Ray’s Daily
January 25, 2019
To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful, reverent that is to triumph over old age.
Amos Bronson Alcott
In a few days I will be eighty-four years old. I use to think being that old meant life would be difficult. While I do have some age-related problems my life is as good as it has ever been.
I have benefited from my new residence as I spend time with folks in their nineties and even some who are more than one hundred years old. These good people demonstrate to me every day that life can be enjoyed even in old age.
I appreciate their wit, humor and willingness to share their wisdom. I hope your life stays as full as these spirited lives are. It is not how old we are but how young we feel. It is in that spirit I offer you this poem today.
How Lovely Are The Old
Poet: Wilhelmina Stitch
How lovely are the old whose years add grace;
Whose years are special gems for their adorning;
Who wear their age a beauty wears fine lace;
Who are as evening’s peace to youths’ bright morning.
How lovely are the old who are as strings
Of some rare, perfect instrument;
Who make sweet harmony the while life sings,
Playing the measure of a sweet content.
How lovely is the gratitude that flows
From hearts grown tender with the passing years
Tto those who serve with love until life’s close,
With love that heals sharp pain and dries hot tears.
How lovely are the old when they relate
The things they did and thought long, long ago.
From them we learn to laugh at hostile fate.
We draw fresh courage from their spirit’s glow.
How lovely are the old who string their days
On memory’s entrancing golden thread;
Whose words are like a daily song of praise
For what is past and what still lies ahead.
~~~
The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.
Aldous Huxley
~~~
You know IT’S YOUR LAST DAY AT WORK WHEN…
- You hand a bank teller an envelope, and when she asks, “What’s this?”, you realize you just dropped the company’s deposit in a mailbox.
- A woman comes into the store, you turn to the other salesman and say, “I waited on the last fat ugly old lady. This one’s your turn”. Your boss is standing behind you. It’s his wife.
- While your boss is at lunch, you sneak in and look at some confidential information on his computer. You spill coffee on the keyboard. It shorts out.
- You return from a week’s vacation to find that you had scheduled *this* week as vacation, not last week.
- You take a “sick” day. The next morning the boss asks you, “So, how was the fishing on Rock Creek yesterday?”
- You wake up hung over. You have a black eye and barked knuckles. Your underwear is missing. You’re in jail. Last night was the company Christmas party.
~~~
When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
~~~
He said I am glad to be a guy because:
- Everything on your face gets to stay its original color.
- Chocolate is just another snack.
- You can quietly enjoy a car ride from the passenger’s seat.
- Flowers fix everything.
- You can wear a white shirt to a water park.
- Three pairs of shoes is more than enough.
~~~
You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, “My God, you’re right! I never would’ve thought of that!”
~~~
A man was standing first in line for tickets from those who had canceled their reservations to a sold-out play.
The manager said he had two together, and pointed to the two women behind the man. “You wouldn’t want to come between Mother and daughter, would you?”
The man turned around, and replied, “No. I did that once, and regretted it right up until the divorce.”
~~~
She said: Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like.
~~~
At one Army base, the annual trip to the rifle range had been canceled for the second year in a row, but the semi-annual physical fitness test was still on as planned. One soldier mused, “Does it bother anyone else that the Army doesn’t seem to care how well we can shoot, but they are extremely interested in how fast we can run?”
~~~
“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished by how much he’d learned in seven years.”
Mark Twain
~~~
Dear Lord,
So far today, Lord, I’ve done alright. I haven’t gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or over-indulgent. I’m very thankful for that.
But in a few minutes, Lord, I’m going to get out of bed. And from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot more help.
Amen
~~~
The complete life, the perfect pattern, includes old age as well as youth and maturity. The beauty of the morning and the radiance of noon are good, but it would be a very silly person who drew the curtains and turned on the light in order to shut out the tranquillity of the evening. Old age has its pleasures, which, though different, are not less than the pleasures of youth.
SOMERSET MAUGHAM
~~~
Ray Mitchell
Indianapolis, Indiana
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
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