My friend and coworker, Susan, dropped me a note inquiring if I had seen Dear Abby on Friday. Some 61-year-old guy identifying himself as Younger in Oklahoma wrote a letter complaining about his wife's gray hair. He said, "In my eyes, she represents our youth and vitality, which suddenly isn't feeling so youthful or vital since her roots started showing."
Not to sound like one of those persons who suggests that everything was better in the old days but Dear Abby certainly was. The new Abby just doesn't cut it. Her lame response was a quote from Benjamin Franklin about all cats being gray in the dark. You can read the whole thing here. It's the last letter; scroll to the bottom.
Here's my response. I tried to keep it short and pithy, since that's what the old Abby would do.
Dear Younger in Oklahoma,
Your youth is gone. Get over it, buster. Vitality is the option to aim for as you age, but you can't buy it, dye it or marry it. You earn vitality by how you choose live your life. Noodle on that for awhile, and quit grousing about your wife's gray roots. She didn't turn you into an old man.
Donna
