Adrian Barich: Seeing ‘then and now’ videos of my favourite actors has me determined to keep the old man out

I like to think I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy. I wake up, can’t wait to take Frankie to the park, and then (with quotation marks) I try to walk/run for an hour or so because I’m training for a marathon.

But lately my Facebook feed has been seeing some interference.

I’m sure you’ve seen them, the “then and now” videos floating around. They are very smart. A famous actor from your favorite TV show or movie from the last century transforms into his current one.

They appear occasionally and are apparently created by artificial intelligence.

You move forward as if just yesterday you were sitting on your carpet watching Happy Days and then, wow, there’s the reality check.

The last thing that stopped me in my words was The Sound Of Music. We all remember the Von Trapp kids, right? Sailor uniforms, perfect fits and that incredible backdrop. (Who hasn’t stopped by in Austria on a Contiki trip and rubbed their eyes when they came across the original house?)

But the updated video was heart-stopping. Almost the entire group has moved to that big baroque palace in the sky. Even cute little Gretl is now 67 years old!

I did some research and found out that poor Kym Karath, who plays Gretl, actually doesn’t know how to swim and is afraid of water. He almost drowned in that famous boat tipping scene because Julie Andrews was supposed to catch him, but she went the wrong way. It’s funny the things you learn decades later.

But back to the posts: It’s so crazy to see famous people then and now and realize how much time flies.

You see the cast of Cheers or Seinfeld, and some of them appear with little digital angel wings arranged on their shoulders to show that they are no longer with us. It’s a wake-up call, especially when you see some stars die shortly after the show ends. Like Colonel Hogan in Cheers on Hogan’s Heroes and Coach. And many of them died in their 60s, and that’s scary.

No one is safe from the march of time.

More positive moments followed. I saw one for Little House On The Prairie and was blown away to see Melissa Sue Anderson (one of my favorites) playing eldest sister Mary. It’s aged, of course, but it still looks like it did in the 1870s (or at least the 1970s version).

And I know it’s easy to look at these photos and feel a little melancholy.

You see that your childhood heroes are looking frail, or you realize that the “kids” in your favorite movies now qualify for senior passes.

It makes you feel the weight of the years. But that’s where I draw the line.

Whenever I start to feel that ugly vibe, I’m reminded of a philosophy I borrowed from the great Clint Eastwood: “Don’t let the old man in.”

“Old Man” is not about a number on a birth certificate. This is a metaphorical spirit of doubt and complaint. She’s the person who whispers that your knees are too weak for running, you’re too old to learn a new skill, or the world is ignoring you. He wants you to lie in bed, watch TV and wonder how you hurt so much.

Seeing the Von Trapp kids or the Seinfeld cast reminded me that while we can’t stop the physical clock, we can keep the door bolted to that “old man” or “old lady.”

Fight it the only way we know how: by moving your mind and body.

Maintain your excitement. Just putting on your sand shoes is normally enough to get you going.

If you have a passion, whether it’s football, gardening or being the loudest grandparents at Saturday morning netball, you’re winning.

Like the living legends who are still among us, they got better with age because they never stopped showing up.

So the next time you’re scrolling through Facebook and see a “then and now” post that makes you a little sad, don’t let it get you down. Consider this a warning to redouble your efforts.

Of course, time flies, but that doesn’t mean you’ll let the old man walk through the door.

See you outside. I will be the one trying to leave my own “then and now” picture behind.