Middle Ages--Part I

I am middle-aged. Surprise or no (it was for me), its true--I have officially and, oddly enough, proudly, entered the ranks of the no-longer-young. My first indication was my dissatisfaction with the radio show I have been listening to for more than a decade. The dj's continual rantings about the ugly new UTAH license plates really got on my nerves. Mike and I found ourselves asking each other at night "Can you believe how stupid the morning show has gotten?" Maybe, I submit, the morning show hasn't changed--I HAVE. Was I ever dumb enough to think this crap was entertaining? SERIOUSLY, who cares about organizing a political movement to bring back the old "Ski Utah" plates? While I actually agree with him about the plate, I just couldn't stomach another morning of the complaining.
Then there was the whole "I Kissed A Girl"/police incident. I was driving home from work in a residential neighborhood, while listening to the radio. A song came on the radio about a girl kissing another girl, tasting her cherry chapstick, and liking it. "SINCE WHEN DID THIS BECOME A LESBIAN RADIO SHOW?", I asked myself, checking the dial to be sure it wasn't on the wrong number. I was not titillated or aroused, JUST HORRIFIED. What if Maddy heard this? How the heck would I explain? THEN, I notice the sirens and flashing lights in my rearview mirror. I was going 28 in a 25 and the officer had been following me for 6 blocks. He gave me a ticket. I blame it on that song, that dj, and that station. And the fact that I am too old... (The fact that I don't blame the cop is yet another confirmation that I am getting O-L-D)

After a few brushes with AM radio, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other frighteningly ignorant radical talk radio hosts, I happily settled on the lower end of the FM dial, to National Public Radio. It used to irritate me that my "older" collegues would listen to NPR on their radios (low volume) at work. The other day I walked in to work, heard NPR and thought--"hey, I was just listening to that in the car, I wish he'd turn it up..." The evidence is incontrovertable. I'm old.