Elvis died almost 50 years ago, and other landmark anniversaries that make us feel old

Elvis is dead — and has been for almost 50 years now.

Things like that really date a person because you remember them happening. And it was nearly 50 years ago.

But they also offer some reassurance. I don’t want to disrespect Elvis, but if he was still around he would look like the rest of us retirees, much the worse for the wear. What used to be long blond hair on rock stars is now long gray hair, if there is any hair at all.

Some of the Grateful Dead are actually dead although there is no indication of whether they are still grateful. How times have changed. Now I hear Dead songs in the grocery stores. This computer automatically filled in Grateful Dead after I had typed a few letters. It readily anticipates what I am going to say with eerie accuracy.

I guess soon, with artificial intelligence, I will be able to write my name and it will write everything else. At the least, that should cut down on typos.

It is disconcerting when you listen to classic radio stations and so many songs are introduced with something like, “We lost this guy a couple of years ago.” Or longer.

We are paying astronomical prices to see concert acts before everyone dies. Some of the farewell tours have lasted longer than a band’s earlier career. Some bands are still playing even though all the original members have died or retired.

All sorts of anniversaries are creeping up on us. This is the 50th anniversary of Richard Nixon resigning the presidency. Interesting that while the computer didn’t help me with Nixon, it did suggest “nixed” which is funny in context.

When Nixon stepped down, that made Gerald Ford the first man to be president of the United States without being elected to one of the top two spots. He retained that distinction by losing in 1976 to Jimmy Carter.

That 50th anniversary is coming up in a couple of years.

It has been 60 years since the Beatles arrived in America, 62 since a record executive at Decca Records refused to sign the band to a recording contract because guitar groups were on the way out.

Who can forget that hoopla? Not old guys like me.