beyond the pale

A new ad for volunteers for a survey on brain health calls for subjects between the ages of 50 and 79, to see how they're getting along. And a couple of insurance ads on TV (no-medical life insurance) limits eligibility to ages 50 to 80.  So - I am beyond the pale,that is, unacceptable.  I looked it up.  I knew the meaning but not the origin. A paling was a fence, from the Latin palls, meaning stake,  the kind used in building fences. Fences were built to keep unacceptable people out, or in, as the case may be.  I first encountered one in Ireland but pales where common in Europe before the phrase came to define outsiders. So I am past counting or being noticed. Kind of freeing, that.  The reason I save coupons is that when one passes its expiry date I can throw it out with a clear conscience.  So here I am, past my expiry date, as it were. Beyond the pale.  Free at last!