The spirit is willing but the body is weak

By Tony Ngare

There is an African saying that even old cats still find pleasure in milk. The last time I mentioned this in the presence of someone not too young, I was accused of age discrimination.

It’s indisputable that the colours of life may begin to fade as one’s middle age approaches. The spirit and enthusiasm of youth may have succumbed to the responsibilities to family, society, job and bills. What also fades away over time is one’s sexual interest and physical attraction to their partner.

So must age really interfere with one’s taste in the fine things in life?

This is what we asked ourselves after spotting a senior citizen having some quality time with his beloved in the wee hours of the morning.

There is a widespread belief that a woman’s sexual interest wanes with the approach of menopause. So to address this aspect I talked to a few pub experts and got a few nuggets of wisdom that would be helpful to many.

Dying embers

According to a certified drunk, Brayo, a good sexual life always serves as the basis for a healthy relationship. He believes that it is possible to keep the fire burning even at old age. "Even dying embers can burn a ranch," he quips teasingly.

Elderly couples often think that it is nonsense to think about sex, claims Frao. "You have to remove this misconception from your minds to stay sexy at an old age," he claims. One must feel sexy without any guilt in the mind, he adds, maintaining that it’s perfectly normal to think ‘dirty’ at 70 or 80.

There are certain factors one must understand while making love in their old age, adds our very own Stella.

"The body might not be willing to twist and turn as it did in its youth," she says.

Patience needed

For men with advanced years, she says the sturdy and reliable performance will take a little longer to achieve and may not last as long as it did when he was 20.

"Patience in bucketfuls must be exercised by both parties," she explains.

"So do you expect to be active in old age since you are now dishing advice left, right and centre?" I asked Stella.

"Oh yes…I expect to be very active, just don’t ask me whether I will be married or not."

So are there any ‘don’t try this at home’ precautions? "Never," claims Stella.

The only thing to consider is to avoid the temptation to spruce things up or else a heart attack could claim you both!