I will never forget the moment I met Deloyce Alcorn, 93. It was the past fall and was in the middle of his weekly training at the Strength Shoppe in Echo Park. The retired aerospace engineer, then 92, wore a tight shirt that said “I know strong.
Alcorn extended his legs, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Then it began slowly, decidedly, pushing 312 pounds forward with the feet, completing multiple repetitions. (On the contrary, I am many younger decades and physically fit and currently pressed 220 pounds when he pressed his legs). Alcorn was inspiring, for saying at least.
So is the 71 -year -old Pole dancer, Mary Serritella, whom my colleague, Deborah Netburn, wrote about last year. Acting under the name of Mary Caryl, Serritella twists her body in positions called “The ChopStick”, “The Jade Split” and “The Black Sun Split”, revolving around a silver post while it sounds album music.
Last May, I wrote about a group of “relatively older” vertical skaters “, Deathracer413, who believe that dangerous sport is its key to longevity. They are not not agenaries, most are 50 and 60 years old, but they are making dangerous tricks in the air, some in the citizenship of the elderly. Adrenaline, they argue, keeps the acute brain.
Of course, aging comes with inevitable physical deterioration and other challenges. But individuals such as Alcorn, Serritella and Deathracers promote ageist stereotypes on how we should live and play as we age.
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