Good Looking Old People

Everyone has preferences as to attractiveness.

There’s drop dead gorgeous that most of us can agree about. Some recent and current beautiful women are Paz Vega, Brooklyn Decker, ah, pick your own.

What started this post is a PBS Carole King/James Taylor concert that’s playing as I type. Both are in their sixties. Neither was ever a sex symbol. Both look as good as they ever did, with a bit more character adding to the mix.

I’ll deal with the women, you can fill in the guys if you want to.

There’s a certain classical look. Candice Bergan comes to mind. Then there’s a face that isn’t beautiful by any popular measure that’s lit up by what’s inside. Whoopie Goldberg comes to mind.

I’m always struck, and I think I’ve written here about this before, by what I call alive eyes. A lot of kids have them, and lose them as they grow older, the fire burning out. James Taylor and Carole King have alive eyes.

I want to think that an old lady I saw a couple of weeks ago has them. Why don’t I know? I was driving home, coming up on a driveway from a church doing about 45 m.p.h. When I was maybe a couple of hundred yards away, I saw a white convertible with the top down, old, probably a mid or late seventies Thunderbird – whenever Thunderbirds were boats. It edged out into the right lane that I was traveling in. I hit the brakes, this wasn’t a close encounter, as I came to a stop, the Thunderbird was already in reverse and was safely out of the road.

Here’s the part that’s pertinent. Being a city driver, I raised both arms in a mild “what the hell are you doing?” gesture. The lady driving the boat raised her arms in the same gesture and smiled at me. She was wearing a white blouse with a poofy collar and a pink floppy hat. I really don’t remember her face.

I’m betting she had alive eyes, and I’m hoping she had either a Candice Bergen or Whoopie Goldberg face. And, I want to talk to her.