Can we talk?

Go Gray Power

         Nothing makes me sadder than hearing an older person say that he or she is just waiting for the grave (more often a he). Frequently, those people have tied up the meaning of life with work, so that when they stop working by choice or by health, they have little reason to keep living. What makes me mad is when I hear younger people writing off older people, like they can't continue to be creative, productive, vital, sensuous, or active.

         Did you know that Michelangelo started the final Sistine Chapel painting when he was 59? It wasn't a short term job. Grandma Moses sold her first painting at age 78. But it's not just artists. Sir Isaac Newton was the first scientist to be knighted when he was 62. John Glenn manned his second space flight at age 77. Benjamin Franklin invented the first bifocals at age 78. Guiseppe Verdi, the Italian composer, wrote "Ave Maria" when he was 85!

         I've studied cowboy legends and found a woman who ran a riding school for girls and young women. She died at age 101, not from illness or "old age", but was thrown from a horse while teaching girls to rope from a moving horse. Now that's living a full life!

         In the entertainment industry, you have Betty White who stays busy, but maybe doing easier things than she used to do. There are other tougher jobs being done by Robert Duvall and Clint Eastwood, both pushing 90. Paul Newman made personal appearances right up to the end, and still looked good at 94.

         Never plan on resting on your laurels. Retiring from a job doesn't mean retiring from life. And being over 50, or 65 doesn't disable a person or diminish their worth. They can still be vital in the workplace, in volunteer work, in politics, in the arts. We need to clean up our attitudes for ourselves, our family, and our friends. Let seniors have a full life. Encourage them to continue pursuing their dreams.