Ok Stanstead, I think we understand each other. I'm sure there are doddering old fools who scare you witless. Similarly I have had the experience of flying with 20 something wizzkids in the LHS who are in charge of a multimillion dollar jet primarily because they joined the company on the right day. Some of them are very good and are a pleasure to fly with. One or two have been overwhelmingly arrogant and one was a danger to all around him. This had less to do with actual age as maturity and attitude. The argument works both ways and cannot be applied to any one group. Sadly, many in this business will write you off once you get to a certain number of years. Aviation is the only business I know of which demands (or used to) ability and experience to gain entry and then ignores it in favour of date of joining for the rest of your career. The system may have some merit in a "job for life" situation but how many airlines count themselves in that category theses days? BA maybe but even there those days may be over.
I understand your point about FMC based aircraft. I started in this game in my mid 30's and have flown little else, including the A320 series. Maybe an engineering background helped. IMHO if you can fly, you can fly. The presence or absence of an FMC or sidestick makes little difference. If you are struggling with a Seneca, you will probably struggle with anything else.
We're all individuals at the end of the day. Some glide through life, some have to struggle for every little crumb. C'est la Vie.
Thank you for your sentiments. Maybe I will get a break one day.
I am not holding my breath.