Biden the Elder(ly)

Ok. Is it one or the other? So, let’s start with the basics. This subject comes to mind because I’m old and I think about it a lot, but, more particularly because a government lackey of some sort issued a report which, among other things, accused Biden of being elderly and all that connotes. So I figured it would be worth my while to get to the bottom of this elderly thing.Mr. Merriam and Webster perfunctorily defines elderly as “rather old”. While the Oxford English Dictionary, or OED as it’s commonly referred to and grandfather of all word definers, says this about that, “of, relating to, or characteristic of older people...

My Journey with Dementia

I am an Alzheimer’s caregiver. I didn’t want to be. I was not prepared for the job. I had no idea that the tasks involved would be far more complex, far more difficult than anything I had ever done or attempted to do in my life before Alzheimer’s . I’m not sure I can do it. What if I can’t? On February 2, 2017 I was delivered a seven page document entitled “Memory Clinic Neuropsychological Evaluation” which had all the warmth of a treatise on How to Skin a Catfish. My eyes teared over as I scanned the charts and graphs looking for the bottom line…because that’s what I did in business. I finally found it in...

On Becoming Eighty

Some of you may remember that the original title of this piece was Becoming Seventy. And as you can tell from the opening content, I was focused on the event of reaching beyond my 70th year. I updated it three years ago on my 77th birthday…and now I’m ready to begin yet another decade of life. I’ve read and reread what I had to say about getting old (er) then and I’m willing to stand my ground today. Yes, much has changed in the last 10 years. Our well used body parts are starting to wear at a faster pace. Our children are fully grown, and now their children are reaching adulthood. The world does seem to be turning a bit faster, or...

Letter to the President

The Honorable Joseph Robinette BidenThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 20500Dear Joe, er I mean Mr President:Pardon the familiarity, but I was motivated by the fact that we are contemporaries (age-wise that is). In fact you are about 10 months older than I am. I believe that you will be blowing out 80 candles on your cake this week. The other similarities we share are that we’ve been pretty busy fellows for our entire lives. Getting an education, raising a family, and jobs that pretty much took all our time. The only difference I see is that I spent a few years in Uncle Sam’s Army, while you seemed to have slid by that one. I don’t know...

Growing Up Churchy

“Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.”   ~ Vladimir Lenin ~ “Give me the child for the first seven years and I will show you the man.”   ~ Ignatius of Loyala ~ “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’   ~ Matthew 19:14, King James Version of the Bible ~ Throughout history, there seems to be a consensus that children are particularly vulnerable to being taught what a teacher wants them to learn. Nowhere is this more true than in our political/social/religious institutions.  I cannot attest to the effectiveness...