Still Mortal--After All These Years

. Beginning of life makes being older the goal. I'm not 7, I'm 7 AND A HALF! Can't wait to get a driving permit. Can't wait for that day to come. Then the mad hustle begins, with leaps through phases that make your head spin. Proximity makes clear vision possible--so that the current place far from proximate youth makes youth seem all hazy now. But, the proximate is now the other end of the timeline. Spending time with hospitalized people offers the view of all of the steps that we don't want to know about. The tubes, the beds and especially the aging process. It is even possible to see all the way to the end of the line. Don't stare too long. Medusa is there. -je
. "Lots of people get cranky when they get old, largely because they're dealing with pain and fear. It's a good excuse, certainly--I ain't gonna judge it but Richard's embracing of kindness strikes me as a lot more noble.
. The other thing I learned from Richard: Don't give up. Of course, don't give up jousting with [it] , but raging against the dying of the light is only one part of the process. Don't give up being kindly either. Indeed, be more kindly. See if you can do it. See if you can leave a legacy even larger than the one you already have. And if it turns out that you're alive three years from now, hey, it's all gravy." -Jon Carroll