I've had the honor recently of meeting a number of inspirational men and women who have show just how much I have to look forward to in old age. Boldness, childish fun, witness to history....these are the things that they've shown me old age is about.
I met Don in my improv class. He's 78 years old, and just had knee surgery. He used to be a powerful executive in the tech world. Now that he's retired, he commented that he felt invisible. No job, over 25, and you're out of the "mainstream" in or society. He also felt that he knew no young people.
It was so rewarding and inspiring to see Don play improv games with us relative "youngsters". He approached them with the joy and vigor of a child, and let go of control. Seeing him joining hands with his partner, dancing in a circle like "ring around the rosey", with this big grin and a twinkle in eye ---- it was one of the most uplifting things I've seen.
Ruth stayed at Hersey House in Ashland, OR at the same time we were. We had breakfast together our first morning there. She's been coming to the Shakespeare Festival for 30-some odd years with her daughter-in-law. She lived in San Francisco during WWII. She had amazing stories to tell about times during the war and after. How opinion was divided about whether Americans were doing enough about the concentration camps. It was living history to speak with her.
Finally, we met Vicki on our Upper Klamath whitewater rafting trip. It was a class IV-V rafting trip. When she and her husband boarded the van, someone in our group muttered, "I hope they'll be able to handle this." Boy, did we have to eat our words!
Vicki retired with her husband, and moved from Monterey, CA to Medford, OR so she could be closer to two things: the Shakespeare Festival, and whitewater rafting. The bigger the rapids we ran into, the more enthusiastic her holler. More than once, after especially big rapids, she asked if we could get out, port the boat up the river, and have a second go.
Right before lunch, a huge wave swamped the boat during the largest rapids. Vicki hung on, but the guide on the back of the boat didn't. As he went, he took her with him. We rescued her but she lost her shoes. She didn't mind at all! In fact, she was laughing about it the rest of the trip. What boldness and bravado!
What great examples...that's how I want to age gracefully!
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