Our aging process through life is marked by many milestones. There’s birth, grade school, then high school, and on to college. There’s marriage, that first child, and then your first grandchild.
I ran into another one the other day when I paid my bill at the drugstore. The nice lady behind the counter said, “Thank you, Sweetie,” and then a couple of days later the same thing, ”Thank you, Sweetie.” Then it hit me like a ton of bricks … another milestone! It was a verbal pat on the head.
When I was a little boy between the ages of two and those teenage years, I took it as a sign of approval. Perhaps I was even considered cute. Now I have passed over the pale from cute to old and ladies are still calling me “Sweetie.” Of course, they don’t know me; if they did, they would know I’m an old grouch.
There are two time frames in a man’s life when you can call him “Sweetie” and not have it confused with a flirty, perhaps sexual, connotation. And those times are when he’s very young and the other is when he’s very old. Geez, I hate to think I’ve passed the pale of being too old!
Just too old. Wow!
Ronn Mott, a longtime radio personality in Terre Haute, writes commentaries for the Tribune-Star. His pieces are published online Tuesday and Thursday on Tribstar.com, and in the print and online editions on Saturday.
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RONN MOTT’S MINUTE: Aging
- Opinion
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EDITORIAL: A timely call-out of NSA critics
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RONN MOTT: Why Syria?
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LIZ CIANCONE: Another beloved dog goes to heaven
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READERS’ FORUM: June 18, 2013
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MAX JONES: For loyal readers, a bit of news from the T-S newsroom
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GUEST COLUMN: One Million Bones exhibit meant to raise awareness, inspire action to end genocide
The National Mall: A grassy corridor in Washington, D.C., lined with America’s greatest museums and monuments.
Ending at the U.S. Capitol building, it is a symbol of our belief in the power and greatness of America. Last weekend, we turned it into a mass grave.
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EDITORIAL: Insisting on ISTEP quality lawmakers’ primary duty
Now that everyone, on both sides of the aisle, seems backslappingly happy to agree that this spring’s ISTEP school testing debacle was unacceptable, that at least some of the results lack credibility and that the issue carries high-stakes significance, what next?
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The Obama Debate: Is he a liar or incompetent?
I read the letters on the opinion page daily and I find an unusual silence from your liberal progressive contributors lately. Could it be because they don’t have anything to expound upon? Well, maybe I can give them some material.
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A Fathers Day Tribute: Transition — from child to father
Transition seems like a big word to use as his story unfolds. Transition was probably never used in conjunction with speech, his speech, but it demonstrates his life, as it does in many lives lived in his generation.
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READERS' FORUM: June 16, 2013
Horrible crime cries out for stern justice
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Global warming fraud exposed
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The Obama Debate: President has served us well
I have not heard a positive thing by those in this area about this president since his 2008 election and 2009 inauguration. Why this manifestation, I just can’t understand.
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RONN MOTT: Not hurried a bit by 21st century tech
Unlike so many of you, I do not get up in the morning and run to turn on my computer. In fact, if you need to reach me in a hurry, I would say that 19th century invention of Alexander Bell’s would be the best way. If you do email me or use some other electronic convenience, better give it a couple of days because I am not in that big of a hurry.
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READERS' FORUM: June 15, 2013
America needs another hero
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EDITORIAL: And now we wait for justice
It is a word we would rather never have on our front page — homicide. That we had to use it twice on Wednesday’s front page is sad, but unavoidable.
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READERS' FORUM: June 14, 2013
Mott statements contradict history
Display the flag
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RONN MOTT: Kill the Umpire!
I don’t know who appointed Major League Baseball’s umpires “Gods,” but if they have been appointed “Gods,” they have appointed people who cannot see or think very well.
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READERS' FORUM: June 13, 2013
Bad odor from gas prices
Build personal library
Morning after? No worries
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EDITORIAL: Remembering Sister Jeanne
Terre Haute is mourning the loss this week of an accomplished and beloved community activist and leader whose life’s work is an inspiration to all who strive to serve.
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EDITORIAL: Embrace the value of traffic planning
Never underestimate the value of a good plan to deal with a crisis, large or small, even if the final analysis of the management of a specific crisis is, “It could have been worse.”
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READERS' FORUM: June 12, 2013
Like it or not, change coming
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RONN MOTT: What’s happening?
I know I may have looked at these situations differently when I was in my twenties. The world, my life, my career, and the growth of my family all lay ahead of me. So perhaps now, many years later, I see it differently.
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READERS’ FORUM: June 11, 2013
• Great support for local cause
• Another idea on housing issue
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LIZ CIANCONE: Withdrawn society not very social any more
My Best Friend and I went out for lunch the other day. It was a sit-down place with our own “server” (in my day I was called “a waitress”) and everything offering personal attention. The manager even came over to ask if everything was all right.
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READERS’ FORUM: June 10, 2013
• What is the cost of our austerity?
• Vintage campers to gather at rally
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EDITORIAL: It’s time to assess ISTEP
Later this month, the company behind this spring’s abysmal online administration of ISTEP testing for 27,000 Hoosier schoolchildren is being called to the principal’s office.
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Readers’ Forum: June 9, 2013
• Taking time to help the world
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• Questions from a wondering mind
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FLASHPOINT: Storm chasers must heed warnings, remember why we chase storms
The tragic death of noted weather researcher and former Discovery Channel storm chaser Tim Samaras has shaken all of us in the meteorological community.
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Will you be happy if you win the lottery?
A Psychology Today article titled “What Will You Do if You Win the $550 Million Powerball Lottery?” caught my attention. Helping lottery winners with their money is my long-time gig.
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RONN MOTT: The ‘wilds’ of Collett Park
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