First off let me say that I do not find the above cartoon funny in the least. I dislike it on many levels, including the ugly drawing style, the stupid imagery, and certainly the dumb punchline. I show it here merely as Exhibit A of my testimony concerning the lies about aging perpetuated by young people. As a 78-year-old, I can say without flinching that the condition of my knees does not predict the weather.
I do admit to not knowing the song "Hello" as sung by Adele, or Lionel Richie for that matter. I have never heard any song sung by Adele, at least not to my knowledge; there may have been one playing on the radio and I didn't know who it was. Anyway, if that means I am old then okay, since I am old. It's just that I don't have arthritic knees, or arthritic anything. While I do have several health problems that's not one of them.
But here's my point: Many young people have serious health problems, including arthritis. When I was 28 I dated a man who was 30 who suffered from terrible arthritis, and had since he was a teenager. Not once did we plan any outdoor activities based on how much his knees were hurting. Cartoons like the one above reinforce the myth that all old people have arthritis and eat badly. Not true, that's all I'm saying. In fact my husband, who is 11 years younger than I, is the one with bad knees, and that's from a motorcycle accident he had in his twenties. Still, they have never predicted the weather.
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