ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 9, 1996 TAG: 9605090024
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BARRY GARRON KANSAS CITY STAR
Mary-Lou Weisman was talking to a friend who was about to have some dental work. ``I'm going to have my first root canal tomorrow,'' her friend said.
``When she used the words `my first,' that was my moment of so-called inspiration,'' Weisman said.
At that instant Weisman realized new things happen to middle-aged people. Those pastel-colored baby books need not be the only place that list all the ``my first'' things in life.
``I just began to go from there: my first gray hair, my first conservative opinion,'' Weisman said in a telephone interview from her home in Fairfield, Conn.
Before long she had the makings of ``My Middle-Aged Baby Book: A Record of Milestones, Millstones and Gallstones'' (Workman, $12.95).
Weisman, 58, is on a promotional tour for her funny book, now in its third printing.
``I wrote the book because I know that middle-age people went through many of the changes that one associates with babyhood,'' she said. ``Those similarities are what started me off.''
One section deals with First Words. Examples include ``Everything hurts'' and ``I didn't sleep a wink.''
Another section lists favorite expressions, such as ``Dressing on the side, please'' and ``I never thought I'd say that.''
There is room to record the names of an internist, a proctologist, a radiologist and a gastroenterologist. There are wickedly funny nursery rhymes (``This little piggy has a bunion'') and a list of the seven stages of men's hair loss and the seven stages of women's hair coloring.
Parts of the book describe changes in eating habits and how a new fascination with reading obituaries can lead to valuable health insights.
No wonder Weisman's book has become increasingly popular as a gift to people hitting the big 4-O or the big 5-O.
A cardiac patient claimed the book helped him recover. A woman said she read the book to her husband and he laughed so hard he drove the car off the road.
``Those are my endorsements,'' Weisman said.
Although her book pokes fun at middle-age angst, the author said this had been the best time of her life. The anxiety of the 30s and 40s is over.
``This is the stage of feeling confident, having perspective, being able to make use of your experience.''
You don't get any smarter and your body has hardly begun to fall apart, Weisman said.
``You finally know what it is you're going to be when you grow up. Even if you don't like it, there's a tremendous mellowness that occurs with that kind of acceptance.''
If she could take 20 years off her age, she wouldn't, Weisman said.
``You could take it off my face but not off my life. Not these 20 years. Uh, uh. Take my childhood. Take my adolescence. And you can maybe take my old age. I don't know yet.''
LENGTH: Medium: 64 linesby CNB