Age

AUBURNDALE, MASS. -- Like most 70-somethings, I can't pick up a magazine or tune into a talk show without encountering somebody much younger telling me what a great time of life I've arrived at. In fact, all the wild enthusiasm about the joys of being "mature" is really aimed at baby boomers, who live in terror of ending up, heaven forbid, like their parents. Do they honestly believe that you're only as old as you think you are? Are they really convinced they can remain "forever young" if they think positively, jog and eat tons of broccoli?

Why should you start investing early? "Albert Einstein called compound interest the greatest invention of mankind, and the younger you start, the better," says Investor's Business Daily. "If you start investing $4,000 annually (the maximum contribution for married couples) in a Roth IRA at age 30, you'll have $1.2 million by age 65, assuming a 10 percent return. If you wait till age 40, that nest egg shrinks to $436,727. And you can withdraw that money tax-free in retirement!"Want to buy Internet stocks without picking individual issues, many of which appear overpriced?

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Like Bob Dole, 72-year-old Thomas J. Asaif saw infantry duty in World War II and calls himself a conservative.The retired electronics engineer would love to vote for a veteran for president but says there's no way he'll support Dole."

ST. MICHAELS -- Here's a state law somebody's mother must have thought up: Imbibers in Garrett County are not allowed to run up a bar tab.Here's another one: In Frederick County, forget about snagging beer from a drive-through window. State law says no.Hiding from the spouse while indulging in Charles County? Careful. Taverns down south must have at least one clear window -- unobstructed from street view. The law says so.The number of laws covering liquor consumption and sales in Maryland is, well, staggering.

Everybody's doing it -- aging, that is. A century ago, the average American's life span was only 46 years. Now we can look forward to living to be 77, and baby boomers are blasting past 50th birthdays at the rate of 11,500 a day.Not to worry: Rushing to the rescue of the newly gray -- and filling the best-selling bookshelves -- are experts on age and what science is doing to make it better. Hot off the presses is Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld's guide, "Live Now, Age Later: Proven Ways to Slow Down the Clock" (Warner Books, $24)

WASHINGTON -- Most of us who have passed our 39th birthday (and then some) don't particularly revel in the arrival of another one, but Bob Dole had more reason than most this week to wish that his 73rd had come and gone with a bit less fanfare -- or was it dissecting?The flood of stories about it, along with reports on the state of his health, the life expectancy of folks his age and lengthy recapitulations of his medical history, demonstrated the irresistible nature of a ''hook'' in the news business.

LOS ANGELES -- Brenda did it in May. Her brother, Brandon, had done it a couple of months before. Doogie is going to do it Sept. 25. It looks like one of Roseanne's kids will, too.We're talking about teen-age TV characters having their first sexual experiences. It is happening in network prime time more than ever.And, despite the controversy it causes, the trend will continue as the networks compete with racier programming offered by cable. Some TV executives defend the practice, saying it's more honest to admit that real-life teens are sexually active.

My 12-year-old son is a very gifted baseball player who has played against high-level competition since he was 8. Unfortunately, this year's 12-year-old travel team disbanded. One of the options for him was to play for the town team, where he can do some pitching, but will face weak competition until All Stars begins. The other option was to try out for the 13-year-old travel team. He decided to try out for the 13-year-old team, and he did great, going head to head with 20 other kids who are older than him. The coach called after the tryout and said he could see why my son excelled on his 12-year-old travel team.

The image of the elderly driver as a menace on the road ha been exaggerated by the way researchers look at traffic statistics, according to a study released last week by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.The analysis of traffic accidents shows that although the fatality rate for drivers begins to rise appreciably at age 70, the risk grows at a slower rate than previously thought, the study contends.Furthermore, it suggests that the effects of the aging process on driver safety have been overstated by the way previous traffic studies compared elderly with young and middle-aged people at a given period of time.

NEW YORK -- The Women's Tennis Council has agreed in principle to the major recommendations of the Age Eligibility Commission that would prevent young players from competing in a full, unrestricted professional tour until age 18 and prevent any participation on the WTA Tour and at championship events until age 16."Until a kid is 16, she's not going to be in the big time," said Baltimore's Elise Burgin, who with Pam Shriver represents the tour players on the council. "The show will go on without them."