I am old.
Want to know how I know this other than by doing the math?
Here’s a little trick some of you may already know about. Those like me who have long been thought by others to be “morning people” and personally labeled as an “early bird” (just ask my wife of 57 years, who happens to be a late riser and “night owl”) are getting to where 9 p.m. now feels like midnight.
That’s old.
Want to know what 9 p.m. feels like to my wife, who’s the same age as I am? It still feels like 9 p.m., or what she might call “prime time.” However, for her 9 a.m. feels more like 6 a.m. and so she knows aging from the other side of the time-spectrum.
So here, then, is a question. What would you expect to happen when you go and stage a debate between an old “night owl” like Trump and an old “early bird” like Biden at, say, 9 p.m.?
Take a guess.
Which of the two old men will come off looking much, much older at such a time of day (well, night in my case)?
As an old man who still works a fairly full schedule most days in my profession as a mental health therapist, I start at 9 a.m. when I’m at my prime and make every effort to end my work day by 6 p.m., when I’m no longer ready for prime time. I would contend that “prime time” for people of most any age runs for about 8 hours, but that when old people aren’t ready for prime time they really ARE NOT READY for prime time.
Next question.
Which 8 hours is prime time?
For some of us geezers, I’m guessing from many years of experience that those 8 hours come early. For other geezers, I’m guessing they come late. So, if you’re out to make me………or some other geezer like Biden or Trump, for that matter………look especially good or especially bad, just arrange a debate at an hour when we are no longer ready for prime time.
I promise you 9 p.m. for a debate stage would convince you that I was ready for the memory care unit down at my local, neighborhood long-term care center. If given a choice of therapists to consult re. your most difficult of concerns, you would not likely stay with me if our first session began at 9 p.m. In fact, you might be suggesting names of other therapists for me to talk to about my own problems!!
So there is that.
But here is an important reality for American voters to grasp ahead of our upcoming 11/5/24 election of global import: is POTUS a job where meetings are most likely scheduled earlier in the day or later in the evening? Is it better to have someone who’s at top of their game after the sun comes up and the cabinet members are scheduled to begin their briefings, or someone else after the sun goes down and the X followers are primed to begin their readings?
Like many others, I think the American Presidency is a job best suited for one who is at least marginally ready for non-prime-time performance, given its 24/7 level responsibility. Yes, with age come wisdom in many (certainly not all) cases, but with my own mind/body serving witness, so does fatigue.
Want to catch me babbling like an rapidly aging idiot? Call me sometime at midnight with your list of questions……………er, I mean call me at 9 p.m.
Btw, it’s now 1 p.m. as I post this. My sweet spot! Way ahead of my sundowning so I shouldn't sound quite so ancient.
Comments