I’ve been quite lucky that despite the amount of substances I’ve put in my body over the years (20 years of various recreational drugs, 30 years on and off smoking cigarettes, and since the previous two are history, an increase in my alcohol intake, which has been pretty well uninterrupted for 40 years), I can still look younger than my age. It’s certainly not due to any regular exercise regimen either; I was going to the gym 30 years ago, did daily jogging about 20 years ago, and did yoga in the late 90’s. Each of those trends lasted 2-3 years. It’s hard to calculate whether any of them helped slow down the aging process. I do believe that my never having had children or a full-time 9 to 5 job has alleviated some of the stress that would age the average person. Thank god I don’t look grandfatherly, or on stage I might come off as some old curmudgeon when I’m performing to audiences whose average age is half of my own. I like to think my credibility is still there. Knock on wood (Eddie Floyd, 1966, Stax record label).                             

                       This past Tuesday, I was notified that I’d be working the weekend in a new venue in Cardiff, Wales, where I am right now. My girlfriend, who’s also 60, reminded me at the first of the year about Senior Rail Cards, which, given the astronomical raises in train fares, as well as petrol (gas) prices, seemed a must. To drive last weekend from Dagenham to Middlesbrough and back, about 500 miles total, cost over £60 in petrol, and that’s with a car that gets nearly 40 to a gallon on the motorways. That drive only a couple years ago would have cost £40. Since the call for Cardiff came on Tuesday, I needed to get the rail card done quickly. Yep, it does pay off, as a round trip train fare that was raised to £64, up about 15 from the last time I went to Cardiff three years ago, cost me £42.25, as the rail card automatically takes a third off the standard fare. It only costs £26 a year, so it’s already almost paid for itself, and when I go to Newcastle next month, that’ll do it. So the moral of this story is, if you’re struggling to survive in this country, try turning 60! I realize this doesn’t work for everybody!                                                                             In the meantime, they’ve made it a little more difficult for the free bus pass, deciding from last April to stagger the eligibility time. If you were born in April, 1950, you could go ahead and get it in April last year, but if you were born in May, you had to wait until July, and June birthdays would wait until September. When it finally gets to accommodating my November birthday, we’re talking July of this year. If I’m still here in July, then bloody hell, I’ll take advantage of it. When all is said and done, perhaps I’m a cheap bastard always looking for a handout, but I do have other redeeming qualities.