In 100 Years

     My dad recently had surgery, and when he commented how old he felt, the nurse said that, with her help, he'd live to be 100. Even though she was joking, it may not be long before this is a reality.

Life expectancy for Americans by 2050 will surpass government projections by as much as eight additional years for women and five for men...Forty years from now, women will live 89.2 to 93.3 years; and men, 83.2 to 85.9 years — driven by ongoing advances in both treatment of major fatal diseases and slowing of the aging process — according to the report in a journal of health and health policy, The Milbank Quarterly. People to Live Longer, Healthier Lives

I drove home from the hospital, thinking about what I would do with 100 years. And the more I thought about, I realized I wouldn't even want 100 years. I know this is easy for me to say at 18 years old. I'm healthy and, barring any freak accidents or new developments, probably far from meeting my maker. While I'm happy that people in the future will live longer, and probably have better quality of life in their last years, living to 100 would not be good for me.

    First, the longer you live, the more time you have to acquire more cats.

    Secondly, I don't want to have to spend an inordinate amount of time wallowing in the next generation's questionable taste in music, fashion, and entertainment. Every parent througout history has complained about their kids' lack of propriety, morals, etc. Our parents, who lament our lack of respect, were once themselves lamented. Generation X, a term used to refer to people born in the 1960s and 1970s,

was coined as a result of a 1964 study of British youth by Jane Deverson...The study revealed teenagers who "sleep together before they are married, don't believe in God, dislike the Queen and don't respect parents". Generation X

 Face it, your children's cartoons, if they even still watch TV in the future, will never be as funny as the ones you watched as a kid. If I lived a to be 100, I'd see more changes and wish everything would just go back the way it was when I was a kid.

    Lastly (and seriously), if I thought I'd have 100 years to live, I'd procrastinate because I'd think there was always tomorrow.