generation pap

I got an interesting letter in response to a personal ad I posted. He writes:

Is there an age range outside of which you don't date?

I respond:

[Friend,] I've had to deal with that question a lot lately because lots of people outside of generation X (1965 to about 1980) have been contacting me. I've decided to stick with my m.o. of considering everyone as an individual regardless of what century or what galaxy they were born in, bearing in mind that a 40-year-old has a better chance with me than a 20-year-old or a 60-year-old.

I've thought through the question of whether this preference for near-contemporaries is silly or shallow. And it kind of is; but isn't every preference we can name necessarily superficial? If a preference for, say, redheads or musicians weren't "shallow," would we even be aware of it? It's the preferences we're not conscious of that might go deeper, but we'll never know what they are.

The age range thing is endlessly fascinating. Anyone contemporary with my sister scores instant points on account of the birth order dynamic; while baby-boomers have to back-peddle through the legacy of generational friction in the '70's. It's wild. It's never personal. Maybe this belongs in my blog.

Did I answer your question with all of this? We can meet, even if you are old.