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Will You Still Need Me When I’m 64?
I couldn’t ask for more
I had just turned seven when the song “When I’m 64” appeared on the Beatles’ classic album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
I’ve been a die-hard Beatles fan since the four lovable mop tops burst across our TV screens that magical Sunday evening in February of 1964. My son’s name, Zak, is a nod to Ringo’s son.
When my father came home from work one evening, he surprised me with the Sgt. Pepper album. I eagerly ripped the cellophane off the album and raced to the Westinghouse Hi-Fi stereo my parents had saved up for that past Christmas.
After carefully lowering the needle onto the record, I lay on the floor, looking at the album, seeing how our mop tops now had mustaches, and reading the lyrics (the first with lyrics included!). I found myself mesmerized by the new sounds bouncing off the wood-paneled walls of our TV room.
My parents installed the lime green shag carpet the following year.
I couldn’t possibly imagine what being 64 would be like. My parents were 34 and 35, and I thought THEY were old. My grandparents were all in their mid-60s and probably fought off dinosaurs in their youth as they walked to school uphill both ways.
Sixty-four seemed a long, long way off. I hadn’t even noticed girls yet, but soon I would. Thank you, Barbara Eden (Jeannie) and Julie Newmar (Catwoman).
Well, the other day, I looked in the mirror and blinked, and here I am, starting my 64th trip around the sun this April 16.
In celebration of turning 64 (and yes, I am celebrating), I dusted off the song and wanted to compare my life to the lyrics to see how far I’ve come.
Join me. You know the words.
You are already humming the song in your head, aren’t ya?
When I get older, losing my hair
Many years from now
Okay, my hair has thinned out on top a bit, but a good amount remains. What was long, curly brown is now shorter, and some (okay, more than some) grey friends are joining them. It’s been a good run. My father wore a hairpiece in his late 30s. It’s a win for me in genetics.
