image courtesy of wikipedia.org
I’m going to tell a story with a moral. An old man once traveled to Saudi Arabia to plead for oil from the reigning prince. The prince, a man of middle years, enjoyed wielding power, and so he took delight in waving the old man away, certain he had humiliated his visitor.
As the gates of the palace closed behind him, the old man was humbled. His people needed oil. What was he to do?
Returned to his homeland, an idea struck him. He had oil, thousands and thousands of barrels saved for an emergency. “This is an emergency,” he said aloud in his empty office.
The resolve in his voice convinced him what he’d deduced was true. The next day, he began to sell his reserves on the world market. This sudden surplus forced prices to fall. In his faraway kingdom, the prince panicked. When the value of oil dropped below $100 a barrel, he sold much of his holdings rather than suffer more loss. The glut dropped prices further.
When oil fell to $70 a barrel, the old man bought as much as he could. Soon, he’d replenished his reserves at an enormous savings. Some of the profits he used to subsidize the price of gasoline, a decision which made his people happy.
The story is true, as you may have guessed. In 2023, experts thought Joe Biden was mad to challenge the Saudis. But he wasn’t mad or a doddering old man. He was a wily coyote, wise enough to spook a prince and make history. The moral of the story is simple. Those who dismiss the power of experience are fools.
The young are inclined to make the prince’s mistake. They equate old with being “out of touch.” The rest of us must forgive them, of course. The young have never been old. It’s natural for them to spend their days focusing on the cosmetics of things. Heroes must be vigorous enough to leap tall buildings in a single bound. A man who walks stiffly in his years or speaks with a stutter must be behind the times.
The myths about aging are countless. That the brain’s function declines over the years is one of them. Wrong! The brain is plastic. It changes. It may lose some abilities but it gains others. Think of the infant who babbles in its crib until it learns the sounds it mimics have meaning. Experience informs our understanding.
Neurologically speaking, wisdom is the ability to see patterns where others don’t see them…and to make predictions about what is likely to happen next. Oldsters aren’t fast….but they are better… at seeing the big picture. (Successful Aging, by Daniel J. Levitin, Random House Large Print, 2020, pg. 58)
I admit my brain works slower at 87 than it did when I was 20. Nonetheless, I say to my peers who worry about poor recall, think of memories as books in a library. The greater the inventory, the longer it takes to run through the card catalog. Be patient with yourselves.
Remember, too, that speed is a measure of nothing unless a person wants to participate in a hot dog-eating contest. Aesop’s fable about the tortoise and the hare contains a potent lesson for those who are attentive.
Old age has many blessings, by the way. I haven’t fretted about pimples for decades. Snarky jibes on TikTok weigh less than dandruff to me. As for the frenzy to find a mate and raise children, most of us facing the downhill of life no longer see those obligations in our rearview mirror. Ahead, lie years of play with grandchildren. How much better to sit down with them to an imaginary tea than be obliged to change diapers?
The young may accuse me of lying, but the old are happier than those with their whole lives ahead of them. Studies have confirmed that even without cleavage or a full head of hair, the old, having achieved emotional stability, enjoy what’s known as the La Dolce Vita effect. We are happiest at 82
Older adults are more content with what they have, more self-contained, and laid back… Mood disorders, anxiety, and behavior problems decrease… (Successful Aging, by Daniel J. Levitin, Random House Large Print, 2020, pg. 33.)
I am well past 82 and consider that number to be conservative concerning happiness. Caveats exist, of course. Successful aging requires good health and a continuing curiosity. I began my writing career in my 60s. Some of my peers have become remarkable watercolorists in their later years. Best of all, we old have the leisure to help others, a connection that makes people happy at any age.
Thank heavens for plastic brains! Which brings me back to Biden. I plan to vote for him along with millions of old folks in the upcoming election. Those who complain about his slow walk, thinning hair, and words interrupted by pauses would do better to stop thinking like teenagers. Vladimir Putin doesn’t give a fig about Biden’s slow gait. What he fears is Biden’s wisdom.
When I think about age, I think of the poet, Helen Keller. Mute, deaf, and blind since birth, she lived a full life and died at 87. The secret to her success might have been this. She decided to never count the years.
