You know you're getting old when... : 06 (London)

 

I take the Tube at peak hours quite a lot.  I can’t always choose when to travel, as I move around London to go and heal people (giving massage and energy adjustment), or buy fruit and veg for, then deliver to, old people who cannot carry heavy items like apples and pears. 

    I try to be considerate to younger people by not expecting to be offered a seat (unless I’m loaded down with the said shopping).  This is because I’m still fit enough (though starting to go downhill a bit), while they’re tired from working all day.  I also feel that standing on my feet is good exercise for me as I’m sitting down at home practically all the time.

    As soon as I get into a crowded Tube carriage, I’ll stay in the corner by the door (as I’m not tall enough to strap-hang in the middle of the carriage), and turn my back to the rest of the compartment.  This is to avoid eye-contact so as not to guilt-trip people into offering me their seat.

    In the last year or so, I’ve found people leaping up as soon as I step in, even though I don’t carry a walking stick or any other clues to my age.  If they fail to see me initially but look up later and spot me from behind, they’ll pointedly approach me all the same, tapping me on my shoulder from behind or calling out to me.  So sweet, but it also shows how visibly old I have become, even though my hair is not totally grey (yet).

    A month or so ago, I developed an infection or allergy around my mouth.  

    The visual effect was like psoriasis, red and blotchy, so I started to wear a face mask even though Covid is generally not a threat anymore.

    The weather a few weeks ago was a bit cold, with highs of not far above 0˚C.  Being a septuagenarian, I now feel the cold a bit more than in my younger days, and also think that I should take more care, so I wore gloves and a woolly hat when I went out.  

    This means that only my eyes are visible in the slit between the woolly hat covering my forehead and the face mask over my nose (and mouth).  That is STILL enough for people to tell that I’m deserving of being offered a seat.  

    Ancient now, indeed — only took them a split second (before I turned my back to them after stepping inside) to tell I’m THAT old…

(London, 2024)