Happy 100th birthday to Elizabeth Wright, who is the grandmother of my oldest friend Scott McClain. She lights up a room when she enters it.

Up until a year or so ago, she drove her car where she needed to go. She was honored last Saturday, and I was glad to get a sweet hug from Mrs. Wright. She has a lot of people that love her. One hundred years is a lofty goal. It is a great milestone few of us ever reach.

My classmates are turning 62. I am one of the last in the class of 1969 at dear old Tally High that will turn that age later this year. Am I looking forward to it? Everyday above ground is a day I look forward to. Acceptance of age is something I came to terms with when I turned 40. When I turned 43, I had outlived Elvis. When I turned 57, I calculated I had more days on this Earth than Abraham Lincoln.

The movie Lincoln comes out on DVD next month. Daniel Day Lewis does a great interpretation of him. Daniel Day Lewis came to Tallapoosa in 1989 when portions of the movie Stars and Bars was shot here. He played an art appraiser, and there is a scene in it when he went into Essie Mae’s beer joint that is priceless.

I go to the dentist four times annually for cleanings. I haven’t had a cavity since college. I had lasic surgery on my eyes in 1999, but I still have to wear reading glasses. The doctor told me there was nothing he could do about aging and to get used to it. Several months back, I began noticing that driving at night was difficult sometimes and I got halo effects from on-coming headlights. I went to an eye doctor who told me that I had a cataract. I called the surgeon’s office that did my lasic surgery. On Monday Dr. Trevor Woodhams is going to remove the cataract at his office in Atlanta. He is the guy who started teaching the laser eye surgery at Emory University years before it became a common thing.

I am concerned about some thing’s that happen when you age. Now, I am no longer flipping the channels when a Metamucil commercial comes on. I pay attention to Joe Theisman’s ad for Super-Beta Prostate pills. I now wonder if I will have to move to Florida or Arizona when I turn 75 because a friend of mine said it was a law in Georgia. Will I be required to own a Rascal? At what age will I begin telling the same story five minutes after I told it the first time?

My preferences to television programs seem to be the ones I grew up with that you can only see on TVLand. I miss Johnny Carson. I always thought Dinah Shore was a drop dead gorgeous woman and liked her afternoon talk show when I was a couple of decades younger.

I wish Oprah had never retired. I preferred John Chancellor over Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News. I don’t know half the celebrities that are on TMZ or Entertainment Tonight. I’ve often wondered how we got into the worship of celebrities. Has Lindsey Lohan been arrested this week? I remember a time when Kathy Griffin would not have had a television show. I remember a time when television networks didn’t spew profanity over the airwaves.

I enjoyed the NFL before it became a forum for showboating athletes. I remember a time when a guy would make a tackle or make a big play and not act like he had discovered a cure for a terminal disease. I always thought that making a contribution to the team was part of the job. Do you remember a time when athletes were to be admired? Lance Armstrong pretty well burst that balloon.

What is it about developing a taste for soup as we grow older. The Campbell Soup folks up in Camden, N.J., have a soup for about every taste. Can you beat a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich on a cold day? Today would be a good day for it.

I’ve discovered the upside to getting older. Kroger, Kohl’s and Golden Corral give you a discount just for living several decades. As I age, I enjoy driving to Carrollton and looking for stuff for the house at Home Depot or Lowe’s. Big Lots is a great place to find items you really don’t need and will be in the city-wide yard sale this October.

Tuesday was Mardi Gras. This year, I am giving up chitlins, Polka music and Lady Gaga for Lent. This Monday is Presidents Day, when we honor those great individuals who have led our nation by holding a mattress sale.

Rhubarb Jones is a Tallapoosa native and a Distinguished Lecturer in the Department of Communication and Director of Special Projects in the Office of Development at Kennesaw State University. Comments and suggestions may be sent to P.O. Box 6, Tallapoosa, GA 30176 or via email at rhubarbjones@aol.com Previous columns are found at www.tallapoosa-journal.com.