Altar Call - Opelika-Auburn News
Walter Albritton
October 15, 2000
An old woman, looking for a space to park her bright red Mercedes, noticed a place up ahead
and moved slowly toward it. Before she could get there, a young man in another car darted in
front of her to claim the parking place.
The woman rolled down her window as the young man walked away and demanded to know why he had
been so rude. "Lady," he replied with a smile, "I guess that is what you can do when you are
young and quick." As he walked on he heard tires squalling and looked back just in time to see
the old lady ram her bright red Mercedes into the rear end of his car.
Screaming at the woman as she got out of her car to await the police, the young man demanded an
explanation. "Well, Sonny," she said, "That’s what you can do when you are old and rich!"
The old woman realized that she was no longer young and quick. But she was also aware that she
was not dead yet. She knew that older people still have a few options left. One of those
options is to have fun until the end, or to say it another way, to stay alive as long as you
live.
As we grow older we do lose some of our abilities. We suffer hearing loss, our eyesight dims,
and our physical strength wanes. But we need not lose our enthusiasm for life itself. One woman
said it this way, "I am 85 now. I can hardly hear thunder, and my eyesight is almost gone.
But thank God, I still have my driver’s license!"
That is the spirit we need to the end of life. As long as we can we must refuse to throw in the
towel and give up. Once we give up, quality living is over. We may continue to breathe but
instead of living we will be merely existing. That time may surely come for many of us, but we
need to put it off as long as we can. Somehow we must find the spunk to keep going even when
our ears, eyes, knees, and backs are failing.
When Stanley Jones was in his late seventies, he was still hale and hearty. His mind was still
sharp; his wit remained keen. He gave the credit for his good health and vitality to grace,
gumption, and grass. By grass he meant the health foods and vitamin supplements he believed
in.
Not a bad formula: grace, gumption, and grass. So if you find yourself in my situation-
getting older and slower-you may want to try Brother Stanley’s plan. The "grass" may cost you a
few bucks, but the grace and the gumption are free. So help yourself - and stay alive as long
as you live!