Has there ever been a time when you hear or see something that makes you stop in your tracks and say to yourself, “Oh my gosh, I feel so old?”

Well I have. I’ve experienced this quite a few time in my life.

There are times when I might be lying there, watching television and feel like I’m still a teenager.

Notice I said “lying” there, because whenever I move or bend over I can definitely tell I am not.

But I have never felt as old as I did the other day when I was putting together this Valley Life section of the paper. In the Today in History section, I noticed it lists in today’s birthday’s that Bon Jovi is 63. Sixty three!

But that isn’t as horrific as realizing that Ron Howard in 71.

Opie Taylor is 71!

Ugh. I blinked.

Of course, I was not born when the Andy Griffith show first aired. My mother was, though. It was and is her all-time favorite show. And one of mine, too.

As I’ve said, I don’t remember much about my past. I kind of like living in denial. Yet, I do recall the day Andy Griffith died. Neither she nor I had an easy time getting through the day.

I may not have grown up watching original versions of the show, but I have seen all of the episodes in reruns — some at least 50 or more times.

Who wouldn’t want to live in a wonderful world like that?

Yes, I realize the town was fictional. I understand that Mayberry, N.C., is merely a fairytale place where the people were always friendly and neighbors were your best friends.

A municipality where no crime really existed and the town drunk was usually the only occupant in the jail.

But I digress. I sometimes get off track and lose my way when I talk about a topic I love.

I usually find my way back, though.

I might not have been around when Opie was on the television screen.

But I was there when Richie Cunningham occupied the TV.

I grew up watching Ron Howard on “Happy Days.”

That was my decade. And what a good decade it was. I know I have spoken about the music of the 1970s. I’ve probably mentioned some of the fashions from the decade as well.

But the television shows? They don’t make programs like that anymore.

Probably because someone would get sued. No one can be comical anymore because so many people take offense to something or another. And that’s just sad.

I still watch reruns — if I can find them — of shows such as “Good Times,” “All in the Family,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “The Rockford Files,” “The Brady Bunch,” “Welcome Back Kotter,” “Starsky and Hutch,” “What’s Happening,” “Taxi,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Mary Tyler Moore.”

I could go on and on but I’ll stop. I told you I can get carried away sometimes.

Now, as far as Bon Jovi is concerned, most of you know who he is.

There was a time when I couldn’t say that. But he is 63 today so I feel like most people have at least heard of him.

When I was a freshman in high school, I idolized him. He was my favorite musician.

I had every Bon Jovi poster ever designed on my bedroom walls. I had his T-shirts, buttons, iron-on patches for my jean jacket and every tape or album he made.

I remember going to his concerts with my friends and my mom. She liked him, too.

My most memorable Bon Jovi moment, however, has to do with my grandfather.

He was coming to Pittsburgh and I wanted to go. I needed to go, because when you are a teenager, everything is a matter of life and death.

Everything.

And Bon Jovi was no exception.

He was a gorgeous, long-haired singer who was in a band.

To a 14-year-old girl, that is pretty much her entire world.

Well, as circumstances would have it, I was not permitted to skip school to go and stand in line for concert tickets outside Kaufmann’s at the Fort Steuben Mall.

Yes, this was way before one could simply click a button on a cell phone or an Apple watch and order a ticket.

This was the era when you actually had to work in order to purchase a ticket for a concert.

Something to tell my grandson, Layne one day, I’m sure. (I already have stories for him.)

Blink.

But in those days, if you were not up and in line at the crack of dawn or camped out the night before, you probably missed your chance at going to whatever it was you wanted to see. Or, at least you wouldn’t be getting a good seat. The windows in the upstairs of Kaufmann’s opened at 10 a.m. I, of course, was in school during this time.

I had no choice. Being 14 and unable to drive, I couldn’t very well get myself to Steubenville from Toronto without a license.

And I certainly was not going to walk. I would have been grounded for sure. I’d have had to miss the concert altogether had I done something like that.

What was I going to do?

I am sure you know where I have been going with this.

My grandfather went for me.

No, not to school. He went to get me concert tickets.

Yep. He did indeed.

He woke up extremely early and drove to the mall so at 5 a.m. he could be standing in line outside of the mall with all of the teenage rockers of the late 1980s.

Naturally, he was the oldest person there. And you would think he would either be harassed a little or made fun of because of the age difference.

But I was informed that he just stood among everyone and told them stories.

He entertained them. And I actually believe that to be true … with my whole heart. You see, my grandfather had a way of entertaining everyone, no matter how old they were.

He was that special. I know I have written about his being in the Navy during World War II and how he made it seem like it was a good time. He just had that way about him. I miss him so very often.

And yes, he was the one who was married to my grandma — the one who without fail, always bought me a Valentine’s Day cake.

They were the couple I told you about who met when he was pulling his wagon of horseradish to sell for his family and stopped along the way to hold the ladder for a little girl who was washing her mother’s windows.

Theirs was a love story that stood the test of time, and it makes me happy anytime I can talk about them in a column.

Anyway, my grandfather got me those concert tickets. And it is something I will always remember.

So, yeah, I am glad Bon Jovi has a birthday today, because it reminds me of my grandparents … and their never-ending kindness.

(Stenger is the community editor for the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times newspapers. She can be contacted at jstenger@heraldstaronline.com.)