Excuses This is not a tale that happened to me, but to a close friend. It's one that when he told me I couldn't help but laugh

Ageing So, I've just been told after a long awaited hearing test that my loss of hearing is fairly typical of someone of my age. "What age would that be?" I asked, not seeking a compliment but just some reassurance that we were both using the same metrics, that her assessment of my age aligned somewhere close to my own. Of course I was armed with one distinct advantage in this situation. I knew the answer. I had clear and present knowledge of my age and could fairly well estimate it down to hours minutes and seconds. She, as far as I could be aware, had no reference point other than what she saw in front of her, a greying, overweight man of how old? "Really?" I said, genuinely shocked, "You really think I look that old?" "Fifty isn't old" she replied with an oriential twang. "It is when you are quite a lot younger than that". I was desperately trying to retain my composure. "How old are you then?", she asked. "Forty three" "Well then," she said with a smile a chuckle, "that is about fifty isn't it?" I returned the smile and kept silent.