The Perks of Aging: A Senior Discount — At 52?

It's tough to grow old.

Children scramble toward each birthday — after all, the promise of a sugary flower festooned cake and a gazillion just-what-I-wanted gifts hiding beneath gloriously crinkely wrapping paper is hard to forgoe.

Those of us long in the tooth hardly herald our day of birth with such vigor, knowing full well the next year lurks just beyond the last forkful of our celebratory brown derby cake.

One consolation prize for growing older is the senior discount — presumably because in the bear trap of old age, one's purse strings are as tight as one's hamstrings.

So what passes for 'senior' nowadays? AARP, which before it became an acronym in 2007, was the American Association of Retired Persons, promises benefits and discounts for ages 50 and older.

Anyone who calls a 50-year-old a senior these days is risking a big loss in a game of social Russian roulette.

So it's with a bit of mystification that we report this business tidbit to those of all ages — Middletown's Metro Movies 12 is now offering Senior Wednesdays, among other specials.

Read the fine print and tell us what you think in the comments below. And don't forget to include your age.