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Being Old Has Its Advantages

Even if you’re not that old.

Carol Burt
6 min readAug 11, 2021
Photo by Joseph Kellner on Unsplash

I’m beginning to see I may like this old woman stuff better than I thought I would. There are advantages, as I have started to notice.

For one thing, I’m invisible. That comes in handy since I’ve given up on makeup, and I can’t keep up with the whiskers on my chin. During Covid number one, my hair got long and stringy. I got it cut as soon as it was safe to go outside again. But now it’s getting all stupid-looking again, and we’re in Covid number two, which is worse here than it was in the last surge. So I don’t want anyone looking at me closely — or at all.

Oh, hell, yes, it was. I’m so invisible now that they look around for who dropped that dirty word when I cuss in the grocery store or wherever. It couldn’t possibly have been the little ole lady, so they look right over me. But it’s nice to get away with it.

I have not learned to be a sweet old lady yet. I’m still a little bristly…especially with all those chin whiskers.

No, really, I try to smile at the children of people who are letting them run wild, but I think it comes out more like a grimace or a snarl. Grannies like me are supposed to love all the children. But those little, uh, kids, drive me crazy. Sometimes when I’m shopping, and children are running all over, and the ones who…

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Carol Burt
Carol Burt

Written by Carol Burt

Former print journalist, former mayor, retired law enforcement officer. Writing about politics, government, and personal essays. Actually member since 2019.

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