One of my favorite comedic authors, Tom Papa, said there’s an epidemic threatening our country and only one group who can stop it because they’re the ones doing it.

Apparently no one has told baby boomers they’re now senior citizens. They still think they’re at Woodstock, riding motorcycles, smoking pot and living the good life.

“It has to stop,” said Papa. “We need you to act your age because we need old people.”

Comically, he’s talking about those who wear sweaters year round, play bingo, knit, bake cookies, and talk about the good ol’ days. Personally, I’m not convinced boomers are going to cooperate with his vision.

Case in point: I recently asked my three siblings, who range in age from 57-71, and their spouses, how they felt about being called seniors. What I got was a lengthy pause followed by looks that made me wonder if I had grown another head.

“I don’t let society, or organizations like AARP and discounts define me,” my sister Becky said.

Her husband, Charlie, put it this way: If you didn’t know the year you were born, how old would you feel?

Maybe the word “senior” doesn’t register with my family, who all live in Wisconsin, like it does with residents here on the Western Slope. Despite the biased, negative age-based judgments that come with aging, there’s also a lot of good, which doesn’t make “senior” a bad thing.

“I’m proud of my age and wear it like a badge of honor,” said Chris Lind, 65. “When we’re young, we’re self-centered and can miss special moments. Life is an interesting journey. I’m much more reflective, compassionate and kinder now.”

However, changing the way we talk and think about aging and focusing more on how younger and older people are similar and different encourages community and can dismantle ageist stereotypes.

Lind shared an experience that happened over dinner with some new neighbors. As she sat down with the young family at the dinner table, the 11-year-old boy, Rykker, turned to his dad and said, “That old lady…’”

He was talking about Chris.

“I think for a split second he forgot I was there,” she said. “He could have swallowed his face inside and out.”

But Lind used the mishap as a learning experience, telling Rykker that two letters can make a huge difference.

“Older is okay, but not old,” she said, while also suggesting that he call her by her name.

Days later, he was at Lind’s door showing her a frog he’d caught.

“I told him, ‘Good luck with that and your parents,’” said Chris.

To which he replied, “Okay, Grandma,” with the same look on his face as when he called her “old lady.”

Lind told him as long as it was okay with his parents, then it was okay with her.