"brooklyn1" > wrote in message
...
> Early this morning I received an email from a friend that among other
> topics contained the following question. At first I was going to
> simply respond with some cutesy retort but then after thinking about
> it, and since I truly value the friendship, I gave a more serious
> response. What would you have replied?
>
>
> What, exactly is middle age?

<Snip>

> I hope that helps, of course it's only my opinion.
>
> Sheldon

Here is what the encyclopedia et al say:

Middle age is the period of life beyond young adulthood but before the onset
of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is
around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings.
According to Collins Dictionary, this is "... usually considered to occur
approximately between the ages of 40 and 60".
The OED gives a similar definition but with a later start point "... the
period between youth and old age, about 45 to 60".
The US Census lists middle age as including both the age categories 35 to 44
and 45 to 54, while prominent social scientist, Erik Erikson, sees it ending
a little later and defines middle adulthood as between 40 and 65.

Now for me - Old age is when your mind makes promises your body refuses to
keep. AKA time to PARTY and about 9:30 your body says "night night time"

Therefore Middle age is when your mind makes promises your body is still
capable of keeping.

:-)



--
Dimitri
Coming soon:
http://kitchenguide.wordpress.com.