You're Not Getting Older. . .

. . . You're getting better. West Columbia, for the curious, is just down the road from Alvin.

USATODAY.com - Army accepting older recruits: "FORT JACKSON, S.C. — Margie Black had wanted to enter the military as a teenager, but having her first child at 19 put off her ambitions.

So when she learned the Army raised its enlistment age, Black, now a 41-year-old grandmother from West Columbia, Texas, didn't hesitate to join. The decision took 'about 30 seconds,' she said.

On Friday, Pvt. Black worked on her marksmanship skills here, while her 21-year-old daughter was at Army basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

'I'm taking it one day at a time,' Black said. 'If I do that, I can handle it.'

Older soldiers like her are showing up more often at Army training bases across the country since Congress gave the service approval earlier this year to raise its enlistee age limit, which had been 35, to just under 42 years."