Forty is the new 15

I dreampt last night that I visited Disneyworld. In my dream, I met a woman and her college-aged daughter who was hoarding those mini-bottles of alcohol - the kind they serve on airline flights. The girl was going to take her stash back to school.

"Gosh," I said. "I haven't done that in... uhm... 20 years. (Has it been that long?)"

I don't think I ever really hoarded mini-bottles of alcohol, but it was my dream. But it was nearly twenty years ago when I was at college; when I was fascinated by alcohol.

Forty is the new fifteen. I've been pressing that argument for the past three months. It usually results in a smile - followed by a look of incredulous incomprehension - followed by a smirk.

But saying that being 40 of today is like being a kid again is not only missing the point, but it's feeding into the cult of youth. You know the one that says you gotta be young to be fresh and cool.

Packaged luncheon meat is still fresh and cool when it's in its 20s.

But I"m not luncheon meat. Older guys have wisdom and it's no good to pretend to be a kid. And anyway, who would wanna be?

Instead, let me suggest that 40 is the new 40. Doesn't have to mean I'm an old fart, just that I've aged - well as is the case.