Age? Weight? Income?

Some people will not disclose their age. Others are proud of how long they have lived.
I don't worry about age, however, I don' t disclose my weight.
It has come to haunt me, nurses underestimate me and I have to constantly say, "You will need help with me. I am heavier than I look."
Another thing is Income--a friend told me theirs, then asked point blank, "What do you make?"
My astonished answer--"Enough to keep the wolf away."

What are you private about?
Just curious as usual.

Alice, we can't tell you; it's private.

Wise gal! LOL

I will go with what Shelagh said, agreeing with an ageless person.

Thanks, Alice for bringing the questions up. Abe and Shelagh gave good answers. I hear you saying that the questions are inappropriate, and I agree with that, too.

These are the very things that judgmental people use to judge other people. For the material world, they represent sources of power.

A funny thing about weight. Up until fairly recently, carrying a lot of weight was a power sign. We still use the phrase in that sense - metaphorically. A high body weight meant that you had more than enough to eat. Being skinny meant you did not, and were not to be trusted. Remember Cassius? He had a "lean and hungry look."

Today, being lean and slender (as opposed to skinny) means that you have enough resources to buy and eat healthy, fresh food, and either the time off from working to cook it properly, or, better still, to pay someone to cook it for you. You have leisure time to walk, to go to the spa,...as we no longer "work" at work. We sit at our desks all day. We have to pay for the means to work our bodies. Cheap food in today's world is less healthy, being based on less expensive, chemically refined carbs and fats, as opposed to fresh vegetables, to go with whole-grain carbs, and healthy, natural fats. Cheaper sources of animal protein have been penned up, improperly fed, and shot up with antibiotics. Free-range and grass-fed meats and their products, like eggs and milk, cost far more that the mass-produced stuff, coming from animals that are far more healthy themselves, which makes the food products more usable by our bodies.

We live in a society that looks down on age, since it is assumed that the elderly are not productive enough. And in a corporate, industrial world where the means of production are valued so highly, older people are seen as a drain on society, rather than as a source of wisdom.

The higher income part kind of speaks for itself.



It's all a matter of perception, but our personal well-being, living in this paradigm, depends greatly on how other people perceive us.

Learning to accept ourselves as we are, living in the moment, and focusing on personal power rather than power over others takes away the fear connected to the answers to those questions, but it also makes them irrelevant.

Ann,
Thank you for the obvious thought you put into your response. I can count on you.

Abe,
Thank you for your wit

Here is one way to put a healthy meal on the table without a lot of work or time. I can't say it is cheap, though.

Bistro Chicken in Mushroom Cream Sauce over Multi-grain Pilaf with Kale, Onion, and Avocado Salad:


Bistro chickens are a lot like rotisserie chickens in that you buy them already cooked, only these have been simmered in broth, and they come with much of the broth in the package.

A salad bar is a wonderful convenience for the working cook. They provide all sorts of leaves and toppings. Everything in this dinner came from the salad bar except the pre-cooked chicken and a fresh avocado ( the only splurge.... Well, OK, I did use a bit of cream from a free-range dairy cow)

so, started by sauteing whole peeled garlic, red onion slices, and slaced mushrooms in butter, then adding some of the broth from the bistro chicken and a bit of cream - turned down to simmer. Since the chicken was pre-cooked, I waited until the last minute to add strips of meat from the breast. Meantime, I tossed the kale, some pecans, more sliced onions and dried cranberries, dashed on some Nature's Seasons and a little Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette (a healthy version of bottled salad dressing that I keep in the fridge). At the last minute I diced some fresh avocado into the salad, and nuked an individual serving of Minute Multi-grain Medly of brown rice, wheat, quinoa, rye, and oats.

The Bistro Chicken cost $8. I will get at least 5 meals from it this week. A two-pack of the pre-prepared Minute rice costs about $2. the salad bar item for the kale salads, came to $1.56, and the whole avocado was $1.50 (I used about 1/4. Say 1/3, it's easier to do the math.

1/5 of the chicken was $1.60; the mushrooms, from the salad bar, came to 36 cents, the onions, closer to $.65, but I only used a few - and a few more in the salad, say 25 cents. The butter, cream, and salad dressing, I had on hand.

The cost of my instant, fast food dinner was about $5.27, for just me, so, while it wasn't really cheap, a fimily's worth wouldn't cost any more, or take more time, than a family dinner from Church's or Cnl. Sanders.

And, BTW - that's a salad plate, in case you didn't notice. Always looks like more food if you put it on a salad plate.

I think age, weight and income are indicative of the person.

Perception does play a role, especially for those applying for a job. An overweight/fat person can indicate laziness or lack of self-control. At the same time, the fat person is usually very jolly and easily makes friends. That can be a method of compensation for being overweight.
I’ve often observed people eating at restaurants. Those of little means may gulp their food and clean their plate. Some view this as peasant-like. Rich people usually eat sparingly and seldom clean their plate. Some do this to give the impression of wealth while others consider it wasteful. Culture plays a role in conduct.

Often an employer will take an applicant to lunch to observe their social skills. At lunch or dinner, one tends to let their guard down. Wanting a smoke or a drink must be restrained. Imitating the host is prudent. How and what one eats says much about the person. Being old or looking old is not the same thing. Some are numerically old and young in manner while the reverse also applies. Having money and not flaunting it says much about the person. Wannabees try to give the impression of wealth and the more they try to impress, the more they expose their weakness.

Age is expected to reflect maturity; however that is not always the case. Older people are usually more reliable/dependable while the younger are not as concerned about longevity in life or in a job. Taking risks is more apt to be with a younger person while older folk are less likely to take risks having experience the folly of risking what you can’t afford to lose.

When a person feels secure, there is no need to impress. They will do more listening than talking. The opposite is true of the insecure person.

There is nothing impressive about age, weight or income as far as I am concerned.
A young person does not stay young and an old person does not stay old.
If fortunate, a person lives to be old, many do not.
I have been thin and heavy--actually felt better on the heavier side.

As for income that is a combination of work and luck.

Ann,
Thanks for making me hungry.
Abe,
Very good analysis.

Alice:

55, 205, and not as high as it should be.

Ha,Ha.
65, 5' 10 and 136 on my wedding day. more now. and more than enough.

Appearance is critical in a career. Ever sit in the doctor's office and watch the pharmaceutical salesmen and women stroll through? They could be models for Vogue, even in Florida where the dress is casual they are ready for the high power, business lunch. The hunky men call on female doctors and the broads call on male doctors.

As a man told me, "if you have a choice between looking at a beautiful secretary every day or an old hag, which would you choose? They can both type."

Wealth impacts appearance. It provides well-cut clothing, facials, hair care and nips and tucks. It provides vacations and rest, massages, and power. It gives confidence. People who know you have wealth treat you differently. Just go to the same restaurant several times and leave ginormous tips. See how well you are treated and how good it feels - in spite of buying the attention.

Wealth also buys a degree of health - regular dental checkups and work, healthy food, gyms and spas, the best medical care when needed, corrective and stylist glasses, the best shoes...

Donald Trump gives me the creeps. Obviously, wealth has helped him get through life in spite of no class and unattractive.

DK,

Goes to show, You can't buy everything. Trump lacks charm and Opra is not thin.

Opra was in the right place at the right time in history - and talented. The more handsome and gorgeous you are the further you can get with minimal talent. Opra had to be talented and she was.

The exceptions make it in spite of impediments; everyone else has struggles to get anywhere.

And Karen Carpenter, as well as quite a few "successful" fashion models, died of anorexia nervose.

Right, Ann,

Very sad.

Update on a theme:



Tonight's family dinner was similar to the menu and pic in the earlier post, but is another way to use easy, pre-cooked or low-prep items to make a guick, healthy meal.

I used another bistro chicken - a whole one, this time. Lucked out at the market this morning, the chickens all had $2.00 off cupons tape to them, so I paid $6 instead of 8. The skin of a bistro chicken is a bit sickly, so I carefully cut the whole chicken from the bag of brothe (keeping all of the broth) and placed it in the middle of a roasting pan. I cut three small acorn squash into quarters, saving one half of one for me, later, and cut them again into 6 quarters. Nuked them until tender, then placed them at each end of the pan. I poured the broth into a measurinc cup and poured it over the chicken and squash and put it in a 350 oven for 1/2 hour. Everything was already cooked, but the time in the oven gave a nice finish to the skin of the chicken, and a roasty glaze to the squash pieces.

Meantime, I made a spinach salad similar to the kale salad in the menu above: spinach, sliced onions, pecans, and dried cranberries from the market's salad bar. I finished it off with avocado slices and an organic balsamic vinaigrette.

There was nothing left except a few finely picked chicken bones. Six dollars for the chicken, three for the squash, counting the bit I kept out for myself, and about 2.50 for the salad stuff, plus fifty cents for the 1/2 avocado, since they were on special, a dollar each. I still have 1/2 for me, to go with the squash and the bits of chicken left on the carcass when I carved it for the table.

So the dinner for 5 came to about eleven dollars or slightly less (Lynn and Chris brought the wine), and was ready in about 45 minutes from start to finish.

Your kids are so lucky to have you and vice versa.

Ann,

Yum. Middle sister and little brother are on their way--and we're very hungry!

Oops. They ate everything but the chicken bones and the squash skins.

sorry about that Little bro.

Victor D. Lopez wrote:

Ann,

Yum. Middle sister and little brother are on their way--and we're very hungry!

Best get busy cooking.

On May 22nd, I will be 72. I weigh in at 176 lbs. My income is less than either of those numbers.