Older is Better #T

 Some things are improved by aging. Cheddar cheese comes to mind.  I can attest to that.  Whisky, it is said. No personal experience with that. Nor with wine, which is supposedly also one of those things that improves with age. Leather boots, and that is a fact.  Here is a pair of mine which are now two decades old and getting better and better.

You probably have a treasure trove of "things" that improve with age. Think about it while I continue with my list.  Women.  I have been blessed to know these marvelous creatures over time and observe them as they age.  If the subject is naturally sweet, loving, and kind, time only polishes and enhances those attributes.  If she is acerbic, sharp-tongued, and bit on the side of skepticism, time only makes her more shrewd, open and honest in her interactions with others, and knowing where she stands has its definite advantages. Wins all around.  Women get better with age.  

Men, not so much. No matter what heights of success he has achieved, the little boy inner insecurities never leave him, and as he ages the same bluff, bluster, and aggression; or the same timid, reluctant, introversion that got him to this point in life perpetuates itself into old age. Except for the fact that there is likely a hole in his marble bag, and the glassies and aggies are dropping into the dirt as he shambles along the tail-end of life's highway such that at the end of the trail he is tired and worn, and perhaps has an empty marble bag.

I am not at all sure this is where I intended to go when I started this thing, but it seems to have taken on a life of its own.  Good thing, too, because I'm not so sure I have all that much "life" to contribute anymore. One more tidbit.  I was reading the other day someone's analysis of the "benefits of old age."  Old people, the writer asserted have the ability to slow down, adopt patience, and analyze things more completely.  Ability to slow down?  It's a choice? I can decide whether or not I can slow down? Right.  Takes me two hours to do a ten-minute job; takes me twenty minutes to walk around the block.  And I choose to do this? Person who wrote this is probably still on the sunny side of sixty.

Whatever milestone you may be nearest to, carry on, and keep the faith!