Finesse Writing and Editing

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Professional Services
  • Qualifications & Experience
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Blog

  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • RSS

What “Horror” Really Means (When You’re Over 50)

this entry has 0 Comments/ in Life Over 50 / by Tracy
May 14, 2020
Photo by Patrick Pierre on Unsplash

Think back to high school, if you dare. It’s Friday night, and you and your newest sweetheart head to the theater for the latest horror movie (probably A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, or Friday the 13th). Back then, those movies gave us a chance to be temporarily frightened of things we knew weren’t real (or hoped weren’t). And, okay, it was also an excuse to get a little more familiar with the hands, shoulders, etc. of our dates. What made those movies great was that it was all in fun. But what about real horror? At some point, we outgrew horror films because life itself became more terrifying. And frankly, it gets more so every day.

The “Nightmare” on Your Street

In 1984, Freddie Krueger came after us in our sleep. But in 2017, A Nightmare on Elm Street has a new address…anywhere the IRS, Franchise Tax Board, or court system can serve us with an audit request or command our appearance for jury duty. Unlike Krueger, the tax man cometh any time he wants. And while we can wake from a bad dream and shake it off, an audit can feel like a medical procedure without anesthesia, leaving us begging to die (metaphorically). Score one for adulthood.

Michael Myers aka Your Mortgage Lender

Halloween continues to make some of us laugh because, if we watched (and listened) closely, we intuitively learned that having sex in our parents’ bed would lead to no good (or the pointy end of a gardening tool). Michael Myers was faceless and scared us right out of our homes. Sounds a bit like your local mortgage lender, eh? Today, our homes represent safety, permanence, and accomplishment. And with that picket fence came a mortgage the likes our parents can’t comprehend. Refinancing or taking out a second mortgage is tantamount to Hollywood horror…and you can’t write that stuff.

Why Jason Never Retired

Friday the 13th came hot on the heels of Halloween, and taught us, once again, that you never leave a bad guy for dead. He always manages to survive. “Jason,” it seems, had no interest in retiring from the horror movie biz, and perhaps that’s the one thing that scares our generation the most: retirement. It’s the uncertainty. Will we have enough money? What will we do with our time? What if we want to reenter the work force in a different capacity? Will they take us in? Welcome us with open arms? There’s a lot of unknowns in that plotline, and so we make “bucket lists” and IRA contributions and hope we figure it out before “Jason” shows up to escort us to the other side.

~ ~ ~

Ultimately, the fears we had were far smaller (and simpler) than those we face today. Don’t believe me? Ask a young(er) person what he or she fears most. The answer probably won’t surprise you.

← Mindfulness or Mai Tai – Find Your Happy Place (previous entry)
(next entry) The Perils of Getting Away from It All →
Comments

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Connect With Us

 Facebook Twitter RSS E-mail

Blog Categories

  • Beauty
  • Cancer
  • Hair color
  • Life Over 50
  • Skincare
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • When An Ordinary-Looking Mole Is Actually Malignant Melanoma – My Skin Cancer Saga Continues December 23, 2020
  • Defying Aging: Why You Need an Essence in Your Life May 26, 2020
  • The Perils of Getting Away from It All May 20, 2020

Special Olympics World Games Gold Sponsor

Special Olympics World Games Gold Sponsor

National Association of Professional Women

National Association of Professional Women

Contact Us

Finesse Writing & Editing LLC
P.O. Box 1431
Lake Arrowhead, CA 92352

(909) 744-9718

Finesse Writing & Editing

Finesse Writing and Editing
© Copyright - Finesse Writing and Editing - Website by Gray Space Design
  • Send us Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • Subscribe to our RSS Feed