How Old is Too Old?

Is it even a fair question to ask? Fact is that as we age, our bodies break down. Things that we did when we were in our 20's and 30's become much more difficult in our 40's and 50's, and in most cases they become downright impossible when we hit our 60's and older. Of course there are exceptions to every rule. Some people are, or at least are very close to being, as healthy, attractive, and fit well into upper-middle age as they were in those younger days. They eat right, exercise regularly, and otherwise take care of their bodies. An even smaller group simply has a genetic 'gift' if you will that keeps them looking youthful longer than the rest of us. Many people can stretch out their youthfulness by simply refusing to 'act their ages', maintaining a fun-loving, positive, youthful attitude that exudes energy. Call it 'mind over matter' if you will. You know, you're getting older, but if you don't mind it don't matter. However, the fact has also been that there are some professions that embrace and even require youth. Take female news anchors for instance. Anyone who follows local news broadcasts over a period of time has seen a parade of young beauties take over for one another over the years, and Philly is no exception. From Jessica Savitch in the 70's through to Alycia Lane in the 21st century, local news has seen it's own parade of gorgeous women in anchor chairs. The issue of 'how old is too old?' for the ladies is playing itself out in a couple of high-profile instances right now. Up in Canada, 44-year old Kimberly Ouwroulis (pictured) and 45-year old Barbara Sanderson are suing their employer, New Locomotion, for firing them in what they describe as an act of age discrimination. Kim & Barbie, you see, are exotic dancers. The management of New Locomotion says they want to go with a younger lineup of dancers. Ouwroulis counters that she is in great shape, still looks good, and still receives good tips and rave reviews from customers. She says that she was one of the hardest-working and most-liked employees. "I was the older girl but the girl who looked great," she said. "I was never in trouble at work. I've never been reprimanded. I don't have a criminal record. I am just a professional worker who takes dancing very seriously." Sanderson, a mother of two, has filed an official human rights complaint. Does the business have the right to let them go under these circumstances? At what point is their claim to still be 'hot' and fit enough to do their job in a business where those are the primary requirements trumped by the opinion of their employer on those counts? For Sanderson, Ouwroulis and New Locomotion, the issue will play out in the courts. Ouwroulis has sued the strip club to the tune of $100,000 which represents approximately one years wages for her. Carol Alt is now 47 years old, and her story has a more positive outcome. If you recall the name it is because she was a high profile model back in the 1980's. Alt, still looking fit and gorgeous, is the covergirl on the latest issue of Playboy magazine, and has the inside photo spread to prove her beatific bona fides. Sure, the good folks at Playboy do a nice job of air-brushing out any small blemishes. But when you take off your clothes for the highest profile purveyor of such images, you just can't hide enough if the basic package isn't there. If all of this sounds like a discussion of pure sexuality to you, then you got it dead-on straight. Fair or not, whether you personally like it or not, women are often judged on their appearance by men. Young, attractive women get more 'benefits' in life from a large segment of the male society, and even from a segment of the female society. How much of that partiality towards youthful attractiveness should be allowed to stand in the business world? How difficult is it for a woman like Carol Alt to continue to compete with younger models who seem to grow on trees? Men love good-looking women. There's a news flash. And we also recognize that many women are extremely physically attractive into middle-age, and sometimes even into old age. But is there a limit for certain jobs like news anchors, models, and yes, strippers? I would take the position in these instances that, especially in those industries where appearance is a key factor, employers have the right to decide when to move on with their employee base. But there are many legal and social issues when addressing the larger question: How old is too old?

Mendte's Muse-Gone-Wrong

First, for those who may be from out-of-town and don't know the players, Larry Mendte is a former local TV news anchor, a typical middle-aged white male. Alycia Lane is a younger, very attractive former coanchor of Mendte's. Dawn Stensland is an attractive, popular local news anchor and married to Mendte, mother to his two youngest children. Mendte and Lane have been fired in the last few months for controversial incidents. Lane was involved in a late-night dust up with undercover cops in New York, one of a string of controversies surrounding the nubile news beauty. Mendte was canned for tapping into Lane's email accounts and leaking negative stories about her to the press. Mendte subsequently faced federal charges for the privacy violations, and pled guilty to those yesterday and now awaits sentencing in the matter. Stensland is steadfastly and classily standing by her man. To say that any relationship between former local news anchors Larry Mendte and Alycia Lane would be a 'May-December' one would be a little off the mark. If we generally are able to live to 80 years of age, that divides the twelve months into 6 1/2 year periods. So in 2003 when Lane came to town and what Mendte describes as a 'flirtatious, unprofessional, inappropriate' relationship began, the two would have more of a 'May-July' relationship. That is how close someone who is 30-ish would be to someone in their mid-40's, but for some reason some folks still don't get the attraction of a 27-32 year old woman to a mid-upper 40's man. Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Jonathan Storm, who judging by his bi-line photo is in Mendte's age bracket but out of Lane's league, derides the possibility of a relationship as likely a product of Mendte's middle-aged imagination, reasoning that Lane had "an ability to attract young hunks" and wondering why she would possibly go "all aflutter for her 50ish coanchor?" Wake up, Mr. Storm. Young girls go for older men all the time. Attracted to and by hunks or not, there is something attractive about an older guy's softer looks, experienced demeanor, relaxed attitude, and of course at times money, power, and prestige. The likelihood to my way of thinking is that Lane came to town, got paired up with Mendte on the news, and they developed a relationship. Mendte was likely smitten by Lane's looks, Lane seems a bit of a wild-child, and was probably attracted by Mendte's status and charm. In any event, they likely had a flirtatious relationship that had not apparently developed into an affair when Stensland found some incriminating emails regarding the relationship. She confronted Mendte, he backed off from Lane and put up a wall, and Lane likely reacted poorly as well. Mendte and Lane went from dinner buddies and flirty friends to back-stabbing and rivalry. My take is that Mendte was drawn to her email by a combination of wanting to know what was happening in her private life, and wanting to get some dirt on her to give himself the professional edge. He found both, and leaked bad items to friends in the media who made Lane look bad. She didn't need a lot of help in that, when she acted like an ass and maybe worse in her New York police encounter late in 2007. In the end, what once looked like a jovial pairing of a veteran male newcaster and the newcomer beauty queen coanchor has crashed and burned, leaving professional and personal scars aplenty. Alycia Lane once appeared to be headed towards becoming Larry Mendte's professional, middle-aged muse, if not more. Now they both share the spotlight for reasons that neither could ever have envisioned or desired. It's a damned shame how some who seem to have it all are willing to risk it for their ego, but there you have it.