Things that make you feel old

Unless you're confident you bring in 3x the viewers that the "30s" do, I'd be cautious about tempting fate. Or your GM.

 

When Randy Johnson pitched his perfect game at 40, I remember calling my friend and saying that's the last time a guy older than us will ever do anything remarkable in baseball again.

 

Ralph Macchio will turn 55 in a few weeks.

 

Oh I know...

The blade will, eventually, get me. The key to survival is never be the highest paid person in a newsroom. I'm fourth.

 

For the time being, there is value to bring the only grown up. I'm at peak earning for my market in what I do.

However, I'd be willing to take slight cuts over the next half-dozen years to stay until our kids are out of school.

Then I'm bustin out for a beach market.

I don't worry about making 3x what the newbies make because ownership and the GM recognize that I have the institutional knowledge. Always strive to provide more value than you make.

What I do worry about... is when a competing anchor in the market - who is good - gets fired for whatever reason. That person, in a year, would be willing to work for half my salary... and THAT can become very attractive for a GM.

 

It's funny, in academia (especially at research-oriented institutions) it is quite common ... it's the norm, really ... for the newly hired assistant professors to be the highest-paid people in the department/college. We hired a guy a couple of years ago, I bet he makes half again what I make.

 

I think I posted this elsewhere but it applies here:
Me and a high school friend went to Dallas for the USC-Alabama game and we met another classmate there. We are all in our mid-60s. The Dallas Trojan Club had organized a pub crawl, 5 bars, 5 hours, all within walking distance. We were a bit late so we went right to the second pub, then the third, then the fourth, then headed for the fifth. At midnight, the fifth pub had 200 people in line to get in, so we blew if off and went to another bar, not on the tour, a block away.
We're sitting there drinking beers and about 1 a.m., this 25-ish cutie comes up to my friend. She puts her arm around him and says, "The whole bar is talking about how cool you guys are."
Friend says, "Well, thanks, but why do you think we're cool?"
She says, "Because you're old and you're still here drinking right along with us."
All he could do was laugh and say that we definitely raised the average age of every bar we went to.

 

Bought my first tube of Aspercreme last month, which makes me feel like I'm turning into my late grandmother, with nothing to look forward to in life but occasional Art Linkletter specials on TV.

 

Clicked on this to post about how old I was feeling then I read the whole litany of you old farts.
Thanks! I feel better about myself now!

I will point out that if the "That 70s Show" concept debuted today as opposed to back in 1998, it would be set in 1995.

Mmmm, Mila Kunis.

 

And you have Lawrence Welk on EVERY SATURDAY, too!!!!

 

Thank you, boys.

 

Mmmmm .... Geritol. For Tired Blood.