Last week was the 40th anniversary of the Human Be-In at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. June marks four decades since the Beatles' boomer-revered "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" LP. Not to mention '67's Summer of Love.

But these aren't likely to be glorious observations for those hippies or baby boomers who are finally having to face old age -- the oldest boomers turned 60 last year.

Still, they aren't going down without a fight. And they have plenty of good role models for active old age. In fact, as life spans increase, people are no longer headed, depressingly, into a uniform "old age." Instead, they'll encounter what are called the three divisions of aging.

Some experts divide older people into younger seniors -- 55 to 69; transitional seniors -- 70 to 84; and upper seniors -- 85 and older. (Don't tell your active dad or grandmother, but that division is also called "old old.")

Others call the divisions bunk -- making the point that people age differently and that we shouldn't stereotype.

OK. But just this once, let's look at who's who and what's what in the three segments. We just might get a hint as to what's ahead for this highly experienced, convinced-they're-right, expect-no-evil generation.

Robust and rowdy

YOUNG SENIORS (55-69)

How can people be young if they've been members of AARP for five years? They're young seniors, that's how. And just by turning 55, these whippersnappers are eligible to compete in the Tar Heel Senior Games. (Call 851-5456 or visit www.ncseniorgames.org.)

People in this group who retire fashionably early at 59 could, with good health, spend as many years in retirement as they did in their principal careers.

"Our conception of what is old has changed dramatically," says Victor Marshall, director of the Institute on Aging at UNC-Chapel Hill. "If someone is acting in a very confident way, they sort of get exempted from being old."

No kidding. This age group contains a good helping of the world's movers and shakers, including President George W. Bush and former president Bill Clinton. There are some odd pairings: At 66, Ringo Starr is a year older than Dick Cheney. And Mary Tyler Moore (69) predates Superman, who emigrated from Krypton in 1938.

Keys to staving off the look and feel of growing old are -- sorry to say -- the same ones for losing weight: watch that diet and shake your groove thing. Also, keeping your brain as well as your body busy can help ward off dementia. Sudoku, anyone?

"[Boomers] should expect to be robust and have a lot of physical energy and active interest in life," Marshall says. "It's great for industry. They are going to want to travel if they can afford it. They are going to want to be physically active."

In what may or may not be good news, depending on one's work ethic, more people are working longer, the National Institute on Aging said last summer. Fifty-three percent of males between 62 and 64 have jobs now, up from 45 percent in 1995. For women in the same age group it's 40 percent, up from 32.5 in 1995.

Even romance isn't dead. Who really thinks Sir Paul won't wed again once he gets past this unfortunate business with the second wife?

On the other hand, scientists at Ohio State University cheerfully point out, vision starts to go in the mid-50s.

Powerful and productive

TRANSITIONAL OR MIDDLE SENIORS (70-84)

These years don't have to bring the age-related decline that was once thought inevitable. Long-term care in a nursing home or assisted living facility isn't in the picture for most. Only one of 10 seniors nationally lives in an age-restricted community.

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