It must have been classy night on the southbound 18 tonight.  I think I missed the memo.  Good thing I was coming from work, or I would have felt underdressed!

It took me a few minutes of looking around to notice that this wasnt the regular crowd.  It was my bus.  Same time, same bus driver. . .   but not the type of people I am used to.  Nothing against folk that take the bus, but you know the people who are riding at 12:30 in the morning.  The angry old homeless man, the dirty old man, the middle aged dude that talks to himself, the young little skinny hoodlum way in the back, the black lady talking too loud on her cell phone (well, she’s always on the bus), the young artsy girl who says hello to everybody (and you wonder if she is old enough to be out that late), and the super quiet tiny latino man.  Always have one super quiet latino, especially on the 18 which travels down Nicollet stopping midway on its trek out of downtown on Lake Street.

These are my late night travelers stuffed into their faceless, nameless stereotype boxes.  And I like that crowd.  That time of night, everyone is generally really nice.  Well . . .  not the angry homeless guy . . .    And everyone is so quiet . . .  well not the loud lady on the phone . . . BUT sooooo much quieter than any other time of day.  Its almost peaceful. . .  relatively . . .

But tonight there was no one talking on their cell phone.  There was no hoodlum in the back.  No scary old man, no homeless, and no artsy chic.  There was a latino, but he was BIG, and wore really nice close, nice shoes. . .   evidently coming from work somewhere as I was.  There was a gorgeous black couple way up the front with their little, and I mean LITTLE, girl in a stroller completely passed out.  It must have been her birthday.  They had two mylar balloons attached to her stroller, a gift bag reading “Happy Birthday” with some sort of stuffed thing trying to fall out of it.  If it was her birthday she must have turned two.  But she was a little two.  And her winter coat with the fur lined hood was WAAAAYYY too big for her.  But she will probably grow into it  nicely as the winter comes and goes.

Mom was passed out too, leaning with her back to the window, head thrown back.  She was a beautiful woman.  And her little girl the cutest thing I have seen since Mariam went back to the big dessert land on the other side of the world.  Dad was also a good looking fellow.  Had the most lovely corn rows I have seen on a guy and a perfectly groomed mustache.  He was trying to stay awake, but kept nodding off, his head lolling forward every few minutes.  They must have had one fun night!

Woman across the way from me had magnificent hair!!!  Braided until the middle of her crown, then left natural and long!!  Except for the color.  A mahogany, or more of a black cherry really, but not all was colored, it was fused in with her black hair, but way more than highlights.  May have been a weave . . .   a really really nice one.   I want to use the word stippled, but I really have no idea how to describe it.  Such a great look.

A few minutes in to my ride another black woman gets on and she put everyone else on the bus to shame as far as class goes!  She was an older woman, heavier.  But lovely!  Probably in her 50’s, though so hard to tell because African Americans age so well! Her hair in a flawless french twist, large tasteful gold hoops and matching bangles on her wrist.  Brown boots I would kill to have in my closet and wrapped up in this shawl in the most gorgeous copper and gold tones.

There was a middle aged man who talked to himself, but even he was cute.  Not in the hot way, but in the arent you adorable I want to know you name and be your secret santa so I can get you something really fun, kind a way.  He was not annoying.  He was super respectful, and seemed to be on good terms with the driver.  Driver spoke to him all familiar as he left and the guy who had been rocking in his seat talking to himself wished the driver a good night as he left.  He was also very clean, clean cut.  Just wearing shorts when it was 50 degrees out, no coat, and had the general demeanor of a 12 year old kid.  A very well mannered 12 year old.

As I pulled the line to request my stop, the super classy lady also stood to get off.  I followed her, exiting the bus and actually called to her, “Ma’am,” I said, “I just want to say how classy you look . . .”  And she just walks off.  I notice she has ear buds in.  She can’t hear me.  I actually give an audible “oh” in disappointment.  When someone looks that good, they should be told.  As I crossed the street heading east, she crossed the street heading south and I thought: I hope someone told her that today.

Actually hope everyone on that bus knows how cool, or adorable, or classy they are.

Why do we use the term “elderly”, or “the elderly”, to talk about old people?  The true definition of elderly is not really “old”.   Dictionary.com’s definition reads: “somewhat old; near old age”  AND  “of or pertaining to persons in later life.”   The second definition . . .   how did that come about if the word “elderly” means basically “almost old.”   Have we created a classification of people under the term because its more PC than calling them Blue Haireds or Old People?    Let’s face it, we do not use the term for people who are almost old.  That is reserved for “middle aged.”

I suppose it is important to note there really aren’t good terms to choose in place of “old”.  The thesaurus  at Dictionary.com lists:

“aged, along in years,ancient, broken down,debilitated,decrepit,elderly, enfeebled, experienced, fossil, geriatric, getting on, gray-haired, grizzled,hoary, infirm,mature, matured, notyoung, olden, oldish, over the hill, past one’sprime,seasoned,senile,senior, skilled,superannuated, venerable, versed, veteran, wasted”

Not so pretty . . .  These terms for the most part are awkward, incorrect, clinical or just plain rude.  Can you imagine us referring to the lot as “The Superannuated”?  Not really.

Maybe it has a lot to do with our inability to accept aging.  Or how “old” is so very relative.  There are people of a certain age that it is nearly impossible to see as old or to come close to reconciling them with their age.  Just take one good look at William Shatner.  The man turned 80 this year.  80!!  And he looks 65.

Whether due to botox, plastic surgery, longer life span, more activity in later life, or people’s refusal to grow old, people are staying “younger” longer.  My mother’s parents were OLD when I was little.  My grandparents in their early sixties were OLD.  They looked old, they acted old, they were the proverbial old grandparents.  They spent the last 20 plus years of their lives being old.  My father who hit 62 last year isn’t as old as they were at that age.

Now there is something very cute about the few really old people you run into.  The “elderly”.  They hang on to so many of their habits from yesteryears.  Mom and I were just silly about the cuteness of the old lady we saw on Sunday driving her old car.  I don’t remember what the car was but it was 25 or 30 years old.  And like new!!!  And like a mint green!  Bleck!  Mom pointed out that she more than likely bought that car brand new.  She was so adorable just moseying along, putting her way through the parking lot, driving with her clear plastic rain bonnet on her head tied under her chin.  My grandmother use to wear those!  Goodness . . .   only the elderly . . .

And last night at the restaurant, in comes this OLD couple, shuffling in.  She is just this little thing with white poofy hair, and he is hunched over, now shorter than she, all decked out in his kelly green pants and matching green and pink plaid blazer.  They were so cute!!

And our senior resident had stashed a cookie in her purse for the office manger to take home to her husband. She is 98, I believe, French, walks with a walker, and deaf as all can be.  She knew she had the cookie in her purse, but could not locate it by just sifting through.  So!  Out comes the contents of the purse!  She splays the items on the counter and it’s like Wakko’s bag from Animaniacs.  Out of this tiny bag comes a huge pile of not so small things.  This in itself is comical.

First thing she pulls out, two dinner rolls wrapped in a paper napkin.  She has just come in from being out.  I can assume she had eaten out and wrapped the uneaten bread up, shoved it in her purse to take it home.  Another thing my grandmother did with frequency.  Bread, baked potatoes. . . .   anything.  And no doggie bags, just straight into the purse!

The second thing to be pulled out?  A clear plastic rain bonnet!!!  I do not remember all what else was in that purse, but everything was big and bulky and both seemingly out of place and completely perfect.  She was just too adorable for words in that moment.

I wonder if that genre is a dying bread.  I know my mother won’t be driving a 30 year old vehicle in a rain bonnet, EVER.  The baby boomer generation will probably never turn old as we know it.  We will watch them age, but not the same as we have seen before.  The largest, and noted as the most powerful, generation in American history, have spent their lives completely changing the world around them.  They are activists, having lived through, and built a new world from, the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement during Vietnam, Women’s Rights.  They created a country of economic success, bringing about the bridge from the world of industry into a world of technology.  A world once filled with blue and grey collar workers became one of white collar  dominance.  They changed the idea of middle class.  Blew up the middle class.  This generation holds 80% of the world’s wealth and is responsible for over 50% of consumer spending.

These people will never be what “the Greatest Generation on Earth” was in their old age.  Their parents having lived through The Great Depression and WWII, were hard workers and great people who accomplished great things.  But, the events that molded their children, and who they became, and the world they created is so extremely different, they will be a brand new generation of retirees.  Retirees that might continue to work, and definitely continue to buy, roll with the times rather than get stuck in the times they knew . . .   These people are movers and shakers.  No more rain bonnets and plaid jackets and ancient cars.  Unless its a classic muscle car . . .   a completely different bag.

So . . . with the dying bread, will the term “elderly” eventually die as well?  Will we have to create or adapt a new term to suit the newly molded ideas of “old”?  For some reason, “almost old” still does not fit these folks up and coming into “the elderly” age.