Altar Call - Opelika-Auburn News
Walter Albritton
October 15, 2000

Life can still be fun even for those who are getting older and slower

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!