My Turn: Reflections on birthdays, matinees and naps

I recently turned 68 and I don’t know how that happened!

It seems I went from 38 to 68 overnight. I feel young, I look young, but others seem aware that I’m not a strapping stud anymore.

To some friends it seems I’m in the last inning of life. When I contemplated purchasing an expensive pair of shoes or a moderately priced pair, my friend suggested, “Go for the expensive. It’s going to be your last pair anyway.”

That’s not what I wanted to hear!

It bothered me. Admittedly, some television commercials seem to be talking to me: “Do you get up often in the middle of the night to urinate? You might have Xieopiosis.” (Or something like that.) “Do you find you sleep 9-10 hours a day? You need Slumberstox.” “Do you have soreness in your shoulder?” (Yes, after lifting a heavy, single bag of groceries when I should have put them in two.)

But I was happy. I was in good shape — I worked out regularly at the gym and ate three healthy meals a day. The only concession to age I made was to take a nap after lunch. I would set my alarm clock in the kitchen for 30 minutes (it forces me to get up and turn it off so I don’t sleep the day away). And then I drifted off — quite happily  — to dreamland.

And, just as I was reconciled to being a senior citizen, it hit me that our golden reunion from North Shore High School in Glen Head was approaching. A second whammy! Was it really 50 years ago that I was preparing to go to the senior prom with my high school girlfriend? Amazing!

Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing my classmates again. We were a very close group. We had a five-year reunion, then 10-, 20-, 30- and 40-year reunions. (And, hey, we had a 6-month reunion — we couldn’t wait!)

One of the best things about reunions is that old cliques dissipate and disappear. At previous gatherings, I saw classmates who barely knew each other sharing photos of grandchildren. I overheard the prom queen and the car mechanic discussing their knee replacements. And, at our last reunion, classmates who rarely showed up for school, showed up for their first reunion — and were among the last to leave. But they — and others — are leaving earlier and earlier. They get tired. It happens.

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, now 65, knows what it’s like. She has a proposal: “U2, do a matinee,” she pleaded recently. “Coldplay, do a matinee. Bruce Springsteen, do a matinee. 2 o’clock. I will come and hear your five-hour concert, Bruce, and then I’m gonna be home in bed by 7:30!”

I’m with Jamie! My late nights (which admittedly consisted of annual New York’s Eve celebrations when I went to bed around 12:06 a.m.) are over. So, Jamie, if you want some company, I’ll happily join you at a Boss concert.

Just let me take my nap first!

Saul Schachter

Sea Cliff