Quadruplets

Four women were sitting in a bar -- this is not a joke, it's an anecdote -- just talking. All were between say 63 and 73 and all had hair various shades of gray ranging to white. They were casual friends and were talking animatedly. A younger woman from the other end of the bar was preparing to leave but came over to ask, "Are you all related?"

"No," the group said.

"You look like you could be, especially you and you, and you too, and maybe you."

"Well, we like each other," ones said.

The younger woman left with her companion. Said one of the four, "Over 60, everyone looks alike."

Said another, "Everyone between forty and sixty looks the same age to me."

I wrote about age and beauty a few days ago. This is not about that, this is about stereotyping and agism. The human brain needs to put things into categories, or so Darwinians tell us. We returned to talking about lectures on Islam and misunderstandings most Americans have. We're trying not to generalize or stereotype, if we can learn at our age ... perhaps there's some hope.