We came of age with Farrah

Those of us turning 60 this year know Farrah Fawcett very well from her classic pin-up poster to her role as Jill Munroe on Charlie's Angels. Her death Thursday at age 62 of cancer is a bit jarring for us. We came to know her in her good times and bad.

Men were enthralled with her and women copied her hairstyle. But we all knew her in some small way. Her death is one more reminder of our mortality because Farrah was of our generation. She fought her cancer every step of the way, although seeking alternative medical treatment when her cancer reapperared probably did not prolong her life.

Her private funeral service is scheduled for Tuesday 4 p.m. (Pacific time) at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles.

We will miss her.

We're getting older

The world’s population of seniors age 65-plus will triple in the next 40 years, according to a story in the Associated Press. That would mean that 1 in 6 would be in that age group and that will strain the ability of the United States and other nations to care for them.

"The world’s population has been graying for many years due to declining births and medical advances that have extended life spans, according to the AP. "As the fastest-growing age group, seniors now comprise just under 8 percent of the world’s 6.8 billion people."

In addition, a wave of baby boomer retirements will challenge pension plans and add to rising health costs, according to experts on senior issues.

Who else was born in 1949?

Besides me, here's a short list of people turning 60 this year that I got from the Internet:

-- Actor Richard Gere; singer Billy Joel; actress Jessica Lange; singer Bruce Springsteen; athlete Bruce Jenner; boxer George Foreman; actor Don Johnson; actor Jeff Bridges; actress Meryl Streep; musician Lionel Richie; entertainer Whoopi Goldberg; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Gee, they are old.

What happened in 1949?

For those of us turning 60 this year, 1949 was a great year. So what happened the year we were born? My source is one of those greeting cards that lists what happens in a specific year. Here we go:

-- Billy Graham converts 6,000 at a Los Angeles stop of his Canvas Cathedral crusade.

-- John Wayne stars in the classic, "She wore a Yellow Ribbon."

-- Audie Murphy plays Bill the Kid in "The Kid From Texas."

-- A pair of Levi's cost $3.55.

-- Arthur Miller's "Death of Salesman" opens on Broadway.

-- The Soviet Union begins testing nuclear weapons.

-- Polaroid sells the Land camera for $89.75; the remarkable camera produces a photo in 60 seconds.

Reason No. 1001 that we need health care reform

If you love private sector health insurance, you'll love insurance company executives deciding your treatment. Heck, under the current system we don't even need docs. The insurance folks can treat you and then deny payment to themselves.

That's why I like the idea of President Barack Obama's reform of the health care system. It's time to change the system so that doctors can practice medicine and insurance companies can run their own businesses. Right now they want to do both.

Don't give in to the insurance companies' scare tactics about change being dangerous. The current system is a mess and only makes money for the insurance companies and other "middle men" who suck money out of our health care.

Now the gray hair finally means something

I knew losing my brown hair had to have an advantage sooner or later. And it has come later. It seems scientists have found that what's causing gray hair may actually be part of a life-saving process.

Click here to read a story on this research in NewScientist.

So if your hair is going gray early, that's great -- at least on the cancer front . . . The researchers did not say what happens when folks with gray hair color it. I hope the cancer cells aren't really dumb and think the hair isn't gray and attack.

My achy breaky muscles

I'm moving a bit slower this morning after working in the yard this weekend, and wondering if I would feel the same if I did yardwork on a more regular basis. I seem to do it in spurts, and that makes my muscles and joints sore to the point of aching.

On the verge of turning 60, I'm questioning my body a lot these days. It seems to be failing me more. . . or maybe I'm failing my body by not getting more exercise and eating better. In any event, I'll steal some lyrics from Billy Ray Cyrus and adjust them a bit to explain my fix.

But don't tell my joints, my achy breaky joints
I just don't think they'd understand
And if you tell my muscles, my achy breaky muscles
They might blow up and kill this man
Ooohhhh. . .

OK, you get the point. I can't write lyrics, even if they are handed to me, or deal with my muscles and joints getting out of whack.

I think it is time for some ibuprofen.