By Staff
As I have aged, I have come to realize that youth is wasted on the young. They have no idea how good what they have really is, and they are not taking full advantage of it. They also are not taking good enough care of something they’ll wish they had in 30 or 40 years.
I’m all for looking good, even though I don’t. You can bet I try to appear as youthful as possible. Yes, I color my hair. My hair is now seen in beautiful Technicolor (three colors: brown, dark blonde and plenty of gray) because of my handy at-home coloring jobs. I’ve decided that I need to let it rest for a while so the tri-color look is just going to have to do for now.
Yes, I also wear make-up. I stick to what I know and it’s doing pretty good for now. I try to use colors that would be natural for a 20-something year old woman. I’ll admit though the makeup is not quite doing its job. I don’t look 20-something, but I’ll keep using the makeup just in case it should start working at some point.
I also wear high heels. Not the pointy kind that June Cleaver and Samantha Stevens wore, but the kind that are a little easier on your feet. I’m thinking my ability to remain upright (most of the time) on a heel higher than 2 inches gives me the appearance of being young. Please don’t tell me it’s not working because the pain I’ve endured on my feet and in my back from wearing those heels has to be worth something.
I wear glasses now because my 40-something eyes don’t see the things they used to see — at least not up close. I’m thinking about getting contact lenses. At least if I wore contacts everyone might assume that I’m young because I’m not wearing glasses. It could work.
I’ve explained all of this to broach another subject. Although I have no problem with coloring my hair, putting on makeup, wearing high heels and considering contact lenses to try and keep young looking, I have drawn the line on what I’m willing to do to achieve my goal.
Unless it is ordered by a physician somewhere, you can bet I won’t be going under the knife for any reason — especially to try and appear youthful.
I’m not against plastic surgery, face-lifts and the like, but it’s just not for me. I don’t even like to chop onions for fear that I might cut myself, so you can bet I won’t voluntarily ask anyone to start hacking away on my face or my backside.
What really got me to thinking about all of this was an episode of a show on television where famous people dance with people who know how to dance.
I was flipping through channels one night and happened upon the show. The show I saw had Wayne Newton, Mr. Las Vegas, dancing on the show. I only have one question for Mr. Las Vegas: What were you thinking?
I realize that someone who has a career in television and other entertainment arenas probably wants to appear as youthful as possible. I can understand that. However, I think there should be a limit to what you do to achieve that goal.
His eyes look like almonds and what may have been a full head of hair now looks like a receding hairline. I’m sure that’s because the skin on his face has been pulled and tugged so much that it has left what we see. Yes, his skin is nice and smooth with no sagging chin or bags under his eyes, but to be honest, what I saw kind of scared me a little.
Another famous face is showing some signs of a little too much attention from the man in the white coat with a knife. Have you seen Kenny Rogers lately? Well, I saw a man who resembled Mr. Rogers on television recently. I’m not sure if it was him, but it sounded like him.
I know that men don’t typically wear makeup, but I think Mr. Rogers and Mr. Newton should have given that a try before going to the extremes they apparently have gone to in order to appear youthful.
I hope that someday wrinkles will be a sign of class and will be coveted by those who are wasting youth.
As for me, I’ll keep wearing makeup and will eventually color my hair again. I may never get around to wearing contact lenses but will get the latest and most fashionable glasses frames available. You can bet, however, that I won’t be getting any plastic surgery to obtain a youthful appearance. One thing is for sure: When I get to the gates of Heaven, you can bet that Jesus and St. Peter will recognize me.
Lisa Tindell is news editor for The Brewton Standard. She can be reached at 867-4876 or by email at lisa.tindell@brewtonstandard.com.