The Older Set

Television has started making me feel old. I’m not old. Let me get that out of the way at the start.

I admit that I am getting older. Maybe. I don’t really feel any older than I did a decade or a generation ago, but the gray hair in my beard and the birthdate on my lying driver’s license could lead one to think otherwise. Let’s just say I now qualify for Medicare and Social Security and leave it at that. That’s not old.

It used to be old, but it’s not anymore.

When I was younger, way back in the bright early days of the Baby Boom, television made me feel young. The shows were full of bright young or at least young-ish people having fun: Mary Tyler Moore brightening her newsroom, the Smothers Brothers telling jokes and hosting The Who, Alan Alda suffering through the Korean War.

These Days

Joe Earle is editor-at-large and has lived in metro Atlanta for more than 30 years. He can be reached at joeearle@ reporternewspapers.net

Even the ads seem older. They’re full of silver-haired people pushing drugs to combat diseases I’ve never heard of and hope I never get. The toothpaste they sell doesn’t fight cavities, it fights gum disease.

I think of it as the geriatrification of TV. That’s different from gentrification. When neighborhoods gentrify, they tend to get younger and wealthier . When TV geriatrifies, it tends to get older and wealthier. Call it the Downton Abbey Principle.

One TV show that makes me feel old is the Grammys.

In my younger days, I thought the Grammys were a joke. Nobody good every won. The awards went to old people I didn’t care about. Frank Sinatra seemed to win everything. The Rolling Stones got ignored. The Grammys were for old folks. (Things change, of course. Nowadays, I like Sinatra and the Rolling Stones have collected Grammys, including the kind given to performers just because they’re old.

Even the ads were full of young people. And they sold the kinds of things young people wanted: flashy clothes, flashy soft drinks, toothpaste for flashy smiles.

Now I regularly watch the news, sports, a smattering of sitcoms and some British imports. The actors are old and act older, even the ones I used to watch when they were young. Judd Hirsch is old and irascible on one show. Elliott Gould is old and clueless in another. They seem so, well, old.

Watching the Grammy show on TV, I felt like I somehow had missed at least one entire generation of music. The performers all were youngsters I’d barely heard of. Grammies now honor people with names such as Cardi B or Bad Bunny. I have children older than Cardi B.

I know TV isn’t all for old people. I know that somewhere out there in the higher cable numbers there’s a Disney Channel pitched to kids and a bunch of hip shows that draw in millennials, but now I find I’ve ended up on the scary streets of the television version of Old Town.

It’s starting to get old.

Johnson For Probate Court Judge

EDUCATION/ MEMBERSHIPS/ PROFESSIONAL AWARDS/ APPOINTMENTS

Clark Atlanta University, Bachelor of Arts, 1995

South Texas College of Law,1998

Distinguished Leader Award, Fulton County

Daily Report

Chief Assistant District Attorney

Fulton County District Attorney’s Office

Community Prosecutor of the Year, Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, 2016

Community Service Award, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District, 2017

Chief Deputy Solicitor, Fulton County Solicitor General’s Office (2017-Current)

State Bar of Georgia Judicial Nominating Committee, (2018-2020)

Member, Georgia Bar Association

Member, Atlanta Bar Association, Probate Section

Executive Board, Georgia Association

Women Lawyers Foundation (2019-2020)

Executive Board, Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (2012-2017)

Regional Director, National Black Prosecutors Association (2015-2019)

Executive Committee, Gate City Bar Community Law Clinic (2012-2019)

“The Probate Court of Fulton County is a true ‘family court.’ From marriage licenses to guardianships for loved ones with mental health needs, Probate Court can help families grow and prosper. For 20 years, I have represented victims of crime, achieved justice for families after devastating crime events and protected public safety as a Community Prosecutor.

When my dear mother passed, I was left to handle her business affairs through grief and bureaucracy. When loss and challenges arise, families need an effective, competent and compassionate court to guide them through difficult times. As a proven leader, I have the experience, knowledge and vision to take Probate Court into the future, increase efficiency and make probate services more accessible and convenient.

In 2020, I ask for the privilege of your vote to serve as your next Probate Court Judge in Fulton County because family, either by blood or choice, means everything.

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