There’s nothing funny when you fall at 80 years old

Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive

I had both knees replaced in the last few years, the punishment for running long distances in my youth. Marathons, ultra-marathon relays and wilderness marathons seemed like a good idea at the time. 

Now, at the ripe old age of 10 (in dog years), not so much.

But, I did learn something in that recuperation process that I’d like to shout out to President Joe Biden – Slow down and use the freakin’ handrails! 

I mean, seriously, how many times are we going to watch the president of the United States trip and fall as he tries to skip up and down the stairs? 

Please, don’t get me wrong. I’m not making fun of the president in a Gerald Ford/Chevy Chase sort of way. Ford was a much younger man and the laughter directed at him for his slip-falls was about him being clumsy, not frail. Joe Biden is 80-years-old. Falling for him is deadly serious. 

Biden’s own CDC website says: “Every second of every day, an older adult (age 65+) suffers a fall in the U.S.—making falls the leading cause of injury and injury death in this age group. One out of four older adults will fall each year in the United States, making falls a public health concern, particularly among the aging population.”

So, take your government’s own advice, Mr. President. Stop trying to show the world that you’re sprite and youthful. You are an 80-year-old American male. In just the time you’ve been in the White House, you have fallen in public multiple times. (Who knows how many times in private?) 

The most recent public fall – the one last week in the U.S. Air Force Academy commencement ceremony – was a particularly bad one. The president tripped and fell on his right hip. He struggled to get up. Everyone gasped. 

And, let’s tell the unvarnished truth here: Statistically, the president isn’t out of the woods because falls like these are possible signs of bad things to come. 

It ain’t funny.