I still don’t know which is more unbelievable: waking up one morning last year to discover I was 60 or realizing that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones will both be turning 75 later this year.

They say a rolling stone gathers no moss, but Mick and Keith managed to accumulate their share of bumps and bruises on the rocky road of life. When I was a kid, people speculated whether they would make it to 30. That was back when time really was on their side. Now they are in the middle of the their 48th world tour and getting ready to celebrate their diamond jubilees.

I’ve had my ups and downs, but nothing like those two. Time waits for no one, but if they can rock n roll long past their gimme shelter years, maybe there’s still time for me to get some ya-yas out.

Read more on my thoughts about aging and mental health in my latest Viewpoint column for the Spring 2018 issue of Esperanza Magazine…

“What a drag it is getting old.” When Mick Jagger and Keith Richards penned the opening line to “Mother’s Little Helper” in 1966, they were brash 22 year olds not yet at the top of their game. Around that time, my father—who was a Rolling Stones fan from the other side of the generation gap—predicted that turning 30 would be the worst thing to ever happen to them.

I was nine and had no idea what he was talking about. Now that I am 60 and Mick and Keith are pushing 75, I have a better understanding of what he meant.

But he was wrong: Living until 30 is no big challenge. It is the years to follow that take their toll, especially if you don’t… (read more)

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Jay Boll, Editor in Chief www.rtor.org

Jay Boll, LMSW, writes about mental health from dual perspectives: as a professional with more than thirty-five years of experience working with homeless youth and adults with mental illness, and as a family member who has witnessed the impact of mental illness up close and personal.
 
There are many sides to mental health recovery. Jay’s blog takes The Family Side.

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