Going back to 17 doesn’t mean total freedom. I choose to follow some basic rules:

• I will treat my body as if it were 58.
• I will continue to fulfill the responsibilities of a 58-year-old husband and grandfather.
• I will not use my new age as an excuse for saying or doing anything bad.
• I will not be surprised or embittered when bad things from the real world invade this fantasy.

Haven’t decided yet whether I will get a year older every year or just stay 17 permanently. What do you think?

Back to seventeen — why not? I am 58 years old and can hope that, with a little bit of luck, I might live for another thirty years. Why not live those three decades as if I were 41 years younger? Okay, my body — and presumably my mind — will certainly deteriorate, but my ATTITUDE doesn’t have to.

DISCLAIMER: Okay, this idea isn’t new. Turning back the clock is a very old fantasy. I just Googled “back to seventeen” and found, among 69,299,998 other results, a movie (which I haven’t seen) called 17 Again and a book (which I haven’t read) called When I Was Seventeen: If I Could Go Back. Actually, I was quite surprised to find that the domains back2seventeen.com and backtoseventeen.com were available. (backto17.com is taken, but it’s just parked somewhere.)

So originality isn’t the purpose of this blog. In fact, I’m not entirely sure what its purpose is. (Does it have to have a purpose?)

In many ways, being 58 is a lot better than being 17. But — let’s be honest — in some ways it’s worse.

Advantages of being 58:

• You’re wiser.
• You understand the world better.
• You’re more independent financially.

Advantages of being 17:

• You’re going to live longer.
• Life is full of new experiences.
• Nobody depends on you.

Advantages of pretending to be 17 when you’re really 58:

• All of the above except living longer (assuming your kids no longer depend on you).

So let’s get cracking! In October of 2014 I turned 17, okay? Time to try my first beer….