The senior citizen

This came to me from a very good friend in the United States, a Jesuit, who is 84 years old:

"There are recent rumors that Julie Andrews did a concert for a group of senior citizens. She sang a favorite from the Sound of Music: ‘Favorite Things’. There were a few changes in the words, to suit the song to her audience. Here are the new words:

Maalox and eye drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up with strings,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Cadillacs and cataracts and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.
When the pipes leak,
When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets, and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heat pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Back pains, confused brains, and no fear of sinnin,
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinin,
And we won’t mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.
When the joints ache, when the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I’ve had,
And then I don’t feel so bad!

"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem for the 50th reunion of his Baudoin College graduating class. He called it ‘MORITURI SALUTAMUS’, the cry of the gladiators in the Roman arena, before they went into combat: ‘We who are about to die, salute you!’. In it he talks of men who accomplished great things after their 80th year, like Chaucer and Goethe. He says that in such men ‘the Gulf Stream of their youth flows into the arctic regions of their lives, where little else but life itself survives.’ "

Bob Martin, in "The Inspiration List", in his "Thought for the day" says:

"Senior Citizens are continually being criticized for every conceivable deficiency of the modern world, real or imaginary.

"We know and we take responsibility for all we have done. We do not blame others. But, upon reflection, we would like to point out that it was Not the senior citizens who took:

The melody out of music,
The pride out of appearance,
The romance out of love,
The commitment out of marriage,
The responsibility out of parenthood,
The togetherness out of the family,
The learning out of education,
The service out of patriotism,
The Golden Rule from rulers,
The civility out of behaviour,
The refinement out of language,
The dedication out of employment, or
The prudence out of spending.


"And we certainly are NOT the ones who eliminated patience and tolerance from personal relationships and interactions with others!

"Remember: inside every older person is a young person, wondering what happened!"

Growing older is a beautiful experience. Of course, it is difficult in many ways, but the assets far outweigh the debits, the blessings far outweigh the crosses. There are some things you can only learn with time, some things you can only learn from actual experience.

As you grow older, you realize that the most precious possession that anyone has is . . . . . a friend. It is not money, or a house, or a car. It’s a person!

And you begin to appreciate the value of life, the joy of living. You begin to realize that the most beautiful thing you will ever have is what you have right now!

Suddenly you want to go back and read again all the beautiful things you studied when you were young. Myself, if ever I get time for it, I want to read again all the short stories of O. Henry. He was a crusty old bachelor. He was in prison for three years. He was never paid more than 25 dollars for any of his stories. But he loved people, and was wise with the wisdom of God.

He wrote The Gift of the Magi — the story of a young wife in a New York tenement house who sold her long, beautiful hair to buy a Christmas present for her husband – a silver fob for his golden pocket watch, which he had inherited from his father and grandfather. And the husband bought a Christmas present for her – combs for her beautiful hair. And to buy the combs, he sold the watch. So they had the fob and no watch. They had the combs and no hair.

But at the end of the story O. Henry says:

"The Magi were probably very wise givers. And their gifts were carefully chosen, with the right of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the story of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sold the greatest treasures of their house for each other. . . . . But to the wise of this world let it be said: Of all those who give gifts, they are wisest . . . . . Of all those who give and receive gifts, they are wisest. . . . . Everywhere they are wisest. . . . . . They are the Magi!"

And I would like to read again the whole of Omar Khayam. His quiet, Stoic philosophy, expressed so beautifully:

"Whether at Nashipur or Babylon,

Whether the cup with sweet or bitter run,

The wine of life keeps oozing drop by drop,

The leaves of life keep falling, one by one."

You begin to appreciate the beauty of the world: the sun, the rain, the wind in the trees. The ruggedness of the mountains. The majestic loveliness of a tree. The joy of the river, bouncing over rocks.

But most of all, you begin to appreciate people. I pray each day to be worthy of the holy, sensitive people that God sends to me. Even when they have made mistakes, and have fallen into sin – they are so sorry for it, and suffer so much because of it. I can see, now, why Christ Our Lord reached out in compassion to Mary Magdalene, to the poor woman taken in adultery, to Matthew the Publican, to Zacheus the Tax Collector, to Dismas crucified on Calvary.

And their virtues! The way a father works for his children. The sacrifices that every mother makes for her baby. The courage of the paraplegic! The heroism of the destitute scavenger who pushes his cart through the streets, and comes home gratefully at night to his tiny hovel under the bridge.

As you grow older, you try not to hurt people. You realize the wisdom of Cardinal Newman, who said: "A gentleman is one who never causes pain." But it is more than just being a gentleman. You begin to see God in every person. You begin to hear God talking in their trembling voice. You want to treat every person with reverence, because they deserve it.

In fact, life does not really begin at 40. . . . .Or 50. . . . Or 60. . . . Or 70. I used to think that life began at 80. . . . . But now I think that life really goes into high gear at 85.

* * *

Will Rogers said, of growing older:

• One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.

• Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

•One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.