Real Age

One can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things and happy in small ways.

Edith Wharton
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Hello Agra India
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Though I often read what others had to say about agedness I never really understood it until I stepped onto the gently moving carousel of soup and meatloaf, gray hair and tender feet myself.

Those of us who have passed the age of so called "usefulness" have become experts at adjustment, adaptation and courage. We learn to accept a changing world which is changing faster than it did when we first thought it was changing too fast. I get a lot of spam offering to introduce me to seniors in my area. I have no trouble meeting seniors if I want to, without any help. It's younger people I want to meet because it is they who have the energy and vision that are making the changes happen.

We may not go disco dancing, jogging in the park or bounding up a flight of stairs, but we will get to the top of the stairs in our own good time, however we have to, if what we want is up there.

We have developed the courage to deal with an uncooperative body and an uncaring world. We have made many sacrifices and have learned to make them gracefully. And we have grown to know that the most important sacrifices are not things but attitudes, beliefs and false ideas.

We can appreciate the benefits of slowing down, of exploring new ideas, of gasping in delight at the grandeur of the world and savoring the sweet melody of a single flower. And if we are fortunate to have children around us we can see that life is continuous.

My friend down the street has a daughter with three children, and her mother is still alive. On Mothers Day they all got together and went to an amusement park where they all had a lot of fun, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, three generations of mothers. How about that?

As some wise person once said "Don't complain about growing old, it's a privilege denied to many."

DB - The Vagabond
(Never give up)
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SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest)

Come on. 11 diverse and interesting answers so far. Where's yours?

NASA has planned to send a two man mission on an 18 month trip to the planet Mars. It would take 6 months for the astronauts to get there and after 6 months of exploration another 6 months to return.

Should they do it and why, and if not, why not?

dbdacoba@aol.com

I eagerly await your answer.

DB
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