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The Joy Of Being A Little Ridiculous After 60 · Aging ain't for Sissies

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome to Agnee for Sissies.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Marcy and I am your host.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Woo! Okay, so one of the things lately that's happened to me is I'm leaning into my microphone and I'm giving you all I got, and I hit the spacebar on my um keypad, on my keyboard, excuse me, and it stops recording and I don't realize it.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: So now, not gonna happen.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: It happened on my unbottled podcast already this morning, and I'm not gonna do that again.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: I do want to welcome you to AGNA for Sissies.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Marcy, and today I would like to make an announcement.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: We have been responsible long enough and respectable.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Not all the times, perhaps, but enough to establish a record.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: We have shown up, filled out forms, brought appropriate shoes for appropriate occasions, said, that sounds lovely.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: When what we mean is that sounds like a very long afternoon.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And now I would like to have a little fun.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're talking about the joy of being a little ridiculous after 60.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: A little ridiculous.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: We're not proposing that you ride a shopping cart down the parking lot, although, Craig, every time we're in um IKEA, when we get down to the bottom level and they have those big carts, that man rides that cart through IKEA like he's 10 years old.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I love it.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: And when we've shopped with Alec the few times we have, and Alec grabs the two of them, honestly.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: But I love it because we're talking about the joy of being a little ridiculous after 60.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: I would like to, I would like you to finish the episode in the same general condition in which you began it.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So no craziness.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: What I'm talking about is where are the earrings you love, singing, even if your voice has not improved since high school, trying something because it looks enjoyable without first asking whether it is appropriate for your age.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Appropriate according to whom?
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: I need a name, people.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: I would like to speak to the person issuing the guidelines.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Somewhere along the way, adulthood got associated with being very sensible.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, sensibility has its place.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: I want sensible people working on the airplane, but at lunch, surely somebody can tell a silly story.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: This is our invert invertation, invitation to loosen up a little.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: No lecture, no improvement plan.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: At the end, I've got a listener challenge that is inexpensive, easy, and possibly embarrassing for about seven seconds.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can survive seven seconds.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: You survive much longer events with name tags.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: So please.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: I need to know who appointed the dignity committee.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I am doing this episode, and I am, and all of the people around me are very well aware that I am the youngest in my family.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm 65 at this point, and I still don't feel like a grown-up.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: So what I'm telling you, I already live.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I think my new group of friends here in Chicago, who are very fabulously brilliant, dignified women, have learned enough about me to know I'm not that girl.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I love being not that girl.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then stop to ask what that actually is?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Too old for what?
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Glittery shoes?
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Too old to learn a new dance?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Too old to film a TikTok?
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Too old to do a podcast?
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Too old to get excited about a silly movie.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, I went and saw that um the sheep detective with my friend Michelle.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: We went and saw it.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And everybody's like, oh and uh and I'm like, it's just a silly, ridiculous movie, but it was fun.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Too old to get excited about things.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: We should investigate these claims because some of them sound suspiciously like rules we inherited from somebody who did not enjoy themselves very much.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: There seems to be an imaginary dignity committee.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: It has no office, it publishes no minutes, and somehow has enormous influence.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: It whispers, at your age, whenever we get an interesting idea.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: At my age, yes.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: That is the age I currently have available.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I'm available with.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: If I want to do something silly, I am only available to do it right now at this age.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot schedule the fund for a different age.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: The booking system doesn't offer that option.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I would like to know why looking dignified is sometimes considered more important than having a good time.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: A dignified person can laugh, a capable person can be goofy, a grown woman can know exactly what she's doing and still choose the bright pink hat.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: We are a loud range.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yesterday I went to a luncheon, I got on the bus, and I had my giant um glittery candy corn bag, and I got more complicated compliments on my candy corn bag.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: And why not?
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm 65 and I'm on a bus with a candy corn bag.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Shoot me.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: We are allowed range.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Think about the people who enjoy you enjoy being around.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Is it always the person with the most careful image?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Or is it the person who lights up when something delights them?
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: The person who says, Oh, come on, let's try it.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: And makes an ordinary afternoon feel like an occasion.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm fond of those people.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: I want more of those people at the table.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't have to be the loudest one.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Ridiculous can be quiet.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: A pair of outrageous socks under ordinary pants.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: A melodramatic voice when you announce that dinner is ready.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: A tiny victory dance because the package arrived.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: What is wrong with a victory dance down in the lobby when you when I know that in that package is a great new blouse?
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody has to nominate you for stage production.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: You can simply enjoy yourself at whatever volume you enjoy.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: But please, enjoy yourself is the key.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the dignity committee used to sound like your mother.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it sounds like an old boss.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it comes in your own voice.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Wherever it came from, you can ask it to take a short break.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because you're going to do something undignified, in their opinion, not mine.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for your service.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: We'll call you if needed for seating arrangements.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're gonna have fun.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: And gonna is the word.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: The good outfit does not need a good occasion.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start with something wonderfully ordinary.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: The thing you love but keep saving, that colorful scarf, that marvelous jacket, the earrings that say, I did not come here to disappear.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: You take them out, admire them, and then you put them back waiting for the right occasion.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: How right does this occasion have to be?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Are we waiting for a written invitation from royalty?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes Tuesday is the occasion.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: You woke up on Tuesday, excellent.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Put on the earrings.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: There's a strange little rule that if we enjoy dressing up, we have to have a destination that justifies it.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: No, you don't.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm wearing, you know what I'm wearing today?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: I have a sweatshirt that looks like a mummy.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm wearing that to the gym today.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna wear it out to lunch.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: When I go out to lunch with my friend.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: You you can wear these crazy things to go get a loaf of bread.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: And too much is an interesting phase, right?
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's too much.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Too much, too much color, too much sparkle, too much personality.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: Compared to what?
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: A filing cabinet?
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Come on, people.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Wear the scarf.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Put on the earrings.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not encouraging you to buy a new wardrobe, but I know every single one of you out there has something in your closet that you think is just too much.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know that I drink out of holiday mugs all the time.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: I use my fancy dishes every day.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Do you?
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: How about that little handbag that cost a fortune that sits in your closet and you never take it out?
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Use it.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: It may not be efficient, but oh well.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Use it.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Come on.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: I am encouraging you to step outside that box you've put yourself in.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because remember, there is no committee.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: There are no minutes.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Prove it to me.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Prove it to me.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: I want to know who that committee is out there telling you you're being ridiculous.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes a little ridiculous is simply refusing to treat delight as something you must that must be earned.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: We were told in order to have fun you had to work first.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you're retired, and guess what?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: You don't work anymore.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're still working, it applies to you.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: When you're off the clock, who cares what you do?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: We don't need to finish every chore before the music goes on.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: Put the music on and do the chores.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: If we await for permission, we will be here forever.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk about trying something when you have absolutely no talent for it yet.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: That yet is optional, by the way.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: You might never develop talent.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: You might always, you might just enjoy the activity.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: What a scandal.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: You might just enjoy it.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: Somehow we've decided that if we take a class or learn a game, we should quickly become good enough to justify having started it.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: How many of you, I do want to learn mahjong, but I feel like I can't learn mahjong until I learn mahjong.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: Isn't that just stupid?
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Paint something that looks like the thing.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Dance in the correct direction.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Make a bowl that you can actually that can actually contain soup.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: But we may not be able to do that right away.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Does that mean we shouldn't do it?
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lovely amount of entertainment available before competency arrives.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine a beginner painting class.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody starts with the same instruction, and at the end, one person has painted a lovely tree.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Another person has painted something that could be a tree during a dramatic weather event, and the third has created a green structure that has never existed in nature.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: They can all have a wonderful afternoon, right?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: No one needs to issue a formal statement.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: I realize my tree does not meet professional standards.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Go out, enjoy.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Don't apologize for what you're doing.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: You can be an experienced adult and a beginner at something specific.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Those two things can coexist.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: Both things can be true.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know how to handle a complicated phone call.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: You don't know how to make a pottery handle.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Both are true.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: And nobody gets to take your adult membership because the handle falls off the mug.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: The same goes for games.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Learn the card game, ask how scoring works, ask again and again and again.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: People who explain a game sometimes act as though the rules were delivered to everyone at birth.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: No, they weren't.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I like to just play the game.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how I remember the rules.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Ask your questions, take your turn, laugh when you get it wrong.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Give yourself grace.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: All right, here's your listener question.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: What would you try if you didn't have to be good at it?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Not what would impress anybody.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: What looks like fun?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, I want you to keep that answer.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to need it for the challenge later.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure you have an answer.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: What would you try if you didn't have to be good at it?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to organize an enormous adventure.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes an ordinary outing needs one small twist.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Go to lunch and have everybody choose a made-up title.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Director of French fries.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Assistant secretary to dessert.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Commissioner of who ordered that.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: No costumes required, no paperwork.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Although if someone takes commissioner of dessert very seriously, I respect their dedication.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: Or have a color day.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody wears something yellow.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need matching outfits, just yellow.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Visit a place in your own town that you keep saying you'll visit someday.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Browse the little shop.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: Go see the inexpensive exhibit.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Sit somewhere new and invent gentle, ridiculous names for the pigeons.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: Haha.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Naming the pigeons while you're sitting on the bench, that's a good one.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to do that.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: That one looks like a Walter.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: That one over there absolutely runs the committee.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: There's a difference between being curious and creating complicated excursions.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'll tell you something that I do now.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: So because I look down when I'm walking because I don't want to trip, I noticed interesting things in the cracks in the sidewalk.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I started photographing them.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I've started a series of photographs called Sidewalk Cracks.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a crackhead, so to speak.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: It gives me more of a purpose for looking down than just trying not to kill myself.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: I take pictures of interesting things, and it started with a monarch wing and a crack in the city sidewalk.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I really don't take pictures unless I find it interesting.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's cigarette butts in every crack.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: This time of year, there's leaves.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it's made my walks more pleasant.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I put them up on my Instagram.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're doing something with friends, don't turn it into a production.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what I'm saying.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: We all have encountered the outing that says, Starchess, let's get a snack and develops and into planning a document.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Don't I'm proposing a manageable amount of silliness.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: You can be ridiculous and considerate at the same time.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very appealing combination.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: If you're on a tight budget, the Committee of Fun can work with that.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Put on music you have you already have.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Walk somewhere familiar and look for the most dramatic mailbox.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Give your dinner a grand restaurant name.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're serving the chef's elections.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's leftovers.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: The chef selected them because they were in the refrigerator.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: A valid process.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: The important ingredient is attention.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: Something ordinary becomes funny when you decide to play with it for a minute.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Play with your life.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Don't take it so seriously.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Let's address the complication.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: The people who love us and have expectations.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Some families are delighted when you try something silly.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Some will look at you and say, What are you doing?
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Now my kids expect nothing less than silliness from me.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: It is who I am.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: But your family may not.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to make a speech.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to convince everyone that the hat has artistic merit.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: You can say, I like it, and that's enough for me.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe your grown children will be embarrassed.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Well, good, embarrass them.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: How often did they embarrass us when they were little?
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and they've had years to become acquainted with you.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you are wearing a cheerful scarf to lunch, I believe they can adjust.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: But I also don't want to pretend we never feel self-conscious.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: Of course we do.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: And there can be foolishness and silliness in that.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe a little.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I'll call it out, you know, so that it's out on the table.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to become fearless.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can be a little nervous along the way.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: Start small, start privately, sing while you make coffee, practice that silly dance where nobody sees.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Wear the bright socks at home.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Put on the silly hat at home.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: Fun can have a small audience.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: One person is perfectly acceptable as your audience.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also in favor of finding the friend who meets your idea with tell me more instead of immediately listing what could go wrong.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: Every playful idea deserves at least a few seconds before the concerns arrive.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: They're exhausting concerns.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: Let's take a beginner class.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: What kind?
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: We can discuss parking afterwards.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: Parking has a way of becoming the main character of every event.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: So you'll want to do something, and everybody's like, well, how do I get there?
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: Where do I park?
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: Let's first plan the event and then we'll figure that part out.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: The things we loved before we got so sensible.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: I can I can remember playing on the street with my friends.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: I never thought about being sensible one minute of that day.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: What did you enjoy when you were younger?
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Before your need to justify itself.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: Not necessarily something you want to repeat exactly.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: What?
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, sorry.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: We don't need to recreate a whole decade, but maybe there's a clue in it.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Did you love dressing up when you were a kid, making up stories, dancing, drawing cartoons, putting on tons of costume jewelry, sing along with your records?
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Some of those pleasures are still available.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, they all are.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: They haven't been canceled.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: We've just canceled them.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because we're too old.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: And new pleasures count too.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't this is not a demand to become the person you were at 20 or 8.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: That person had different circumstances and possibly questionable shoes.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: I can't wear high heels anymore.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: You get to discover what delights the person you are now.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you thought you disliked games and discover that you like them.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: You just like them with less competitive people.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you never cared about flowers and now enjoy arranging, picking up a whole bunch of them at Whole Foods and arranging them.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Do it.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: Do it.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: Don't care if it's balanced.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you love the way it looks, enjoy.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: There is something wonderfully freeing about saying this makes me happy without immediate explain, immediately explaining why it's educational.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to improve your vocabulary or your mind.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: Some things everybody can just be fun.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Just be fun.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: And when we laugh, we don't have to make it about age.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: We can be funny people who happen to be over 60.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm freaking hilarious.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, I'm funny.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm 65 and I'm freaking funny.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: The joke can be about the terrible painting, the pompous pigeon, or the fact that the fancy handbag cannot accommodate a normal set of keys.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: We have plenty of material.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: Just look around.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: We need to make ourselves a we don't need to make ourselves a punchline every time.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: All right, I've got a challenge for you.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: Are you ready?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Here's your challenge.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Choose one small, harmless, slightly ridiculous thing and actually do it this week.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: One, I'm keeping the assignment reasonable.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: We have laundry.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Don't get carried away.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Wear the cheerful thing you keep saving.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: Try the activity you're willing to be bad at.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to a sound bath.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to a sound bath.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: I can't even get in the water, but I'm going.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to sit on the side.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: Put on a favorite song and sing the whole thing.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yesterday I was at a luncheon and remembered that Lion Sleeps Tonight song, and we all started singing a whimba whip, a wimba whip, oh the jungle, the mighty jungle.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: And we laughed and had so much fun.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody let their hair down.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: I loved that moment.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you're one of my friends that was at that luncheon, you have to admit that was pretty fun.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: Draw a picture and resist the urge to apologize for it.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: Pick something that fits your budget and your comfort.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: The challenge can be done sitting down at home, alone, with company, or without absolutely no audience.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: Spend your money is not part of the assignment.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: Here are the rules, and they're brief.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Don't hurt yourself.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: Don't make an unwilling person part of the joke.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: And don't turn the things into another chore.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: You do have to photo, you don't have to photograph it.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to prove you had fun.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: You don't even have to tell me.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: But if you'd like to, Marcy Backusmedia at gmail.com.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to hear it.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I did hear from one of my listeners last week, and I loved hearing from her.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: She gave me some great information, and I do enjoy and I do read your emails.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: You can tell me what you did or not.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: You can tell me if it worked and it didn't.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: You can tell me how you made it and made you feel.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: It all counts.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: Have you picked your thing?
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: If not, borrow this one.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: Use the nice teacup tomorrow.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Put on a song you love, and for three minutes, do nothing that needs to be useful.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: There.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: A very accessible start to a possibly ridiculous, ridiculous career.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: All right, everyone.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Before we go, I want you to think about the last time you laughed so hard you forgot to monitor how you looked.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: That is a delightful little break.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: We spend so much time being responsible, presentable, and reasonable, well behaved.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: I would like a little room for the laugh that comes out too loud, the enthusiasm that doesn't look polished, and the pleasure that belongs entirely to you.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have to become a completely different person.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: You can loosen one button in the very proper outfit of adulthood.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: And being a little ridiculous after 60 does not require somebody else's permission.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: You can decide what you enjoy.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: You can change your mind.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: You can leave the class knowing you'll never be a painter and still glad you went.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: Sounds like a good afternoon to me.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: So tell me, what would you try if talent weren't required?
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: What good thing have you been saving?
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: And what small ridiculous pleasure are you bringing into this week?
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: I am Marcy.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: This has been Aging A for Sissies.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Follow the show, share the episode with a friend who would gladly become Commissioner of Dessert.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: And come back for another conversation.