Age Safari

I know nothing about getting old and less about the wisdom that supposedly accompanies it. I was naive enough to think that age and grace are compatible – that growing old means being comfortable with it. I was informed of my ignorance by one seasoned relative some years ago that just because you get older doesn’t mean you’re okay with it.

If it’s one thing young people are deficient in, it’s knowledge of how age affects life. And though my students wouldn’t call me young, I know better than to claim any rights to the title Veteran. I’m hardly an experienced member of this planet. Nevertheless, by observation I’m realizing that mortality is ever present and yet terribly obscure to those enraptured by youth.

Age and its unavoidably unpredictable progression is observable, entertaining and revealing but it’s lessons aren’t easily translated. If they were, more marriages would succeed I think and less time would be spent at the police station bailing out underage pleasure seekers. There’s something about age that can move an athlete from novice to professional, from hedonist to philanthropist and/or from isolationist to team player.

The problem with age is not a problem at all save for the aches, weight, diminished reflexes, etc. Are you kidding? Those sound like terrible life inhibitors. And they are but the older folks told and tell me that despite the physical detriments, age affords wisdom to those who pursue it as they age. Age is a bit sterile after the fanfare of puberty. But if I could tell the Norman of 16 years ago anything it might be that, “the aging is less like a field trip to the zoo and more like a safari”. It’s getting out on the land in a jeep with a native guide who has a rifle but can’t guarantee safety. On one hand you could end up being dinner but put simply, if you’re going to age anyway, you may as well get in the jeep.