Bermuda Triangle of Health

There was a part in Spalding Gray’s monologue Gray’s Anatomy, where he talks about the Bermuda Triangle of Health. The idea is that it’s the time “where the body begins to break down in alarming and humiliating ways.” In his case, a macula pucker.

The idea had always stayed with me, but I didn’t actually look back at the book to see the years he deemed the Bermuda Triangle of Health. It’s 50 – 53, if you’re curious. I saw him perform the monologue when he was 53 or 54, based on a quick peek at his birth year on his Wikipedia page. I was in college when I heard him perform the monologue, and he felt so old back then. It made complete sense that his body would be breaking down. But now that I’m here, it doesn’t feel old at all. Do college kids look at me and think that I’m impossibly old?

I thought about it this week because I’ve been dealing with sciatica pain. It’s getting better so I’m not going to see the doctor for now, but it has made me feel creaky and off for weeks. Once upon a time, 50 – 53 sounded so far away. Nothing to worry about. And now it’s here. Thanks a lot, time.