Age Old Problem

It happened twice to me in the past week. Someone thought I was my land lady’s brother. “Oh, is this your brother?” a local baniya asked. Hello? You bloody Gujju Baniya%#%#$% how can I ever look like my elderly land lady’s brother???
I tried to suck it up and go about my business, but a dark cloud hovered over me for the rest of the day …er week (if I have to be honest).
To recover from the stomach punch, I tried to remind myself how many people have mistaken me for someone YOUNGER this past year, how many tell me how great I look, and how none of this matters anyway I love sporting a rough unshaven look.
But then I got the second punch. Another person – a guy about my age, probably older – thought I had been his teacher in some Andhra high school!!!. When he saw me gulping for air, he became embarrassed and apologized.
One punch right after the other. All of the flattery I’d been receiving by way of female attention and compliments got swept away. I succumbed to looking in the mirror to inventory what might have happened to my face or person to suddenly to bring this on.
There are changes I’m not fond of, but which till now I’ve been taking in good grace. For one thing, my body wants to be fatter, but I fight I with exercise( I go to Kebab Magic everyday) and diet( I am living only on Cuppi for last many months), so I’m doing pretty well in that category.
When I look real close and in very good light at my face, I can see some white hair growing where I don’t remember it before, but you can hardly see it, although maybe I need stronger close-up glasses, which I probably do – add that to the list #$%$^&$%&.
There are a few minor lines on my brow here and there … hey wait a minute – I’ve earned those wrinkles the hard way and I refuse to apologize for them. They’re like the rings on a tree and I don’t mind having them. And besides, I’ve always prided myself on not being prideful. I know a lot of men and women want to look younger, but I don’t mind looking my age, as long as I don’t look bloody 20year older than my age, if you don’t mind.
I think the sore point is the realization that I used to posses a lot more sexual power than I do now. What I mean by sexual power is the ability to induce feelings of attraction and desire in others. I usually feel okay about my decreasing supply of male hunk kilowatts because I feel grateful that I had my day in the sun for as long as I did. Now let the younger ones enjoy it. I only envy them a little – wistfully and admiringly.
And besides, I haven’t lost all of it (their might be few more unexplored Chris’s and Payal’s in this world)– even if I do look like my Land Lady’s brother and what’s his name’s elderly teacher. Stop, stop, stop. This can’t be about me. It has to do with how confused people are, running around out there in the world.
Calmly, calmly, calmly I remind myself that I usually feel fine about the cycle of life and my place within it, because I have acquired maturity which involves Acceptance – Acceptance with a capital A — Acceptance of life on life’s terms. But don’t rub it on my face – I’m not ready to concede complete defeat, for crying out loud.
I know most of you would like to be above the level of vanity I have copped to, but I’d like to open it up for discussion. Has this ever happened to you? Come on Avis its time you open your can of elderly worms and say did someone ever refer to you as Divya’s elder bro???…