, "You look great... for 77." I want to ask, "What the hell were you expecting?" l now realize that they have certain expectations of how a man my age SHOULD look.

But I also had to realize that I had those same expectations. I was comparing myself to an internalized image of old age.

77 isn't the new 57. It is the new 77. They--and I--need to get used to it.