10 May 2026 Do I want the senior discount???

By Lori Case Melton

Getting older comes with perks … right? But do I really qualify? Recently, as I drove up to a fast-food window, a young man asked if I wanted the senior discount. This was my first time being asked that. Now I will admit my husband and I high-fived each other when we qualified for the “55 Alive” menu at IHOP, but that was me making the order. This time, someone was actually qualifying me as a senior based on my looks! My thoughts were all over the place. “How rude! … Do I really look that old? … What qualifies me as a senior?” Of course, I said, “Yes.” 

Why didn’t he just ask, “Do you want to pay more or less,” or just give me the stupid discount?

So many things about this stage of life catch me off guard. I really don’t know how “I” got to be this old. I am still hip and cool, right? Recently, my great-niece opened a boutique. The fact that she is my GREAT-niece should have been an indicator that some of the clothing might not look best on me. My 11-year-old, fashion-plate granddaughter witnessed the “try-on” session. The look on her face on a couple of the pieces was enough to get them off my body quickly. Luckily, returns are easy at Rebel + Bolt, and some of the items did work. Check it out. I don’t think they have a senior discount, though.

I just found out the TV show “Charlie’s Angels” turned 50 years old. That hits hard! Where has that time gone? After all, I am still trying to wear a Farrah Fawcett hairdo. And remember the poster that every boy in America had? She was wearing a one-piece bathing suit and had no tattoos. Kids today wouldn’t understand what was so popular about that. I remember hearing Farrah was 30 when she was doing the show. Since I was in my young teens at the time, I thought there was no way! How could an old person be that attractive? Maybe it’s time for a reboot where the crime-solving Angels try to find their glasses, keys and car in a parking lot and figure out which Medicare supplement is best for them.

My friends and I talk about when we are going to retire, what our latest ailments are, our blood sugar levels, and what rebels we were back in the day while cruising Walmart. OK, kids, in case any of you are reading this, cruisin’ was fun! You can bet our communication techniques were much stronger than today. We would wave and holler … not send a Snapchat, and we talked to each other in person. Hit me up and I’ll tell you about it. 

What else did we have to do? We had three TV channels plus PBS, a phone cord that was 20-feet long, and we drove our mom’s car that was bigger than a trendy micro apartment. I was also from the country, so I tried to explain a party line to a Gen Z this week and I’m not sure I ever got through to them what it was. Listening to my uncles on the phone on Saturday was also a fun pastime.

I have issues determining just how old others are. I seem to have missed an entire generation. I meet someone new, and I say, “Oh, is Susie your mom?” and they say, “No, that’s my grandmother.”

Now, most nights the hubs and I watch the news and “Wheel of Fortune,” and I realize our demographic must be the only ones who watch this programming. Just this evening, the local news advertised three different funeral homes (all at different price points), and the “Wheel” had ads about memory care supplements and something to help with bladder control.

As I’m filling my pill box and searching for my phone, I faintly hear the blissful sound of my husband talking to our cats. Yes, multiple cats. So, yes, I qualify … bring on the senior discount.