I was a little surprised when my wife complained about my grumpiness recently. I know I’m about to turn 75, and I can’t do some of the physical things I used to, I forget stuff frequently, and most mornings I ache when I get out of bed. I admit that I also feel that the world is going to hell these days. So, in my opinion, there is a lot to be grumpy about.

However, maybe it’s just a natural symptom of aging. Certainly, the aches and pains have been accumulating, and some are relics of past athleticism or injury (or stupidity?)  I’m also losing tolerance for the widespread idiocy in our politics these days. If you really take a look around, it’s hard to ignore the state of things and how screwed up everything has become. (Really, Donald Trump? Give me a break!)

I do try to keep my ‘old man’ ranting and raving to a minimum, and I’ve rethought the use of my middle finger when driving due to the possibility that someone younger and larger may take offense. Luckily, my wife is somewhat tolerant of my griping, but I suspect she doesn’t always listen to me. (When I was younger, pearls of wisdom dropped from my mouth like saliva does today.)

When I get together with my ‘old’ crowd, we try to keep the topics lighthearted and minimize talk of politics and the word’s general stupidity. Unfortunately, that can limit the topics of conversation to TV shows, movies and the funny pages in the newspaper. We try to avoid the ‘old man’ topics of our aches and pains, doctor appointments, medical tests, and how frequently we are getting up each night to pee. 

However, with age comes wisdom, and I’m beginning to learn that silence is most often golden. Several studies have demonstrated that our sense of humor can shift and decay with age. Writer Daniel Parris reports on, “the existence of a ‘humor cliff’ as we age — each year, we laugh a little less than the previous one. Humor fades until we’re 80, at which point we chuckle a bit more (what a relief) … Ultimately, the study found that with age, people appreciate self-enhancing humor more, and they value affiliative, self-defeating, and aggressive stylings less.”

He continues, “We are born humorless little poop machines. We can’t make funny voices, we can’t do bits, and we can’t engage in wordplay — we simply eat, sleep, poop, cry, and poop again. And then, amidst this onslaught of poop, a sense of humor begins to emerge … Most research finds that our ability to appreciate and comprehend comedy begins to falter later in life, around age 60 …. old age rids us of life’s pleasures, and laughter is no exception to this decay. We are forever downward sliding on a humor cliff, driven by physiological phenomena we cannot control.

I suppose pooping becomes more serious and less humorous as we get older – “humorless little poop machines.” As I’ve learned, life is funny that way.

Additional information:

Daniel Parris, How Does Our Sense of Humor Change with Age? A Statistical Analysis, June 19, 2024, Statsignificant.com