In 1953, Watson and Crick discovered that the DNA we each carry while strutting around consists of two intertwined, twisted spirals of chemical compounds – a structure commonly described as a double helix. Then Fredrick Sanger rolled up his sleeves and onto the scene during 1958 with an improved understanding of the double helix’s chemical makeup. Later in 1980 he also sorted out a way to identify the specific sequencing of nitrogenous bases (the building blocks of DNA) that provide codes to manufacture amino acids for proteins required in life.

With hundreds of thousands of genes contained within each of 23 pairs of chromosomes, there was a good deal of expense connected with uncurling DNA to reveal the sequencing. In 1980 the cost related to DNA analysis limited its use to helping law enforcement learn if it was Colonel Mustard with the lead pipe in the library that did in Professor Plum. DNA analysis just wasn’t as common or practical then as it is now.

Forty-five years later, genetic testing is booming thanks to diminished costs. Starting in 2016 the number of genetic in-home test kits doubled five years in a row, reaching more than 90 million a year in 2021. 23 And Me, Ancestery.com and other laboratories can help you discover those distant relatives you’ve never met, or narrow down the location of your family’s origin on this planet. You’ll have to wait for further breakthroughs, however, to be assured you’re not related to that cousin everyone in the family knows is from Mars.

You can also have a dog’s DNA tested if you’d like. This enables learning more about your canine’s purity of pedigree, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and strays. When the results come back, you’ll be able to plan a trip to Tucumcari so the whole mongrel clan can growl over some bones and howl at the moon together – as their owners are prone to do at their own family reunions.

On what might become a more practical side, DNA tests can also identify imperfections (errors in sequencing) within genes that contribute to health disorders such as diabetes and perhaps other medical conditions. When I had such testing done related to a health issue years ago, the results indicated the presence of several genetic flaws. Explaining the discovery to Rita, she replied, “That was a waste of time. I could have told you plenty about all your flaws.” Unfortunately, a solution for correcting genetic mistakes has yet to be perfected. For the time being such things are, more or less, left for someone else in the family to uncover and lecture you about.

A short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, written in 1922, provided an idea for the movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008). Brad Pitt was cast in the lead role. For those not familiar with the film, Button is born an old man, then grows younger and younger as time passes and eventually dies in a nursing home as an infant. It now seems the movie might have provided a glimpse into the future.

Yogi Berra once claimed, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” I’m confident he was right. This might also mean it’s not too late to change my future. Perhaps a little far-fetched, but I’m holding onto the idea of “the ol’ genetic switcheroo” enabling a change in those flawed genes I possess. Besides reversing the mild negative influence such flaws have had on a remarkable resemblance to Brad Pitt, the reversal of an ongoing aging process would be welcome. As soon as science figures out how to reorder gene sequencing, I’m signing up to be a Benjamin Button beta-tester on a path toward growing younger. Getting older in retirement is for the birds.