Did you catch the Barbara Walters special on aging? It was entitled, Live to 150, Can You Do It? and featured a number of very interesting facts about how life span is extending well past 100.
In fact, there are 84,000 people over 100 now and its said to be the fastest growing segment of the population.
Live to 150, Can You Do It? The special explored the amazing discoveries scientists are making about how to extend our lifespans.
Growing a new heart used to be science fiction, but now it's being done in the lab.
The show implied that in the future we'll be able to trade up for new parts just like fixing the car.
Personally, I found the program a bit disappointing and misleading.
Why? A couple of reasons that I'm happy to share.
Old is Beautiful First reason, the program felt more like a condemnation of aging than a joyous celebration of the wisdom and virtues that we accrue with age.
We need every year we have alive to grow into our best selves.
And if that's true, then, the more years the better, I say.
But I guess more people side with Ben Franklin who said, "All would live long but none would be old.
" The Dorian Gray Effect Remember the story of Dorian Gray? He was a young man who traded his soul so that he could stay young and beautiful while his picture aged.
That's the other reason I didn't care for the show.
The subtext said 'whatever it takes to stay young'.
The interviews with the couple that practice calorie restriction and the man who takes skads of supplement pills daily were particularly filled with a grim determination.
I'm all for exercise and good diet to stay in shape and prolong my active years, but that was too much.
In case anyone has forgotten death is not optional.
No matter how hard we work to add more years, eventually there is an end.
And, personally, I say amen to that.
End of rant.
Serial Marriage Back to my favorite topic: marriage.
The part of the program that really caught my attention was near the end when they posited a few guesses about romance and marriage at over 100.
According to Barbara, when longevity extends people may turn to serial marriages.
That means you might have one partner for each life phase: young adulthood, adulthood, mature adulthood and centenarian- that's over 100.
Crazy idea, huh? Especially when you consider we already practice of form of serial marriage.
It's called divorce and remarriage.
And, there used to be a stigma about being married too many times, especially for women who may be judged as unstable or floosies as my Gram would say.
Maybe it won't matter because all your friends will be on their sixth marriage, too, if they live that long! If you knew you were going to be married to your spouse for 100 years total, what would you change?