Commentary On Getting Old

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A Q&A web site posted the following question pertaining to getting old. Below is my response:

"QUESTION:

What is old age to you?

We have heard 40 is the new 30, but yet I think "old" seems to always stay the same distance for me. At 25 I thought 50 was old, at 35 I thought 60 was old, now I have hit 50, 75 is old.I know true age is more a matter of mind, but I would love to know how old you are and at what age you think you will be old."

MY ANSWER:

I took a fall on the ice a few winters ago in front of the Middle School and 2 dozen 5th graders. The fall didn't hurt nearly as much as the laughter and the subsequent whispers later that year, "There goes that old guy again, do you think he might fall?"   He looked just like a helicopter!

I took a nap out in the wildlife refuge in a beautiful stand of aromatic pines. When I awoke I found two huge turkey buzzards staring at me intently from their perch nearby. I had known I was getting older but had not realized I had reached the carrion stage.

I reported a pollution spill in the Vermilion River and the Minneapolis paper picked up the story. A reader commented on the web site that the Minnesota pollution control program had now been relegated to an "Old Guy" in a vets home. 

I feel fine about getting old. It's how I am perceived by others that bothers me.

Vets home resident says Rose’s claim to get money back is unfounded

When reading the story linked above, please recall the following:

As the Hastings Gazette has previously reported, there are 3 important differences between Mr. Rose and Mr. Weeks:

1. Mr. Rose was denied his citizenship by his country for a period of 4 years. His country later admitted the error and reinstated it, only after Mr. Rose acquired his file under the Freedom of Information Act on his own, located a lawyer on his own and worked on his case with legal counsel which he acquired on his own.

2. Mr. Rose is 70 years old and was denied his rightfully paid social security for a period of almost 4 years due to the government error on his citizenship status.

3. Mr. Rose has never filed for any kind of disability, worked for over 40 years in this country and paid his taxes during that period.

Rose Covered Glasses - The Book

"Rose Covered Glasses" by Tony Rose is now available as a free download from the Box Net Cube in the Right margin of this site.

The Vietnam Era Veteran fought and won a 4 year battle with the Federal Government to affirm his citizenship and obtain his social security, which had been falsely denied. The book contains some of his best satirical writings over the last few years.

VETERAN TONY ROSE NOW HAS US CITIZENSHIP

After a nearly 4 year battle with the Departments of Immigration, Homeland Security and Social Security, the US Government has conceded that Mr. Anthony Aldo Rose who served in the US Navy during the Vietnam Era and worked in this country for 40 years, in fact never left the country, is an American citizen and can draw his Social Security Pension.You may recall his story as covered by the Pioneer Press and the Hastings Gazette last year. The blog on his struggles with the Feds is at:

http://rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.com/2007/11/help-for-us-navy-vet-without-country.html

Our thanks to Pro Bono Lawyer Stella Mednick, who we met through "Linked In", for her untiring efforts on Tony's behalf.

Below is the link to the St. Paul Pioneer Press coverage of the Citizenship Ceremony:

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_13828521?nclick_check=1